Version 6.1 of Kanbanize is bringing several product enhancements and functionalities that will improve both the account management and user experience with the software.
1. Existing Card Link Management
The new product update introduces an improved design of the "Link to existing card" management panel. The previously used dropdown list is now replaced by select buttons corresponding to each relationship type. The last button you have selected will be preserved for your next linking action.
2. Better Tracking of Links via the Card
Configuring your personal board settings to see the presence and status of the linked cards is crucial for obtaining maximum visibility of your projects in the Portfolio Kanban scenario.
The arrow icons in the extended card view show the type of relationship between the cards. The color code indicates the card progress in the flow. Hovering with your mouse over the linked card title allows you to see further details about the item.
The tooltip now displays the following information:
- Card ID
- Title of the linked card
- Board where the linked card is located
- Lane and column where the linked card is positioned
- Card type New!
Card type shows whether a card is a "Bug"; "Customer Request"; "Meeting", etc., depending on your setup.
3. Enhanced Search Panel per Board
The Advanced Search panel in Kanbanize is a very powerful tool for refining and configuring system data to generate different types of reports.
The feature allows quick keyword searches (by card ID, assignee, title, description, or a tag).
With the introduction of version 6.1, it displays results only for the board on which you have performed the search (the Search text box filed with the magnifying glass icon).
In order to perform a quick search across all boards, use the Search text box located at the top right side of your Dashboard.
4. Easier User Invite From the Board
Version 6.1 makes user invitation directly from the board easier and faster which helps reduce the interaction with the Administration panel.
The system prompts you to define the user role right away and automatically assigns the user to the respective board.
5. Blocked Time Log in Card Metrics
A Blocked Time column is added to the Metrics tab of each card, therefore providing an overview of the period of time that card has been blocked.
Analyzing blocked cards allows Project Managers to identify bottlenecks and make improvements in their process and team collaboration in order to reduce block resolution time.
With the new release, if a user attempts to block a card, which is not "In Progress" or in a column marked as a "queue", the system will ask them for confirmation, because this action may lower their flow efficiency metrics.
6. Update cards by ID via the Import Functionality
With the import feature in Kanbanize, users can both import and update already existing cards.
The new product version allows cards update by ID. Until now, the imported update was only available by External link.
7. Easier Custom Field Management
The custom fields in Kanbanize give you great flexibility and allow you to extend the details of your Kanban cards without any practical limit.
The new version of the product facilitates the custom fields' management and in particular their immediate assignment to boards in the account. Just put a checkmark to the boards to apply it accordingly. Moreover, you can edit the Board list from the dotted icon (Actions) in the Custom field tab of the Projects and Boards settings.
8. Mobile Apps Improvements
Product Update 6.1 introduces five predefined filters available for our Android and iOS apps. They summarize and provide quick access to specific information in your account that concerns you and your team.
The filters can be found via the magnifying glass at the top rights side of your mobile app dashboard. Their titles аre as follows:
- Card Assigned to me
- Overdue cards
- Overdue cards assigned to me
- Blocked cards assigned to me
- Initiatives in progress
9. Premium Analytics - cycle time configuration
The Premium Analytics modules have a new default system behavior.
They now display only the columns selected by the Project Managers that accumulate cycle time for the card. This helps to visualize and focus on the value-adding activities and optimize your process to remove waste.
Upon selection of "Ignore Cycle Time Configuration" box, the system ignores the default Cycle time configuration and the modules visualize the time cards spend in each of the process stages.
10. Other Improvements
- Email integration: a new setup design for the email integration is now available, which minimizes your efforts during the initial configuration.
- Logged Time Report: now you shouldn't have to know and filter all of the boards where cards have been moved during the process to get the accumulated logged time when running the Timesheet report.
- Archived cards: location of permanently archived cards is now available.
- Column description policies: if you provide a column description policies in the Edit Board mode, they will immediately become visible at the bottom of the board.
- Cards per row: users can configure the number of cards per row. If a Project Manager/Administrator merge a few cells on the board, the system will sum the total number of allowed cards per row in the columns.