Overview
The Status field is an essential project management feature in SmartSuite. Similar to a Single Select field, it allows customization of status values to match your organization's processes.
Plan Availability | All plan types |
Permissions | Workspace Admin, Solution Creators and Solution Managers: Can customize status field values and manage field configurations. |
Related Reading | Setting Default Field Values Adding Help Text to Fields |
What is the Difference Between a Status Field and Single Select?
The key difference is the Status field’s ability to connect to the Assigned To field, enabling tasks to appear in the My Work feature. Additionally, a Status field requires at least one value to represent "Complete."
Key Features:
Complete Status: At least one status value must indicate the terminal state for the work defined by the record. For example, a status field in a customer incident table might include "New," "In Process," "Escalate," and "Resolved" (where "Resolved" is the complete status).
Linked Fields: Can be linked to the Assign To field to associate members with record statuses and to the Due Date field to track time to completion.
Centralized Work Management: Combines with the Assign To and Due Date fields to enable task management for the record in My Work.
Adding a Status Field
From Grid View:
Click on the + Add Field button.
Select Status Field from the available options.
Customize the field name and settings as needed.
From Record View:
Open a record.
Click Add Field within the record.
Select Status Field, then configure it to suit your process.
Customizing the Field
Solution Managers can:
Customize Values: Modify the list of status values to match organizational workflows.
Set Default Values: Specify a default value, such as "Backlog," for newly created records.
Reorder Display: Change the order of values to dictate sorting and visualization in saved views.
Tip:
The display order of status values affects the sort order in saved views, making it easier to visualize workflows.
Check out quick articles on Setting Default Field Values and Adding Help Text to fields.
Status Fields and My Work
When a Status field is associated with an Assigned To field, it enables task management for records in your table. Status fields can be referenced by the following field types:
Assigned To. Required for enabling My Work task tracking, the Assigned To field can reference a Status field to identify records as tasks assigned to one or more Members.
Due Date. You can optionally configure Due Date fields to reference a Status field, tracking the due date for the task in My Work.
Using Multiple Status fields for separate My Work tasks
You can add multiple Status fields to your table, along with separate Assign To fields. This has the effect of tracking individual records as separate and individual tasks. This can be useful for multi-stage workflows, where you need to keep track of separate tasks and their status.
For example, you can create a marketing production workflow where content creation is assigned and tracked with one set of Assign To, Status and Due Date fields, and the approval process is tracked as a separate task with its own assignment, due date and status.
Examples of Use
Managing Work in Kanban View
Use status fields to visually manage workflows in Kanban View by grouping columns based on status values.
Personal Work Management
Records with Assign To and Status Fields appear in the assigned member's My Work panel. Members can also create personal work queues using the Saved View Toolbar grouping option.
Using Status Fields with Automations
Automations streamline workflows by triggering actions based on status changes.
Example 1: Email Notification on Task Completion
When a task’s status changes from "In Process" to "Complete," send an email notification to the task owner.
Example 2: Assign Work Requests Automatically
When a work request is created:
Assign the responsible team member using the Assign To field.
Set the status to "Not Started."
Creating Basic Processes with Status Fields
Example Workflow: Content Creation
A typical three-step process for creating help articles includes:
Authoring:
Author: Assigned to a team member.
Status: Tracks author progress.
Reviewing:
Copy Reviewer: Assigned to another team member.
Status: Tracks review progress.
Technical Review (optional):
Tech Reviewer: Assigned for final checks.
Status: Tracks technical review progress.
This process uses:
Multiple Assign To fields.
Multiple Status Fields for granular tracking.
Advanced Tip:
Enhance this workflow with automations to manage incremental updates and streamline tasks.