Creating Projects

Understanding Projects in Verk

Projects are the foundation of how you organize work in Verk. Think of them as dedicated spaces where related tasks live together. Whether you're managing a product launch, tracking client work, or organizing personal goals, projects help you keep everything structured and accessible.

Why use projects?

Without projects, all your tasks would exist in one massive list. That works when you have five tasks, but not when you have fifty or five hundred. Projects give you:

• Context separation: Client A's tasks stay separate from Client B's tasks
• Team focus: Your marketing team sees marketing projects, not engineering projects
• Custom workflows: Apply different task schemas (custom fields) to different types of work
• Better filtering: Quickly find what matters by filtering to a specific project
• Progress tracking: See how close you are to completing each major initiative

Projects in Verk are visible to everyone in your organization by default. This transparency helps teams stay aligned on priorities and progress. If you need private work tracking, consider creating a separate organization for personal use.

What you'll need

Before creating your first project, make sure you have:

• An active Verk account with organization access
• Member, Admin, or Owner role (Guest users cannot create projects)
• A clear understanding of what work you want to organize

Creating Your First Project

Step 1: Open the project creation dialog

There are two ways to create a new project in Verk:

From the sidebar:

1. Look for the "Projects" section in the left sidebar
2. Click the "+" icon next to the "Projects" heading
3. The project creation dialog will open

From any project view:

1. Navigate to your organization's dashboard
2. Look for the "Create Project" button
3. Click it to open the creation dialog

The project creation dialog is a simple form that captures the essential details of your new project. It's designed to be quick - you can create a project in under 30 seconds and refine the details later.

Step 2: Choose a project icon

The first thing you'll see in the project creation dialog is the icon selector. Project icons serve two purposes:

1. Visual identification: Icons help you quickly spot projects in lists, filters, and task views
2. Personality: A well-chosen icon makes your project feel more tangible and distinct

Icon options:

Default icons: Verk provides over 200 built-in icons covering common project types:

• Work categories (briefcase, code, design, analytics, document)
• Goal types (rocket, target, trophy, chart, flag)
• Team functions (users, megaphone, tools, headphones)
• Content types (document, image, video, file)
• Technology (database, server, cloud, api)
• And many more

To select an icon:

1. Click the icon preview in the dialog (shows a default icon)
2. Use the search box to filter icons by name (e.g., "rocket", "chart")
3. Scroll through the icon grid to browse all options
4. Click any icon to select it
5. The icon updates immediately in the preview

Emojis: If you prefer emojis over icons:

1. Click the icon preview to open the selector
2. Click the emoji button (smiley face icon) in the top right
3. Search using emoji keywords or browse categories
4. Click any emoji to select it
5. The emoji replaces the icon immediately

Emojis work great for projects with strong thematic elements. Examples:

• Use a rocket for a launch project
• Use a book for documentation
• Use a chart for analytics work
• Use a pizza for the office lunch coordination project
• Use a flag for milestone tracking

Custom colors: Every icon and emoji can be customized with a background color:

1. Click the icon preview to open the selector
2. Choose from six pre-defined colors at the top:
   • Blue (default - professional, neutral)
   • Green (success, growth, nature)
   • Amber (warning, attention, energy)
   • Red (urgent, important, critical)
   • Pink (creative, design, marketing)
   • Purple (premium, strategy, planning)
3. Or click the palette icon for a full color picker with unlimited colors

The full color picker lets you choose any hex color, giving you complete control over your project's appearance. This is useful for:

• Color-coding projects by client (one color per client)
• Matching brand colors (use client's brand color for their project)
• Department conventions (green for sales, blue for engineering)
• Priority levels (red for P0, amber for P1, blue for P2)

Custom images (editing only): When editing an existing project, you can upload a custom image to replace the icon:

1. Open the project you want to edit
2. Click the three-dot menu in the project header
3. Select "Edit Project"
4. Click the icon preview
5. Click the image upload button (only visible when editing)
6. Select a PNG, JPEG, WEBP, or SVG file (max 5MB)
7. The image uploads and replaces the icon

Custom images are great for:

• Client logos on client projects (shows brand at a glance)
• Product logos on product development projects
• Department logos on departmental projects
• Brand consistency across your organization
• Professional appearance when sharing screens with stakeholders

Note that custom image upload is only available when editing existing projects, not during initial creation. This is intentional - it ensures projects are created quickly without getting stuck on finding the perfect image. Create the project first, add a custom image later if needed.

