Content:
1. Checkpoints for Better Outcome Measurement
2. Extract Cycle Time Per Column
3. User Deprovisioning Through IDPs
4. Restrictions to Edit/Delete Business Rules
5. Add Users to Teams After Invite
6. Other Improvements
1. Checkpoints for Better Outcome Measurement
The highlight of our latest product release is the ability to add checkpoints to your Outcomes.
Let's take a quick overview and explain how the checkpoints work.
1.1. Overview
You can think of the checkpoints as “intermediate targets” that you set throughout your path to achieving your main goal.
Imagine that one of your outcomes is to increase your company’s revenue to a specific figure over the course of 6 months. To improve your measurement, you can break down your main goal into checkpoints with values that you spread across different time periods during those 6 months (ex. every 2 months).
This can be particularly useful when you expect slower or faster progress toward your main outcome at different points in time.
1.2. How to Add Checkpoints?
The checkpoints are accessible from the Outcome Trend. There below the graph, you will see a line that visualizes your path toward achieving your outcome. This includes your:
- Starting value
- Current value
- Target value
Using the “plus” sign on the left-hand side will open a window to create your checkpoint. All you have to do is add your checkpoint’s details, such as “name”, “value” and “date”. This will plot your checkpoint with a given numeric value on a specific date across the line.
By clicking on your newly created checkpoint, you have the option to edit/delete it.
1.3. How is the Baseline Affected?
Once you add checkpoints, you will notice that the baseline’s figure in the Outcome Trend changes. That’s because the graph recalculates the linear projection toward the checkpoint’s target value and date instead of the entire outcome. This allows you to have a more precise measurement of how you’re progressing over time toward your main goal.
Note: In case your initiative/objective doesn’t have a deadline, the baseline’s linear projection will be visualized until the last available checkpoint.
For more information on the checkpoint, follow this link.
2. Extract Cycle Time Per Column
To better analyze cycle time across boards, we're releasing a “Cycle time per column” report inside the Reporting Facility. With its help, you can gain an overview of the cycle time of each column on a board for a specific time period.
Note: The report ignores the cycle time configuration you have on a given board and will show you data for all of its columns.
Let’s take a look at what each of the reporting views represents.
2.1. Pivot View
The default pivot view will display the following metrics for the columns on a given board:
- Cycle time avg.
- Cycle time sum.
- Cycle time count (how many times cycle time was generated for the given column).
By configuring your Pivot table, you can add different values, rows, columns, filters, etc., so you can get the data that reflects your needs.
2.2. Table View
With the table view, you can visualize the cycle time of a given column based on a specific card.
Keep in mind that the default results (workflow name, column name, section, etc.) represent historical data and will not necessarily display the current state of a card. Furthermore, the default cycle time result takes into account the entire time a card spent in a column regardless of how many times the card went through that column.
Learn more about the cycle time per column report here.
3. User Deprovisioning Through IDPs
To further improve your level of security and identity management, we’re releasing an option for automatic user deprovisioning if you’re using SSO (Single Sign On). From now on, when you remove a user from one of our supported identity providers for SSO (One-Login, Okta, Microsoft Azure), you can automatically disable it in Kanbanize too.
To do this, access the SSO configuration settings inside the Integrations menu of the Administration panel. There, you will find the option to “Enable User Deprovisioning”.
4. Restrictions to Edit/Delete Business Rules
So far, all users with the “Manage Business Rules” privilege could edit and delete any rule. To refine who can do that, we’re adding a new security control that allows only Account Owners, Authors, or Shared Users of a business rule to edit/delete it.
Once enabled, all other users (who can manage business rules) will have “read-only” access and will be restricted from modifying specific rules. If disabled, the old behavior will still apply.
5. Add Users to Teams After Invite
Moving forward, when inviting users to your account from the User Management menu of the Administration Panel, you will have the option to add the user to a team or a board.If you choose “Add to team”, you will get a list of teams in your account where you can assign the user as a team member and a team manager.
Choosing “Add to board” will open up the module to assign the user to a board.
Note: The “Add to team” option will be available if you have the “Manage Teams” privilege or you’re a team manager. To add users to a board, you need to be at least a Workspace Manager.
6. Other Improvements
- Local Cycle Time on Cards
To help you spot problems with your work, you can now visualize total and local cycle time (or both) in a closed card view. While the total cycle time shows how long the card was in the process overall, the local cycle time visualizes the time a specific card remained at its current position. This helps you see if a card/work item got stuck in a specific process area.
Note: The local cycle time only shows the time for the current column of a card. In case you move a card back to a previous column, the local cycle time counter will not continue from where it was.
- Owner/Co-Owner/Contributor in “My Queue”
Moreover, you can now configure your personal “My queue” settings to show cards where you’re assigned as:
- Owner
- Co-Owner
- Contributor
There is an “OR” relationship between these properties, and the system will display unique icons on cards where you’re a co-owner and a contributor.
- Context Menu for Inline Images
To make it easier to view/download inline images inside a card’s details, subtasks and comments, we’re releasing their own context menu. To access it, you need to right-click on the image in “view mode”. For local images, you will have the following options:
- Preview
- Download
For external images, you will be able to open them in a new tab.
- Clone Card Elements
To save you time when creating new card elements, you will now be able to clone your existing ones.
- New Event Types in User Audit Logs
To ensure you keep track of all changes in your account, we’re adding 2 new event types in the user logs when you invite/re-invite someone:
- User invited
- User re-invited
You can take a look at all existing event types here.
- Improvement to a Card’s Description in Excel
Furthermore, when exporting data from the Advanced Search, we’ve improved how a card’s description appears in Excel. The improvement aims to better reflect the text’s formattinginside your card’s description on a Kanbanize board.
7. Changes in Security Policy
Before we leave you, we’d like to inform you of changes in our Security Policy which will take place in the beginning of next year. To follow the latest security standards, our policy will only support the TLSv1.2 protocol and the following SSL ciphers:
- ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
- ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
- ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
- ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
This change can affect customers who have integrations with systems that use older protocols for a remote connection with Kanbanize.
Happy Kanbanizing with version 9.4!