Columns boards help you build roadmaps organized by columns. This allows you to simplify complex relationships between objectives, initiatives, and features and plan them against releases or feature statuses. They're great for Kanban boards!
In this article:
- Creating a new columns board
- Adding and adjusting items
- Applying filters and swimlanes
- Searching for items on a columns board
- Adding attributes to roadmap item cards
- See also
Creating a new columns board
To create a new columns board:
- From the Home submenu, hover on a teamspace or folder and click the + Create a new board or folder button which appears next to it. Select Columns from the menu.
- In Board controls, under Items, click Add items to choose the main item type of your columns board. Your options here may differ by plan. Select:
- Objectives for high-level strategic planning.
- Initiatives to connect tactical execution to high-level strategy.
- Features for tactical planning.
- Releases to plan horizons or milestones.
- (Optional) Select other item types to visualize under the main item type by clicking + Add items beneath the main item.
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Select filters, columns, and groups (AKA swimlanes). You can choose from several different item types, including custom fields. When you're ready, click Apply.
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Any items that match your selections and filters will be automatically populated on the board.
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You can rename your board at any time by clicking on the board’s name at the top of the screen or by clicking ••• More actions and selecting the Rename option.
Adding and adjusting items
You can add new main items by hovering over an empty section of the board and clicking + Click to add item. From the menu that appears, you can create a brand new item.
Click the ••• More actions button on any main item and select Add to add new or pre-existing underlying items, assuming your board controls are set up to show underlying items (see below).
Note: If a newly-added item doesn’t match your board’s filters, it will immediately disappear and you’ll see an alert pop up with options.
Changing the main item type and showing underlying items
You can change the main item type of your columns board from the Board controls menu. The item at the top of the list is considered to be your main item, and any below it are considered underlying items.
Adjusting filters, columns, and swimlanes
Use filters and swimlanes to make sure your roadmaps are structured appropriately for their audiences.
Filters
Each board has its own filters, which you can set from the Filter button in the header or from the Board controls menu. See Simple filters on New boards to learn more about how these filters work.
Columns
Every columns board must have a set of columns to organize its items by. You can change the columns at any time from Board controls > Columns.
You can change what datatype is used for the columns with the dropdown at the top of the section.
You can also use the eye icons beside the values below to manually add or hide columns from view. This is helpful when you want to declutter your board by hiding unneeded columns, or when you want to add an empty column to help you assign items to it more easily.
Swimlanes
Group your data into swimlanes from the Groups section within Board controls.
See Organize your New roadmaps (timelines and columns boards) with swimlanes for details.
Searching for items on a columns board
- Click on the search bar to activate the search.
- Type your search input.
- Select your search result and you will be taken to the result’s location on the board.
Adding attributes to roadmap item cards
Card attributes in Productboard allow you to display key information directly on roadmap cards, enhancing visibility and streamlining your workflow. This feature is accessible from the Card customization menu in the top-right corner of your columns board, and is available across all item types.
See Customize your roadmaps with card attributes for details.