Step 3: Name your project

The project name is the most important piece of information. It appears everywhere: sidebar navigation, task lists, filters, reports, and notifications.

Good project names are:

Clear and specific: "Website Redesign 2024" beats "Website Project"

• Anyone reading it understands the scope
• The year indicates this is time-bound work
• It's specific enough to distinguish from future website projects
• No ambiguity about what's included

Action-oriented: "Launch Mobile App" beats "Mobile App"

• Makes the goal explicit
• Creates urgency and focus
• Tells people what success looks like
• Implies a clear endpoint

Concise but complete: "Q1 Marketing Campaign" beats "Marketing"

• Short enough to scan quickly (fits in sidebar)
• Specific enough to be meaningful
• Includes temporal context when relevant
• Won't get truncated in UI lists

Consistently formatted: Pick a naming convention and stick to it

Client-based format:

• "[Client Name] - [Project Type]" → "Acme Corp - Website Redesign"
• "[Client Name] - [Service]" → "TechStart - Mobile Development"
• "[Client] - [Phase]" → "BigCo - Discovery Phase"

Department-based format:

• "[Department] - [Initiative]" → "Sales - Q1 Lead Generation"
• "[Team] - [Goal]" → "Engineering - API Migration"
• "[Function] - [Period]" → "Marketing - Holiday Campaign"

Product-based format:

• "[Product] - [Version/Goal]" → "iOS App - Version 2.0"
• "[Feature] - [Epic]" → "Search - ML Integration"
• "[Platform] - [Initiative]" → "Web App - Performance Optimization"

Time-based format:

• "Q1 2024 - [Initiative]" → "Q1 2024 - Product Launch"
• "[Year] - [Goal]" → "2024 - Market Expansion"
• "[Month] [Initiative]" → "January Content Calendar"

Character limits and formatting:

• Maximum length: 255 characters
• Optimal length: 20-50 characters (fits everywhere without truncation)
• Special characters: Allowed (use colons, dashes, parentheses)
• Emojis: Allowed (but consider if they'll age well)
• Numbers and dates: Encouraged (helps with sorting and context)

Using numbers and dates in names:

Including numbers provides natural sorting and temporal context:

• "2024 Product Launch" automatically sorts chronologically by year
• "Phase 1: Discovery" clearly indicates sequence (Phase 1, 2, 3)
• "Q1 Marketing Campaign" groups quarterly work together
• "Sprint 15" shows iteration number at a glance
• "v2.0 Development" indicates version clearly

Real-world examples:

E-commerce company:

• "Q4 2024 - Holiday Sale Campaign"
• "Product Catalog - Image Optimization"
• "Mobile App - Checkout Flow Redesign"

Consulting firm:

• "Acme Corp - Digital Transformation"
• "TechStart - Strategy Consulting Q1"
• "BigCo - Implementation Phase 2"

SaaS startup:

• "v3.0 - New Dashboard Launch"
• "Engineering - Infrastructure Migration"
• "Marketing - Demand Generation 2024"

Agency:

• "Client: Nike - Social Media Q1"
• "Client: Adidas - Website Refresh"
• "Internal - Team Skill Development"

Step 4: Add a description

The description field is optional but highly recommended. While the project name identifies the project, the description explains it. This becomes invaluable three months into the project when new team members join or six months later when someone asks "why did we do this?"

What to include in project descriptions:

Project purpose (the "why"): Why does this project exist?

• "Redesign our company website to improve conversion rates and reflect our new brand identity"
• "Coordinate the launch of our mobile app across iOS and Android platforms to expand market reach"
• "Manage ongoing customer support requests for our enterprise clients to maintain high satisfaction"
• "Migrate legacy infrastructure to cloud-based systems to reduce costs and improve reliability"

Scope boundaries (what's in and out): What's included and what's not?

• "Includes homepage, product pages, and blog. Excludes customer portal redesign (that's a separate project in Q2)"
• "Covers app development, QA testing, and App Store submission. Marketing launch handled by Marketing team in separate project"
• "Focus on priority 1 features only. Nice-to-haves moved to v2.1 project"
• "North American launch only. European expansion is tracked separately"

Key stakeholders (who's involved): Who needs to be on this project?

