A.1.2.3 Using Forms for Cross-team Collaboration
- Forms for Collaboration: Forms enable users and team members to collaborate across initiatives, workspaces, and organizations. Forms can be created at the Board level and made accessible to users. Once a user submits a form, a relevant task is automatically generated at the Board level. Teams can then pick up these tasks and work on them completely. Upon completion, the user is notified about the result. Additionally, automation can be applied to further streamline and automate the form handling process.
- Form Grouping and Access Levels: Forms can be organized based on various levels, such as Organization, Workspace, workflow, or User. They can also be categorized according to the origin or function of the form, such as HR, Finance, Tech, etc. Users can view the status of forms and have the ability to edit or delete them as needed.
- Private vs. Public Forms: Forms can be set to either private or public access. Public forms allow any user to submit by accessing a link or embedding the form on third-party sites, similar to Google Forms. Private forms, on the other hand, are restricted and have dedicated pages created by the Kanban Manager or Kanban Team at the board level for more controlled access.
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A typical form can include the following information:
- Name
- Description
- Form Link
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Who can use the Form (Access Type: private or public):
- Current board members
- Members from this project
- Members from this workspace
- Current workspace members
- Members from this organization
- Anyone with the link
- Target Artifact such as Task Group/Task
- Artifact Name
- Artifact Description
- Artifact Priority
- Artifact Category
- Artifact Assignee
- Form Level such as User/Team/Project/Workspace/Organization
- Are form edits allowed after submitting?
- Is form withdrawal allowed after submitting it?
- Created by, Created on will be shown once form is created.
- Form resolution options
- Once forms are submitted, Task Groups/Tasks will be created at the designated location or board for the respective teams. If permitted, the Kanban Manager or a Kanban Team Member can reject the form request before a Task Group or Task is created. In the Backlog and on the Board, an indicator can be displayed to differentiate between auto-generated Task Groups and manually created ones.
- Once approved or completed, the form is considered finished, and the user will be notified. When approving or sending the Task Group for approval, the Kanban Manager or a Kanban Team Member can choose from the resolve options defined during the form setup.
Figures A.3, A.4, and A.5 illustrate how forms can be utilized for cross-team collaboration in Kanban:
Figure A.3: A Variant of Forms used in Kanban (Source: Airtable)
Figure A.3 above shows a digital form interface from Airtable, titled 'New Product Launches,' in edit mode within a workspace. The form includes fields for 'Launch Name,' 'Status,' 'Launch Date,' 'Description,' 'Tags,' 'Start Date,' 'Deadline,' 'Flagged,' and 'Assets,' indicating that it is designed for managing and tracking new product launches.
Figure A.4: A Variant of Forms used in Kanban (Source: Nifty)
Figure A.4 above shows a form for the 'Automation' screen within a Nifty workspace, focused on editing a 'Project Request Form' with specific fields like 'Name (First and Last),' 'Email,' and 'Project Description.' It includes options to mark fields as required and select input types. The interface allows users to customize form fields and their properties to streamline project requests.
Figure A.5: Use of Forms Settings for Flexibility (Source: Vabro)
Figure A.5 above shows a form for the 'Automation' screen within a Nifty workspace, focused on editing a 'Project Request Form' with specific fields like 'Name (First and Last),' 'Email,' and 'Project Description.' It includes options to mark fields as required and select input types. The interface allows users to customize form fields and their properties to streamline project requests.