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Overview

KanBo Getting Started

1. What is KanBo?
2. Navigating KanBo
3. Working with Cards

4. Collaborating in KanBo

5. Working with Spaces
6. Space Views

Learn KanBo   >   Getting Started with KanBo   >   Collaborating in KanBo

Learn KanBo   >   Getting Started with KanBo   >   Collaborating in KanBo

Collaborating in KanBo

Seamless collaboration is the backbone of any successful project. Find out how KanBo users work together. Learn about the tools that enable real-time communication. This article walks you through some of key collaboration features.

Choose the form that is most convenient for you: watch the video or read the article.
Choose the form that is most convenient for you: watch the video or read the article.
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The steps in the video are also described in the following sections.

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Article

Collaborating in KanBo

In this article:

Card features

What is the KanBo collaboration all about? Let’s start with notifications, which will take us to the cards.

Notifications

The bell icon in the Navigation Panel opens the Notifications about other users’ activity.

Here you can find information about:

  • time,
  • location,
  • and the user who took the action.

Note that only actions that are directly related to you or the cards you are following will appear in Notifications. In addition, reminders about upcoming card dates will be displayed here.

By default, notifications have a sound, which can be turned off.

Bell icons are also displayed on card fronts.

Example: Let’s open our Green Week space. Orange bells indicate the number of card actions since my last visit. I can see this because I am a follower of these cards.

Activity Stream

In KanBo, each task or project is represented by a card. Each card has the activity stream section. The card activity stream offers an inclusive, chronological timeline detailing all the updates and changes made to a card.
 
Card activity stream has a separated comment section displayed by default.

Whether a space user wants to track progress or uncover the history of card changes, the activity stream is the ultimate tracker.

  • Switch the Comments view to the Activity view and follow the last card actions.

  • See who added files to the card and when. You can open the file using the link in the activity stream.

  • Links to other cards or spaces can be pasted in comments as a reference.

  • Besides the comments, every space user can observe all other card actions connected with:

    • card details, like assigned users, card dates, or status changes, 
    • card elements, such as notes, to-do lists, documents
    • the moment of card creation

Comments

Communicate effectively about a task using comments. This feature encourages discussions, provides timely updates, and addresses task-related enquiries.

For bringing specific comments to the attention of team members, mention them directly by typing ‘@’ followed by their name. 

The mention will send a notification to the user marked in the comment.

The comment section’s effectiveness is boosted by its real-time nature, allowing instantly visible interactions and quick responses. 

Real-time collaboration

With a system of mentions and notifications, users can respond immediately. Real-time collaboration relies on the use of tags to indicate the presence of users at a specific location, such as:

Example: Megan mentions Alexander in her comment. As a result, he receives an audible notification.

We know that Alexander has entered the card because his card presence indicator appears at the top of the comments list and is flashing. Then we see a typing indicator telling us that Alexander has started to write a comment.

In addition to real-time attendance indicators, detailed information on past visits in cards is available.

Each user’s last visit to a card can be checked to the minute. The position of an avatar indicates what information they are up to date with.

The time elapsed since the last visit to the card will be displayed when hovering over the user’s avatar.

Editing documents

A key part of collaboration is working together on documents. Once a document is uploaded to a card, all the space members can access and edit it.

Below the file name is always information about when the file was last modified.

After opening a card document, users can see who is viewing the document and where the mouse pointer is moving – a testament to real-time collaboration.

All documents made available in KanBo are securely stored on the company server. This gives you the confidence that regardless of the number of edits, you always have access to the most recent version of the document.

Space

At the top of the space there are four buttons:

  •   Documents – all documents associated with the cards in the space,
  •   Users – space users and their roles,
  •   Activity – all activities that have taken place in the cards located here,
  •   Chat – a place for general conversation.

Especially important for collaboration is chat.

4_collaboration_space_chat

The space chat is intended for discussions that are not directly related to a specific card. It’s a hub where space members can talk freely about general concerns or off-topic questions.

It comes packed with handy features like:

  • mentioning,
  • liking,
  • and replying

that give it a social vibe, fostering a pleasant communication environment.

Even if we’re working from home, we can share a common space to keep in touch. Collaboration features are the true power of KanBo. But this is just the beginning of the possibilities that spaces can give you.

In the next article, we will explore more about the power of spaces in KanBo.

Notifications

To see the Notifications section:
  • On the Sidebar, go to Notifications.

To see notifications on card fronts:
  • On the Sidebar, go to Workspaces, then select your space.
 

Activity stream

To see card activity stream:
  1. In the space view, open the card by clicking on its front.
  2. Switch the Comments to the Activity on the right.

Comments

To leave a comment:
  • Select the comment field to activate it, type your message, an then select Send.

To mention a user in a comment:
  • Type “@” before user’s name, and then select the user from the list.

Card followers

To see card followers:
  • On card details section, select the eyes icon .

Card documents

To see or edit a document: To see document’s references:
  • On the right upper corner of the document’s field, go to More (the three-dots menu), and then select References.

Space features

Close the card and go back to space. There are four buttons on the right side of the the top bar:
  • Chat,
  • Activity,
  • Users,
  • Documents.

You can select each of them to see related content.

Notifications

To see the Notifications section:
  • On the Sidebar, go to Notifications.

To see notifications on card fronts:
  • On the Sidebar, go to Workspaces, then select your space.

Activity stream

To see card activity stream:
  1. In the space view, open the card by clicking on its front.
  2. Switch the Comments to the Activity on the right.

Comments

To leave a comment:
  • Select the comment field to activate it, type your message, an then select Send.

To mention a user in a comment:
  • Type “@” before user’s name, and then select the user from the list.

Card followers

To see card followers:
  • On card details section, select the eyes icon .

Card documents

To see or edit a document: To see document’s references:
  • On the right upper corner of the document’s field, go to More (the three-dots menu), and then select References.

Space features

Close the card and go back to space. There are four buttons on the right side of the the top bar:
  • Chat,
  • Activity,
  • Users,
  • Documents.

You can select each of them to see related content.

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