• "Design team: Sarah Chen and Mike Rodriguez. Development: Emma Williams and Chris Brown. Stakeholder: VP of Marketing Jennifer Lee"
• "Client contact: John Smith at Acme Corp (john@acme.com). Internal lead: Project Manager Jennifer Davis"
• "Cross-functional team: Engineering (5), Design (2), Product (1), QA (2)"
• "External vendors: CloudHost (infrastructure), DesignCo (branding)"

Timeline context (when things happen): When does this need to happen?

• "Target completion: End of Q2 2024. Hard deadline: Must launch before June 15 industry conference"
• "Ongoing project with no fixed end date. Review priorities monthly in team sync meetings"
• "Sprint-based: 2-week iterations running Jan-March. Final launch date: March 31"
• "Phased approach: Discovery (2 weeks), Design (4 weeks), Development (8 weeks), Testing (2 weeks)"

Success criteria (how you'll know you're done): What does "done" look like?

• "Success = new site live with page load under 2 seconds, mobile-friendly score 95+, and 15% increase in demo requests within first month"
• "Complete when app approved in both App Store and Play Store with zero critical bugs in first week"
• "Done when all legacy data migrated, old system decommissioned, and team trained on new system"
• "Successful launch = 500 sign-ups in first week, 4.5+ star rating, zero P0 bugs"

Links to resources (where to find more info): Connect to relevant documents, tools, channels:

• "Full project brief: [link to Google Doc]. Design files: [link to Figma]. Dev docs: [link to Notion]"
• "Slack channel: project-website-2024. Weekly meeting: Tuesdays 2pm. Meeting notes: [link]"
• "Client assets: [Dropbox folder]. Brand guidelines: [link]. Previous work: [link to past project]"
• "Sprint board: [Jira link]. Staging environment: [URL]. Production: [URL]"

Formatting in descriptions:

The description field supports plain text with automatic URL linking:

• Write naturally with line breaks for readability
• Use bullet points with dashes (-) or numbers (1.)
• Include URLs - Verk automatically makes them clickable
• Keep paragraphs short for scannability
• Use bold for emphasis: Important note
• Use clear section headers: "Timeline:", "Team:", "Links:"

Description length:

• Maximum: 2,000 characters
• Recommended: 3-5 short paragraphs or 8-10 bullet points
• If you need more space, link to an external document

Template for comprehensive descriptions:

Purpose: [One sentence explaining why this project exists]

Scope:
- [What's included]
- [What's not included]

Team:
- Lead: [Name]
- [Role]: [Names]
- Stakeholder: [Name]

Timeline:
- Start: [Date]
- Key milestones: [List]
- Target completion: [Date]

Success Criteria:
- [Measurable outcome 1]
- [Measurable outcome 2]
- [Measurable outcome 3]

Resources:
- Documents: [links]
- Tools: [links]
- Communication: [Slack channel, etc.]

Notes:
[Any additional context, decisions made, constraints, etc.]

Step 5: Understand project visibility

At the bottom of the creation dialog, you'll see a note: "All the members in the organization can access the project."

This is important: Projects in Verk are organization-scoped, not user-scoped. When you create a project:

• Every member of your organization can see it
• Everyone can view tasks in the project (unless tasks have specific restrictions)
• Members with appropriate permissions (Member, Admin, Owner) can add tasks to it
• Guest users can only see tasks they're assigned to, even in visible projects
• The project appears in everyone's sidebar project list

Why this design?

Verk is built for team collaboration and transparency. Hidden projects create silos, duplicate work, and confusion. When everyone can see what projects exist, teams can:

• Discover related work happening in other teams or departments
• Avoid duplicate efforts by seeing someone else is already working on something
• Understand organizational priorities by seeing what projects are active
• Collaborate across boundaries by finding cross-functional work
• Learn from others by browsing completed projects
• Context switch effectively by seeing all work in one place

What if you need privacy?

If you need truly private task management, you have options:

1. Create a separate organization: Organizations are completely isolated. Create a personal organization for private tasks. You can switch between organizations using the org switcher in the bottom left sidebar. Many users have:

   • Work organization (for company work)
   • Personal organization (for private tasks)
   • Side project organization (for freelance work)

2. Use task-level privacy through assignment: While projects are visible, individual tasks can have restricted visibility through assignee-based permissions. Guest users only see tasks assigned to them, even if they're in a visible project.

3. Consider if you really need privacy: Often what feels like "private" work is just "not relevant to everyone". That's fine - team members naturally focus on projects relevant to their work. A project being visible doesn't mean everyone is watching it. Most people filter to their projects or assigned tasks.

