In this article, we're going to discuss the lifecycle of a task from start to completion.
OVERVIEW
Whenever you add a new task to your project board, there are various stages that it will go through from creation to completion. On your project board we use statuses to indicate the stage that each task is currently at. You can therefore see at a glance how each task is progressing.
This is how tasks are grouped together by status when using the list view:
The statuses that a task will pass through are as follows:
Task Lifecycle
NEW TASKS
When you first create a task, it will be fed automatically into this group. We will endeavour to review all new tasks as quickly as possible, but please allow up to 24 hours for us to respond.
IN REVIEW
After receiving the task, we will progress the task status to In Review while we check the details of the task. We will ask any clarifying questions at this point, and if you have requested an estimate, we will put that together and add it to the task.
For small tasks, this might be a very brief process as we simply confirm our understanding of the task. For larger tasks and complete projects, such as site builds, we may need a little longer while we narrow the project scope and bring in relevant project stakeholders to agree a plan of action.
SCHEDULED
Once the task scope is fully agreed and understood, we'll then schedule the task. For very small tasks, we might not need to schedule it and instead, just move it to In Progress, but for tasks where this is not practically or operationally possible, we'll schedule it. Depending on the task, it might be scheduled for the same day or for a future date.
For larger projects, we will communicate the projected timescale through to completion, where it is appropriate to do so.
IN PROGRESS
When a task is moved to In Progress it means work is now underway on your task or project! This status will be displayed from the moment work has started until the point that we believe the brief has been met.
However, this doesn't mean that for as long as the task remains in this group, one of the team is physically working on it. Rather, it means that it's part of our active tasks that are started, but not yet finished.
Task progress will start and stop for a number of reasons. For example:
- We may need input from you before progressing further;
- The developer might need to take a break or if the task is scheduled for multiple days, the person assigned might have finished for the day;
- We may need to review and discuss progress internally before continuing;
- You might have assigned another task higher priority which results in us directing our efforts towards that instead.
We will continue working on the task here through to completion.
IN QA
During the QA phase, the work will be peer reviewed, to test it against the original brief. If everything looks good at this point, we'll move it onto the next status. Otherwise, we'll pass it back to the assigned team member and change the status back to In Progress while revisions are made.
READY FOR REVIEW
Once we're at the point where we feel the task is complete and ready for final checking by you, we will progress it to this status group, and invite you to review the work. You can then advise us if you are happy that the task requirements have been met, or if you would like any further revisions to be made. If the latter, we'll move it back to In Progress. Otherwise, we'll mark it Complete.
ON HOLD
From time to time, you might need to put a previously requested task or project on hold temporarily, perhaps you await instructions from your client, or because the task requirements have materially changed and you need more time to consider it. Either way, if you request that we place the task on hold, it will be moved to this status group until you advise otherwise.
COMPLETE
When work has been completed to your satisfaction and/or no further action is required, we will mark the task as Complete. In order to reduce clutter on your project board, tasks that are marked complete are hidden by default. However, you can reveal all completed tasks if required, by clicking on Show Closed in the top right hand corner of the context area.
At this point, the lifecycle of the task is complete and we can all share in a brief celebratory happy dance.
SUMMARY
Great! That's the complete low-down on project statuses from beginning to end. You got this.
