Using Swimlanes in Kanban View 

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Kanban Swimlanes are the Kanban view feature that enables two-dimensional card grouping, similar to a chessboard. Additional horizontal divisions within a Kanban space represent different categories of card grouping.

When there are a large number of tasks to manage, swimlanes can help to break the work down into smaller, more manageable chunks, making it easier to focus on one thing at a time.

Sample usage scenarios

  • multiple teams working on a project – allow each team to track their progress and prioritize their work
  • different priorities or values – group urgent or important tasks together without losing sight of the entire process
  • different locations – allowing teams to focus on tasks that can be completed in their area
  • multiple stages in a process – highlight each stage, making it easier to see where tasks are in the process and what the next steps are

Kanban Swimlanes can be used in a wide range of industries. Overall, the use of this tool will depend on the specific needs and goals of the department, as well as the nature of the work being done.

Understanding card grouping

1. One-dimensional grouping

In the Kanban view, you can group your cards into columns – groupings.

Depending on the selection KanBo will create groupings containing cards that have the same category. 

Types of card grouping to select from:

Learn more about card grouping basics.

2. Two-dimensional grouping

In the Kanban view, you can also group cards in two dimensions at the same time, called Kanban Swimlanes. The horizontal grouping is always present in the Kanban view. Optionally, you can also group vertically.

The following example shows horizontal grouping by status and vertical grouping set to none. See how we add vertical grouping by Lists.

On the left side, you can see Lists and Statuses at the top. Inside the cells, you will see cards that have the same List and Status set.

3. Moving cards between cells

You can move cards not only from left to right, but you can also move cards vertically up and down. All of these moves change the corresponding value selected by the corresponding grouping. If we move a card horizontally and vertically way at the same time, we change two values at once.

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