4. Use different organizations for sensitive work: For truly confidential work (HR issues, financial planning, M&A discussions), create a separate organization with restricted membership.

Step 6: Create the project

Once you've filled in the required fields:

1. Click the "Create Project" button at the bottom of the dialog
2. The project is created immediately (usually under 1 second)
3. The dialog closes automatically
4. You're redirected to your new project page
5. A success notification appears: "Project created successfully!"

What happens immediately after creation:

The new project:

• Appears in your sidebar under the "Projects" section
• Has an empty state showing "No tasks yet" with a button to create your first task
• Uses List view by default (you can switch to Table, Kanban, Calendar, or Miro views)
• Uses the default task schema with standard fields (Title, Status, Priority, Due Date, Assignee, Labels)
• Is ready for tasks - you can start adding tasks immediately
• Is visible to all org members - they'll see it in their project lists too
• Has no tasks or custom configuration - it's a blank slate ready for you to shape

Project Creation Best Practices

Start with a template mindset

Before creating projects, think about common project types in your organization. This helps you establish consistent patterns that make projects easier to navigate and manage.

Client projects: If you work with multiple clients:

• Naming convention: "[Client Name] - [Engagement Type]"
• Icon: Use client logo (custom image) when available, or briefcase icon
• Color: Assign one color per client for easy recognition across projects
• Description template: "Client: [name]. Contact: [person/email]. Start date: [date]. Deliverables: [list]. Budget: [amount]"

Product development projects: For software teams:

• Naming convention: "[Product Name] - [Version/Epic]"
• Icon: Product-related (rocket, code, mobile app)
• Color: One color per product line for visual consistency
• Description template: "Epic: [name]. Timeline: [dates]. Team: [list]. Acceptance criteria: [list]. Success metrics: [metrics]"

Departmental projects: For functional teams:

• Naming convention: "[Department] - [Initiative/Quarter]"
• Icon: Department-relevant (megaphone for marketing, chart for finance, users for HR)
• Color: One color per department
• Description template: "Department: [name]. Owner: [person]. Goals: [list]. KPIs: [metrics]. Stakeholders: [list]"

Campaign projects: For marketing teams:

• Naming convention: "[Campaign Name] - [Channel/Quarter]"
• Icon: Campaign-related (megaphone, target, chart, trend-up)
• Color: One color per quarter or campaign type
• Description template: "Campaign: [name]. Channels: [list]. Budget: [amount]. Timeline: [dates]. Goal: [target metric]. Audience: [description]"

Establish naming conventions early

Naming conventions prevent chaos as you scale from 3 projects to 30 projects:

For time-bound work: Include time in the name for automatic sorting

• "Q1 2024 - Sales Enablement"
• "Website Redesign - H2 2024"
• "Annual Report - FY2024"
• "Sprint 15 - Jan 15-29"

For ongoing work: Indicate it's continuous to set expectations

• "Ongoing - Customer Support"
• "Operations - Daily Tasks"
• "Maintenance - Platform Infrastructure"
• "Recurring - Weekly Reports"

For phased work: Show the sequence clearly

• "Phase 1 - Discovery and Research"
• "Phase 2 - Design and Prototyping"
• "Phase 3 - Development and Launch"
• "Phase 4 - Post-Launch Optimization"

For client work: Lead with client name for sorting

• "Acme Corp - Website Development"
• "TechStart Inc - Mobile App"
• "BigCo LLC - Brand Refresh"
• "StartupXYZ - MVP Development"

Use color strategically

Colors are a powerful organizational tool when used consistently across your organization:

By status:

• Green: Active projects in execution
• Blue: Planning phase projects
• Amber: Projects on hold or at risk
• Red: Urgent or critical projects
• Purple: Completed (before archiving)
• Pink: Experimental or R&D projects

By team/department:

• Blue: Engineering/Technical
• Green: Product Management
• Amber: Design/Creative
• Red: Marketing/Growth
• Purple: Sales/Revenue
• Pink: Operations/Support

By client (if you have few clients):

• Assign one color per client for instant recognition
• Works well when you have 5-10 major clients
• Beyond that, consider using custom images instead
• Update documentation so team knows which color = which client

By priority level:

• Red: P0 - Mission critical, drop everything
• Amber: P1 - High priority, urgent attention
• Blue: P2 - Medium priority, normal schedule
• Green: P3 - Low priority, when time allows

Choose one color system and document it. Train team members on what colors mean. Update project colors as their status changes.

