Where to start?
If you have just signed up for Kitemaker, It'll look something like this:
That's all you need to get started. Simply press c or the '+' in a column header to create new cards. Put features and bugs you plan to work on in the 'Todo' column, move them to 'In Progress' when you start working on them and move them to 'Done' when they are done.
ctrl/cmd when you press enter to automatically start on new ones. Also, if you want to flesh out a description right away, hold shift when pressing enter. You can also add labels (#), members (@), themes (!), and more directly when creating new cards.The two sample cards in the space can be safely archived and/or deleted when you have read them. They are just there to tell you about some of the features of Kitemaker.
Getting the most out of Kitemaker
We built Kitemaker to first and foremost be a collaboration tool for the team. So to get the best value out of Kitemaker, think of it as a collaboration tool for your teams rather than a management tool (although that is part of it).
Each work item in Kitemaker contains a collaborative document and an activity feed. While other tools center around tasks or issues, Kitemaker works best when you focus on deliverables. That means making each work item about a feature, bug, or something else you plan to ship. Use the description field, a real-time collaborative document, to document the why, what, and how you plan to deliver. You can also break down the work item into tasks using todos (simply type /todo, or use the markdown shortcut [] or x). Then, use the activity feed for discussions.
By adding integrations (find "Manage integrations" in the cogwheel next to you organization, or by pressing cmd/ctrl+k), you will also see activities happening in other tools in Kitemaker, making it a one-stop shop for everything related to whatever feature or bug you are working on.
Adding more structure
At some point in your Kitemaker journey, you most likely want to add more structure. You have a few choices based on your needs:
- Labels (indicated by the #) are great to classify work items. It could be to distinguish bugs, things that are high priority, or work items with user feedback.
- If you have more significant initiatives, you can use themes (read more about themes here). They are similar to work items in that they contain a collaborative document and an activity feed. In addition, themes can have work items added to them and can be organized in a high-level now/next/later roadmap. While themes and labels may seem like similar concepts, the main difference is that themes are initiatives with a start and an end, whereas labels are generally long-long lived and describe some attribute of a work item.
- If you need to prioritize work items, you can add effort and impact. If you also press the "..." on a status column, you can sort the column by effort and impact, with the low-hanging fruits rising to the top and the items with less impact and more effort at the bottom.
- If you need to manage a backlog of work items, add a backlog in your space (find "Add element" in the sidebar). This is another board that allows you to flesh out and prioritize before items are moved to the development cycle. Notice that the rightmost column is the todo column in the 'current' board. This is the easiest way you move things between 'backlog' and 'current.'
m to move a work item to any status column. You can also press shift+alt+m to move to any status column in any space.That's it!