Many people often scratch their heads when dealing with complex projects because of the voluminous number of tasks involved. Even in simple to-do lists, keeping track of pending tasks might be difficult, especially when there’s a lot to do. This is why people have designed several task-organizing methods.
Nowadays, you can even purchase dedicated notebook planners with to-do lists. However, you might want something more intuitive if you’re more of a digital person. One example of a popular digital task organizer is Kanban boards. Many apps offer it, including Microsoft Teams. So, in this article, you’ll learn how to create a Kanban board in Teams.
In this article
What Is Kanban?
Before learning to make Kanban boards in Teams, you should know what they are. Of course, effective use comes with an understanding of the basics of the tool you’re using.
Kanban boards are a visual management system primarily geared towards optimizing workflow and improving the team’s efficiency. It was coined by Toyota in the 1940s, with the English translation of the Japanese word “Kanban,” meaning “visual signal” or “card.” So, it means a “visual signal board” or a “cardboard.”
These boards started as Toyota’s means to maintain inventory levels and create a streamlined to-do list for their employees about their manufacturing process. Nowadays, it’s used across different industries. It often includes work stages like “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.”
Compared to other task visual management systems, Kanban focuses on limiting what they call works in progress (or WIP) so the team can stay properly focused.
How To Make a Kanban Board in MS Teams
Now, it’s time to create a Kanban Board in Teams. While MS Teams has its calendar, trying out another visual management system never hurts. After all, the team calendar can be a bit overwhelming, especially with a larger set of tasks. Using a Kanban board can help keep your team focused on the WIP.
Note that Microsoft Teams doesn’t support its own Kanban board system; instead, it relies on third-party apps installed on your account. Whichever app you use, your Kanban boards in Teams should become a tab inside the channels so that you can create different boards for different projects, sub-teams, or groups.
MS Teams, as a team management and productivity tool, will benefit significantly from having Kanban boards. Aside from its already impressive features, the Kanban board can also level up information dissemination and actual work prioritization. If you want to try it out in MS Teams, follow the steps provided below:
Step 1
Inside a channel, click the Add a tab button.
Step 2
This pop-up window appears after performing the previous step. In the search bar, type in “Kanban board” or “Kanban.”
Step 3
Select which app to add to your Teams channel. In this example, “Kanban Task Board” is chosen.
Step 4
On the app store page, click Add and follow the prompts to install it.
Step 5
A new tab with the app’s name should be added to your channel. Now, simply add tasks as provided under To Do, In Progress, and Done.
As you can see, installing Kanban boards in Teams is the hard part of installing them in your channels. Kanban Boards are easy to use as a visual management system. You can efficiently utilize it without worrying about complex operations.
Why Use the Kanban Board in MS Teams
The main reason why you should use MS Teams’ Kanban board apps is simple: because it works for your team. After all, apps are at their best when the team appreciates them or can use them well. So, try out other Kanban board apps before settling in.
Regardless, here are some reasons why you should make Kanban boards in Teams:
Accessible and integrated: If you’re already using Microsoft Teams, having your Kanban boards within it is probably a good choice. This is because your team will no longer have to download other apps or tools to enjoy Kanban boards.
Real-time collaboration (if supported by the third-party app): If the app supports it, your team members can easily add or move tasks within the Kanban board without a problem. It’s also a great feature you should look for before choosing a Kanban board app.
Cost-effective: Since these apps are already included in the Teams license, you won’t have to worry about paying for other tools. This means you can benefit from Kanban boards at no additional cost. Also, it lessens what they call the “tool sprawl” within your organization.
Centralized notifications: If there are changes to the Kanban boards, you can get properly notified within Teams’ notification system. It’s a great feature to make the notifications less cluttered on your team member’s phones or desktops.
How to Make and Use Kanban Board Easier
Using MS Teams as a Kanban board host is probably a good idea if your team has already used the program. However, if your team does not or you don’t like Kanban board apps within MS Teams, what should you use?
The solution is to use Wondershare EdrawMind, a tool with dedicated Kanban board functions and other features to help lessen tool sprawl within your organization. This means that it also offers features like diagramming, mind mapping, and more.
Wondershare EdrawMind is a staple mind-mapping tool that has helped hundreds of millions of users in their diagramming or visual organization journeys. Now, it also supports Kanban boards, which makes it an even more effective task management tool with brainstorming and visualization tools.
To start making Kanban boards with EdrawMind, follow the steps below:
Step 1
Install, download, and launch Wondershare EdrawMind. Log in with a Wondershare, Facebook, Google, Apple, or X account.
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Step 2
On the homepage, go to + Create > Task Kanban.
Step 3
Click + New Card under the different tabs (like To-do, In progress, or Completed.) Note that you can also change the colors of each card using the right-hand panel.
Like with Kanban boards in MS Teams, the only complicated part about these tools is how to set them up. Once you have them ready, Kanban boards are quite easy to understand and work with. However, with EdrawMind, you can quickly access Kanban boards with two simple clicks.
So, if you want a more professional and simpler alternative, choose Wondershare EdrawMind. It’s your all-in-one diagramming and task management tool.
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