Write descriptions that age well

Descriptions are most valuable months after creation when memory fades and context is lost:

Include decision context: Why was this project approved?

• "Approved after Q4 strategic review. Aligns with company goal of increasing MRR by 30% in 2024"
• "CEO-requested initiative following customer feedback analysis showing 60% churn due to onboarding friction"
• "Emergency project to address security vulnerability discovered in audit"
• "Follows successful pilot with Acme Corp. Scaling to 5 more enterprise customers"

Link to artifacts: Connect to living documents that provide more detail

• "Project brief: [URL to Google Doc with full scope]"
• "Kickoff slides: [URL to deck with stakeholder presentations]"
• "Slack channel: project-website-redesign"
• "Meeting notes: [URL to running doc]"
• "Design mockups: [URL to Figma]"
• "Technical spec: [URL to Notion/Confluence]"

Name key people with roles and contact info: Who does what and how to reach them?

• "Project lead: Sarah Chen (sarah@company.com, ext 1234)"
• "Stakeholder: Mike Johnson, VP Product (mike@company.com)"
• "Client contact: Jennifer Lee at Acme Corp (jennifer@acme.com)"
• "Technical lead: Chris Martinez (chris@company.com)"
• "Budget approver: Finance Director Alex Wong"

Update descriptions as projects evolve: Descriptions aren't set in stone - keep them current

• Add outcomes when projects complete: "COMPLETED Mar 15, 2024: Launched on time. Achieved 18% conversion increase (target was 15%)"
• Note major pivots: "UPDATE Mar 2024: Scope reduced to MVP due to timeline constraints. Full feature set moved to Phase 2"
• Link to retrospectives: "Retrospective notes: [URL]. Key learning: start testing earlier"
• Track major decisions: "DECISION Feb 12: Switched from vendor A to vendor B due to cost. See decision doc: [URL]"

Know when NOT to create a project

Projects add structure, but too many projects creates clutter and confusion. Don't create a project if:

It's really a single task: "Buy new office chairs" doesn't need a project. It's one task in your Operations or Admin project. Projects should contain multiple related tasks, not be containers for single actions.

It's temporary brainstorming: Use a shared document, whiteboard, or chat for idea generation. Create the project once ideas solidify into actual work with tasks, owners, and timelines.

It duplicates an existing project: Before creating "Mobile App - Phase 2", check if you can rename "Mobile App - Phase 1" to just "Mobile App" and continue using it. One ongoing project often works better than creating new projects for each phase.

It's better represented by labels or filters: If you're creating projects just to tag tasks (like "High Priority", "Bug Fixes", "Quick Wins"), use task labels or filters instead. Projects should represent substantial bodies of work with dedicated focus, not categories.

It'll be empty for weeks: Don't create projects speculatively. Create them when you have tasks ready to add or within a week of starting work. Empty projects clutter the sidebar and create maintenance overhead.

It's someone else's work you shouldn't be tracking: If another team owns the work and tracks it in their own project, don't create a duplicate. Link to their project or add a task in your project that references theirs.

Common Project Types and Examples

Example 1: Client project

Name: Acme Corp - Website Redesign

Icon: Briefcase icon with blue background (or Acme logo if available as custom image)

Description:

Client website redesign project for Acme Corp's corporate site.

Client contact: John Smith (john@acmecorp.com, +1-555-0123)
Project lead: Sarah Chen (Product Design)
Timeline: Feb 1 - Apr 30, 2024
Budget: $75,000
Contract value: $85,000

Scope:
- Homepage redesign with hero section and case studies
- Product pages (5 products: Solutions A-E)
- About Us and Contact pages
- Blog template (3 layouts: post, gallery, video)
- Mobile responsive (test on iOS, Android, tablets)
- SEO optimization (meta tags, structured data, sitemap)

Out of scope:
- E-commerce functionality (planned for Phase 2 in Q3)
- Customer portal redesign (separate project: Acme Corp - Portal)
- Blog content migration (client handling internally)

Success criteria:
- Launch by Apr 30, 2024 (hard deadline for trade show)
- Page load time under 2 seconds on 4G connection
- Mobile-friendly test passing (Google PageSpeed 90+)
- Client sign-off on all pages before launch
- Zero critical bugs first week post-launch

Resources:
- Design files: https://figma.com/project-acme-redesign
- Brand guidelines: https://drive.google.com/acme-brand
- Slack channel: #project-acme-redesign
- Weekly sync: Thursdays 2pm PT
- Staging site: https://staging.acmecorp.com

