Column types
FlowFast has three types of columns: queue, in progress, done.
In this article you will learn:
What a column type is and why it is needed;
How to set the column type;
What automatic actions take place in a card when it's moved from one column type to another;
How to spot errors in column types on the board.
What a column type is and why it is needed
The first level column type determines the status of the cards it contains. That is, if a card is in a column with type:
Queue, FlowFast considers that work has not started on it yet;
In Progress, then the card's status is also "In Progress";
Done, the card is marked as completed.
Putting a card to work means moving the card to the "In Progress" column. And to complete a card is to move the card to the "Done" column.
Column types help to keep track of how long cards are in progress and partially automate processes.
Column type and column name are NOT the same thing. You can name a column "Ideas" and set its type to "Queue" or name a column "Development" and assign it the type "In progress".
You can have an unlimited number of columns with different stages of work on your board, but you can only assign one of three types to each of them.
How to set the column type
Click on the three dots to the right of the column name;
In the menu that appears, click on "Column Type";
Select the desired type.
Automatic actions when moving cards to different types of columns
1. If a user moves a card to a column with the type "In progress" or "Done", he/she is automatically added to the card as it's member.
If the card has not previously had a responsible member - the person who moved the card will become marked as responsible.
If necessary, this function can be turned off.
2. If a user moves a card to a column with the type "Done" and it receives the corresponding status, the timers are stopped on it.
The card has a due date of November, 30, you move the card to the "Done" column on November, 29. The timer stops and the deadline on the card will be green, which means you have completed the task before the deadline.
If the card has a deadline of November, 30, you move the card to the "Done" type of column on December, 1. The timer stops and the deadline on the card will be marked red, this means you have not completed the task before the deadline.
3. If the card blocking another card has moved to the column with type "Done", the blocking from the blocked card is automatically removed.
You have blocked a card and indicated a blocking card in the reason for blocking. They are now linked with each other. When the blocker card reaches the "Done" type column, the blocking will be removed from the main card.
4. Parent cards are automatically moved to the "In Progress" or "Done" type columns if their child cards change their status.
This happens if you enable the option to automatically move parent cards.
A parent card is automatically moved to the "In progress" column if at least one child card has been assigned the "In progress" status.
The parent card is automatically moved to the column with type "Done" if all child cards have status "Done".
👉 Read more about this feature in the "Automatic movement of related (parent) cards" instruction
Frequent problems and solutions
How do I know if a column has the wrong type?
If you have moved a card to the queue and were automatically added as a member.
Solution: change the column type to "Queue";
If you have moved the card to a column called "Done" and it still has a "ticking" time on its front.
Solution: Change the column type to "Done".
You may also find the articles useful:
👉 Why columns are needed and how to use them