Stages

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Feature overview

Stages give you one place to see the status of every task in a project and how much of the work is done. You set up the steps of your workflow, such as PRD, Design, or QA, and start tasks in them as work begins. Each stage has two sections: In Progress for work that is underway and Done for work that is finished, so the status of the whole project is visible across the stages. You find Stages in the Stages tab in the project’s top navigation. The project’s tasks are listed on the left. To put a task into a stage, select the task, then click Start in that stage. The task’s name appears in the stage’s In Progress section. When the work is finished, mark the task as done, and it moves to the stage’s Done section, which is collapsed by default so you don’t have to keep looking at finished work. Adding a task to a stage doesn’t change the task, and the task stays in the list on the left. A task can be in more than one stage at the same time, and you can select several tasks and start them in different stages at once. Here is one example. This project uses two stages, Design and QA, but you can set up stages fit your own workflow.

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When to use Stages

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1. Track work through the steps of a workflow

Use stages when your work passes through more than one step and you want to see what is underway at each step.

• Project tracking: A project manager creates PRD, Design, and Build stages to match the phases of a project. As work on each task begins in a phase, the project manager starts the task in that stage. At any point, the project manager can open the Stages tab and see which tasks are in progress in PRD, which are in Design, and which are in Build.
• Content production: A marketing lead creates Draft, Review, and Publish stages for a campaign project. Each piece of content is started in Draft, then in Review when it is ready for feedback. The Review stage shows only the content that is being reviewed now.

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2. Run a task through several steps at once

Use stages when a task needs more than one step to happen at the same time.

• Parallel work: An engineer’s task needs both Build and Test to run side by side. Starting the task in both stages puts it in the In Progress section of each, and it moves to the Done section of each stage as that step is finished.
• Sign-offs: A project manager has a launch announcement that needs both Legal Review and Brand Review. The project manager starts the task in both stages, so it shows in the In Progress section of each. Legal can finish its review and move the task to its Done section while Brand Review is still in progress.

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How to use Stages

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Open Stages

Open a project and click the Stages tab in the top navigation. The project’s tasks are listed on the left.

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Create a stage

Anyone can create stages in a project.

1. Open the Stages tab.
2. Click +Add Stage.

The new stage appears with an In Progress section and a Done section.

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Change the order of stages

You can move a stage left or right to change where it sits among the other stages. For example, if you created Design before PRD, you can move Design so that it comes after PRD.

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Start a task in a stage

1. In the Stages tab, select a task in the list on the left.
2. In the stage you want, click Start.

The task’s name appears in the stage’s In Progress section. The task stays in the list on the left, and nothing about the task changes. To start the same task in another stage, select it again and click Start in that stage. To start several tasks at once, select all of them, then click Start in a stage. Repeat this for each stage you want the tasks to be in.

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Read a task’s comments next to the stage

Click a task, either in the list on the left or in a stage. The task opens in a tab next to the stage, so you can read its comments while you look at the stages.

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Finish a task in a stage

When the work on a task is finished in a stage, mark the task as done in that stage. The task moves from the stage’s In Progress section to its Done section. The Done section is collapsed by default, so finished tasks stay out of view. Expand the section to see them. A task that is done in one stage stays in the In Progress section of any other stage it is in.

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Stop a task in a stage

If a task shouldn’t be in a stage anymore, stop it there. The task is removed from the stage’s In Progress section. It stays in the list on the left, and you can start it in the stage again later.

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Bring a finished task back

If a task in a Done section needs more work, click Mark pending. The task moves back to the stage’s In Progress section.

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What you can do with a task in a stage

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FAQ

Where do I find Stages? In the Stages tab in the project’s top navigation. This is the only way to open it. Who can create stages in a project? Anyone can create stages in a project. Does starting a task in a stage change the task? No. The task stays in the list on the left, and nothing about it changes. Can a task be in more than one stage at the same time? Yes. Start the task in each stage you want. It appears in the In Progress section of each one. Can I start several tasks in a stage at once? Yes. Select the tasks, then click Start in the stage. To put the same tasks in other stages, click Start in those stages too. Does finishing a task in one stage affect its other stages? No. Each stage tracks the task separately. If a task is done in Design, it stays in progress in QA until you finish it there. What is the difference between stopping a task and marking it as done in a stage? Stopping a task removes it from the stage’s In Progress section. Marking it as done moves it to the stage’s Done section. Can I reopen a task that I marked as done in a stage? Yes. Click Mark pending on the task in the Done section, and it moves back to In Progress. Can I change the order of stages after I create them? Yes. Move a stage left or right to change its position. Can I read a task’s comments while I look at a stage? Yes. Click the task, either in the list on the left or in a stage, and it opens in a tab next to the stage.

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Troubleshooting

A task I marked as done is gone from the stage’s In Progress section The task moved to the stage’s Done section, which is collapsed by default. Expand the Done section to see it. I started a task in a stage, but it is still in the list on the left This is expected. The list on the left shows the project’s tasks, and adding a task to a stage doesn’t change the task. Look for the task’s name in the stage’s In Progress section. A task I stopped is no longer in the stage Stopping a task removes it from the stage’s In Progress section. The task is still in the list on the left. Select it and click Start in the stage to put it back. A task in the Done section needs more work Click Mark pending on the task. It moves back to the stage’s In Progress section.