Tasks you might create:

• Kickoff meeting with Acme stakeholders
• Discovery call to understand business goals
• Content audit of existing site
• Competitor analysis (5 direct competitors)
• Sitemap and information architecture
• Wireframes for homepage (mobile + desktop)
• Wireframes for product pages
• Design mockups - Homepage (3 concepts)
• Client review - Round 1 design concepts
• Design revisions based on feedback
• Design mockups - Product pages
• Design mockups - Blog template
• Design mockups - About and Contact
• Client review - Final design approval
• Development - Homepage (HTML/CSS)
• Development - Product pages
• Development - Blog template
• Development - About and Contact pages
• Mobile responsive testing (iOS/Android)
• Cross-browser testing (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge)
• SEO implementation (meta tags, structured data)
• Client UAT testing week
• Bug fixes from UAT
• Content migration support
• Final client sign-off
• Production deployment
• Post-launch monitoring (week 1)
• Project retrospective

Example 2: Product development project

Name: Mobile App - v2.0 Launch

Icon: Rocket icon with green background

Description:

Launch version 2.0 of our iOS and Android mobile apps with major new features requested by enterprise customers.

Product lead: Mike Johnson (mike@company.com)
Engineering lead: Emma Williams (emma@company.com)
Design lead: Chris Brown (chris@company.com)
QA lead: Pat Kim (pat@company.com)

Timeline: Q1 2024 (Jan 8 - Mar 29)
Sprint schedule: 2-week sprints (6 sprints total)

Key features (must-haves):
- Dark mode support across entire app
- Offline sync for core functionality (tasks, projects, comments)
- Push notifications (in-app activity, task assignments, mentions)
- In-app messaging between team members
- Biometric authentication (Face ID, Touch ID, fingerprint)

Nice-to-haves (if time permits):
- Voice commands for creating tasks
- Widget for home screen
- Apple Watch companion app

Launch requirements:
- App Store approval (iOS) - submit by Mar 15
- Play Store approval (Android) - submit by Mar 15
- Marketing site updated with v2.0 info
- User documentation complete (in-app help, video tutorials)
- Support team trained on new features
- Migration plan for existing users
- Rollout plan (10% → 50% → 100% over 2 weeks)

Success metrics:
- Zero P0/P1 critical bugs in first week
- 4.5+ star rating maintained in both stores
- 80% of active users upgrade within 30 days
- 95% crash-free rate
- Support tickets < 20% increase from baseline

Resources:
- Product spec: https://notion.com/mobile-v2-spec
- Design system: https://figma.com/design-system
- Technical architecture: https://confluence.com/tech-arch
- Sprint board: https://jira.com/mobile-v2
- Slack channel: #mobile-v2
- Daily standups: 10am PT
- Sprint planning: Every other Monday
- Sprint retros: Every other Friday

Tasks you might create:

• Technical architecture review
• Database schema updates for new features
• API endpoint development - Dark mode preferences
• API endpoint development - Offline sync
• API endpoint development - Push notifications
• API endpoint development - In-app messaging
• Dark mode UI implementation - iOS
• Dark mode UI implementation - Android
• Offline sync logic - Core data models
• Offline sync - Conflict resolution
• Push notification setup - iOS (APNs)
• Push notification setup - Android (FCM)
• In-app messaging - UI components
• In-app messaging - Real-time sync
• Biometric auth - iOS Face ID/Touch ID
• Biometric auth - Android fingerprint
• Unit tests - Dark mode
• Unit tests - Offline sync
• Unit tests - Push notifications
• Unit tests - Messaging
• Unit tests - Biometric auth
• Integration tests - End-to-end flows
• App Store listing copy and screenshots
• Play Store listing copy and screenshots
• Beta testing recruitment (50 users)
• Beta testing - TestFlight setup (iOS)
• Beta testing - Internal testing track (Android)
• Beta feedback collection and triage
• Beta bug fixes - Critical issues
• Beta bug fixes - High priority issues
• Marketing site updates - Feature pages
• Marketing site updates - Screenshots
• User documentation - In-app help articles
• User documentation - Video tutorials (3)
• Support team training session
• Support team - FAQ document
• App Store submission - iOS
• Play Store submission - Android
• Monitor approval status - Daily checks
• Migration testing - Existing users
• Rollout plan documentation
• Production deployment - 10% rollout
• Monitor metrics - First 24 hours
• Production deployment - 50% rollout
• Monitor metrics - 48 hours
• Production deployment - 100% rollout
• Post-launch monitoring - Week 1
• Post-launch bug triage
• Post-launch performance analysis
• v2.0 retrospective meeting

Example 3: Marketing campaign project

Name: Q2 2024 - Product Launch Campaign

Icon: Megaphone icon with amber background

Description:

Integrated marketing campaign for the launch of our new enterprise features: Advanced Security, SSO, Custom Integrations, and Dedicated Support.

