Project template
Kanban Template: A Board You Are Meant to Rename
Four columns is the starting point, not the answer. This template exists for teams whose process is their own, and the first thing most of them do is change the column names.
Kanban boards are in every edition, including the free Community Edition · Unlimited users on every plan
What the Kanban template sets up
Choosing Kanban sets the project methodology to Kanban, which makes the board the landing page rather than a task list or a backlog. Work is grouped into milestones, and the board can be grouped by status or by milestone. The four default statuses are New, In Progress, Resolve, and Close, and they are meant to be renamed to match your own stages. There are no sprints, no story points, and no burndown, because Kanban measures flow rather than iterations.
The board
Four columns, as a starting point
This is the Default Status Workflow. Almost every team that uses this template replaces at least one of these names in the first week.
01
New
Requested or accepted, not started. Your intake column.
02
In Progress
Actively being worked on. This is the column to put a limit on.
03
Resolve
Done by the person doing it, waiting on somebody else.
04
Close
Finished and accepted. Off the board.
Rename these to your own stages, or add more, from the board itself or from the status workflow page. Self-hosted teams can also add work in progress limits per column, and design the allowed transitions visually.
On day one
What you get on day one
A board that is deliberately generic, because the value is in shaping it to your process.
The board as the landing page
The project opens on the board rather than a list, which is the right first screen for work that flows through stages.
Four columns you can rename
New, In Progress, Resolve, and Close. Change the names, add more, or swap the whole workflow at any time.
Drag and drop status changes
Moving a card changes its status. There is no separate update step, which is what keeps the board honest.
Milestone grouping
Group work into milestones and view the board by milestone as well as by status.
The ordinary task fields
Task types, labels, priorities, estimated hours, dates, and assignees, all available on every card.
No methodology overhead
No sprints to start and complete, no story points, no ceremonies. Work arrives, flows through, and leaves.
Who it is for
Who picks this one
Marketing and creative teams
Briefed, in production, in review, approved, live. A stage list nobody else's tool understands.
Learn more →Support and operations
Continuous inbound work with no natural iteration boundary. Flow matters, sprints do not.
Learn more →Engineering teams who do not sprint
Continuous delivery, with a queue rather than a fortnightly commitment.
Learn more →Starting board
Column sets that actually work
The template gives you four generic columns. These are the sets teams most often rename them to, depending on the work.
Creative and marketing6 columns
- Briefed
- In production
- In review
- Approved
- Scheduled
- Live
Support and operations5 columns
- New request
- Triaged
- In progress
- Waiting on requester
- Done
Continuous delivery6 columns
- Backlog
- Ready
- In progress
- In review
- Testing
- Released
Two rules worth following: every column should be a place where a card can genuinely sit, and there should be a column for waiting on somebody else. Without the second one, blocked work looks like work in progress.
The problem
What this template fixes
The tool insists on sprints
✓ Kanban has no iteration boundary. Work flows through.
Everyone's process is different
✓ Columns are set per project, so each team gets its own.
Progress is invisible
✓ A card sitting in one column for a week is visible to everyone.
How to start
Start a project from this template
Ten minutes, and most of it is deciding on the column names.
- 1Create a project and choose KanbanThe project opens on the board, with the four default statuses ready to use.
- 2Rename the columns to your stagesDo this before the first card goes on. Trying to fix column names later, with fifty cards in flight, is much more annoying.
- 3Add a waiting columnAlmost every real process has a stage where work sits waiting on somebody outside the team. Give it a column or it will hide inside In Progress.
- 4Invite the whole team, including outsidersFreelancers, agencies, and reviewers. Unlimited users on every plan means the people who cause the delays are in the tool where you can see it.
- 5Put your current work on the boardEverything in flight, honestly, including the things that have been stuck for a month. The first board is usually uncomfortable and that is the point.
- 6Work the board, do not report on itStandup is people moving their own cards. A board that is updated for a meeting rather than during the work is worthless.
- 7Watch where cards pile upThe column that accumulates cards is your bottleneck. Self-hosted teams can put a work in progress limit on it.
Pairs with
The features this template leans on
Kanban boards and custom statuses are in every edition. Work in progress limits and the visual workflow designer are Self-Hosted.
Kanban boardThe board itself, in detailCustom status workflowYour columns, your transitionsTask managementWhat sits on each cardSelf-hosted pluginsWork in progress limits and the workflow designerCampaign launch use caseA worked example built on this templateWorkload managementWho is carrying too many cards
Frequently asked questions
Kanban template FAQ
What does the Kanban template set up?
It sets the project methodology to Kanban, which makes the board the landing page, groups work into milestones, and gives you four statuses: New, In Progress, Resolve, and Close. The columns are meant to be renamed to your own stages.
How many columns does it create?
Four. New, In Progress, Resolve, and Close. This is the Default Status Workflow, shared with the Simple and Agile templates. Add or rename as many as you need.
Can I add work in progress limits?
Work in progress limits are available as a plugin in the Self-Hosted edition. Without them you can still see a bottleneck, because cards visibly pile up in one column.
What is the difference between this and the Agile template?
Agile adds a backlog page, sprints you start and complete, story points, epics, and burndown and velocity reports. Kanban has none of those. If your team does not work in fixed iterations, Kanban is the right choice.
Is Kanban available in the free Community Edition?
Yes. Kanban boards and custom statuses are in every edition, including the open source Community Edition.
How many columns should a board have?
Enough that every column is a place where work genuinely sits, and few enough that the board fits on a screen. Five to seven suits most teams, and one of them should be for work waiting on somebody else.
Can different projects have different columns?
Yes. Statuses are set per project, so marketing and support can each have a board that matches how they actually work.
Does the template create any cards?
No. The built in templates set structure, not content. Save one of your own projects as a template if you want a template that brings its tasks, labels, and task types with it.
Build a board that matches your process
Four columns to start, renamed to yours in ten minutes, with unlimited users on every plan.