The Kanban View in SmartSuite provides a visual workflow tool to manage tasks, project milestones, and work processes effectively. By organizing records into sequential columns, Kanban helps identify bottlenecks and balance work demand with available capacity.
Plan Availability | All plan types |
Permissions | All Roles - Can configure and manage Kanban Views. |
Related Reading |
Why Use Kanban View?
Visualize records in a workflow by grouping them into columns based on field values.
Great for:
Viewing software features by development sprint.
Tracking issues by resolution status.
Managing marketing content by approval stage.
To enable Kanban View, select "Kanban" from the view dropdown and configure the fields for column grouping.
Working with Kanban View
Column Control
Column Grouping: Kanban requires records to be grouped by eligible fields, such as:
Swimlane Grouping (optional): Add row groupings ("swimlanes") to view data by multiple dimensions. For example:
Columns: Sales Opportunities by Stage (e.g., New, Prospect, Scoping).
Rows: Opportunities by Type (e.g., Direct Customer, Channel Partner).
Setting Fields to Display
Cover Image
Setting a Cover image displays a preview of the first file in a Files and Images field at the top of the Kanban card.
Select the Files and Images field in the COVER dropdown.
Note: This option is only displayed if you have at least one Files and Images field in your table.
Hover over covers to glance through attachments.
Click cover images to enlarge them for a detailed preview.
Selected Fields
Click on a field from Available Fields to add it to the Selected Fields column.
You can re-order fields by grabbing the drag icon to the left of the field name and moving it up or down.
Remove fields from the Selected column by clicking the “x” icon that displays to the right of the field name on hover.
You can use the Select All and Clear All buttons at the bottom to quickly add or remove all fields.
Card Size & Layout
Adjust card sizes:
Small (default)
Medium
Large
Collapse or expand columns and rows with a simple click for better layout control.
Drag & Drop Management
Update record statuses by dragging and dropping cards between columns or swimlanes.
Add new status values directly in Kanban by clicking the + button to the right of the last column.
Re-order the Columns by clicking in the header (holding down the mouse button) and dragging the Column to a different position. Release the mouse button to drop the Column into place.
Practical Scenarios and Use Cases
1. Manage Product Design Queue
Scenario: A product design team prioritizes tasks for upcoming features. Solution: Use Kanban to track progress by grouping designs by development stage.
2. Track Project Milestones
Scenario: A project manager monitors task completion by status. Solution: Group milestones by "Status" fields to visualize progress and identify blockers.
3. Analyze Competition
Scenario: A business team compares competitor features. Solution: Use Kanban columns to categorize and evaluate feature sets.
4. Close Real Estate Deals
Scenario: A real estate agency tracks property sales through stages. Solution: Manage deals visually, from leads to closing, with status groupings.
5. Streamline Hiring Processes
Scenario: An HR team processes job applications across multiple stages. Solution: Use Kanban to monitor applicants by stages like "Applied," "Interviewed," and "Hired."
6. Agile Software Development
Scenario: A development team organizes user stories in sprints. Solution: Group user stories by status or priority to manage Agile workflows.