Aside from our API, the first request/start/end and last request/start/end dates are also available in the advanced search where you can use them for different reports and analyses. In this article, we will cover what each of them means and how they change as cards move through the workflow.
The First/Last Dates Explained
- First Request date* — the first time a card is moved from the “Backlog” section to the “Requested,” “In Progress,” “Done,” or “Ready to archive” sections.
- Last Request date* — the last time a card is moved from the “Backlog” section to the “Requested,” “In Progress,” “Done,” or “Ready to archive” sections.
- First Start date — the first time a card is moved from the “Backlog” or “Requested” sections to the “In Progress,” “Done,” or “Ready to archive” sections.
- Last Start date — the last time a card is moved from the “Backlog” or “Requested” sections to the “In Progress,” “Done,” or “Ready to archive” sections.
- First End date — the first time a card is moved to the “Done” or “Ready to archive” sections from the “Backlog,” “Requested,” or “In Progress” sections.
- Last End date — the last time a card is moved to the “Done” or “Ready to archive” sections from the “Backlog,” “Requested,” or “In Progress” sections.
* The first and last request dates should not be mistaken for the first or last time a card was moved to any column in the “Requested” section. If you want to track that specific metric, you can use the “First date moved to” and “Last date moved to” filters in the Advanced search. The goal of the first/last request dates is to show when a card has been requested to be worked on.
Note: These are datetime fields that cannot be edited manually.
How It Works
Depending on how cards move through the workflow, the values of some dates may be updated. However, the following dates, once recorded in the system, will always remain the same:
- First request date
- First start date
- First end date
The "first" dates will not change regardless of how many times a card is moved back and forth in the workflow.
The dates that are subject to change are:
- Last request date
- Last start date
- Last end date
The “last” dates won't change if a card is moved backward in the workflow (to the left). They will be updated if, after that backward movement, the card is again moved forward in the workflow (to the right) through the respective sections.
Here is how they will change depending on the card's movement:
-
Last request date:
- The last request date will change each time you move a card to the “Requested” section from the “Backlog” section. E.g. if card X goes from “Backlog” to “Requested,” then back to “Backlog,” and again to “Requested,” the last request date will be updated.
- The last request date will not change if a card is moved from the “In Progress,” “Done,” or “Ready to archive” sections back to the “Requested” section.
-
Last start date:
- The last start date will change each time you move a card to the “In Progress” section from the “Requested” or “Backlog” sections. E.g. if card X goes from “Done” to “Requested” and then to “In progress,” the last start date will be updated.
- The last start date will not change if a card is moved from the “Done” area back to the “In Progress” section.
-
Last end date:
- The last end date will change each time you move a card to the “Done” area from the “Backlog,” “Requested,” or “In Progress” sections. E.g. if card X is moved to “Done,” then back to “In Progress,” and again to “Done,” the last end date will be updated.
Let's track those changes with an example.
We have a card titled “Documentation” that is currently in the backlog section. When we move the card to a column in “Requested,” the system records its first and last request dates (e.g. 2024-07-24 at 3:48 pm). Let's say the card then spends some time in this column before it is moved to the “In Progress” section, where the system will record its first and last start dates (e.g. 2024-07-24 at 4:15 pm). If the card is then moved to the “Done” or “Ready to archive” sections, the system will record its first and last end dates (e.g. 2024-07-24 at 5:05 pm).
If the card is not moved anymore:
- the first and last request dates will have the same value
- the first and last start dates will have the same value
- the first and last end dates will have the same value
However, if the card is moved back from the “Done” section to a column in “Requested” and then to the “In Progress” section, the last start date will be updated. Similarly, if the card is moved from the “Done” section to a column in the “Backlog” area and then to the “Requested” section, the last request date will change. After the card transitions to the “Done” or “Ready to archive” sections, its last end date will also be updated.