Campaign lead: Jessica Martinez (jessica@company.com)
Content: David Lee (david@company.com)
Design: Priya Patel (priya@company.com)
Demand gen: Marcus Johnson (marcus@company.com)

Timeline: Apr 1 - Jun 30, 2024
Launch event: May 15, 2024 (virtual conference)
Budget: $150,000

Campaign goals:
- 500 qualified enterprise leads (company size 500+ employees)
- 50 product demos booked
- 10 enterprise contracts signed ($50k+ ACV each)
- 20% increase in brand awareness (enterprise segment)
- 5,000 webinar registrations across series

Target audience:
- Companies: 500+ employees
- Industries: SaaS, Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing
- Job titles: CTO, VP Engineering, Director IT, CISO, VP Operations
- Pain points: Security compliance, team collaboration at scale, integration needs

Channels and tactics:
- Email marketing: 5-email nurture sequence to existing database (12k contacts)
- LinkedIn ads: Sponsored content + InMail (targeting enterprise decision makers)
- Industry conferences: Booth presence at 3 events (RSA, AWS Summit, SaaStr)
- PR outreach: 15 tech publications + analyst briefings
- Webinar series: 4 webinars (one per feature + overview)
- Content marketing: 3 whitepapers, 5 case studies, 10 blog posts
- Partner co-marketing: 3 integration partner joint webinars

Success metrics by channel:
- Email: 25% open rate, 5% click rate, 100 SQLs
- LinkedIn: 50k impressions, 500 clicks, 50 SQLs
- Conferences: 200 booth conversations, 75 qualified leads
- PR: 10 placements in tier 1/2 publications
- Webinars: 1,000 avg attendees per webinar, 200 SQLs
- Content: 5,000 downloads, 50 SQLs

Resources:
- Campaign brief: https://docs.google.com/campaign-brief
- Creative assets: https://drive.google.com/enterprise-campaign
- Landing page: https://company.com/enterprise
- Webinar recordings: https://youtube.com/playlist-enterprise
- Slack channel: #campaign-q2-enterprise
- Weekly sync: Wednesdays 1pm PT
- Campaign dashboard: https://analytics.company.com/q2-campaign

Tasks you might create:

• Campaign kickoff meeting
• Finalize campaign messaging and positioning
• Create buyer persona documents (3 personas)
• Competitive analysis for enterprise features
• Design email templates (5 variations)
• Write email sequence - Email 1 (awareness)
• Write email sequence - Email 2 (problem)
• Write email sequence - Email 3 (solution)
• Write email sequence - Email 4 (social proof)
• Write email sequence - Email 5 (CTA + urgency)
• Design email graphics and headers
• Set up LinkedIn ad campaigns (3 campaigns)
• Write LinkedIn ad copy (10 variations)
• Design LinkedIn ad creative (static + carousel)
• Set up LinkedIn retargeting audiences
• Book conference booth spaces (3 conferences)
• Design booth graphics and signage
• Order booth swag and promotional materials
• Schedule conference booth staff
• Create conference lead capture process
• Schedule 4 webinar dates (May 1, 15, 29, Jun 12)
• Recruit webinar speakers (internal + customers)
• Create webinar slide decks (4 decks)
• Design webinar graphics and social cards
• Set up webinar registration pages (4 pages)
• Write webinar promotional emails
• Create webinar social media posts (20 posts)
• Write PR pitch and press release
• Compile media contact list (50 journalists)
• Send PR pitches to tier 1 publications
• Send PR pitches to tier 2 publications
• Brief industry analysts (Gartner, Forrester)
• Design landing page mockups
• Develop landing page (conversion-optimized)
• Write landing page copy (hero, features, social proof, CTA)
• Set up A/B tests for landing page
• Develop lead magnet: Security whitepaper
• Develop lead magnet: ROI calculator
• Write case study - Financial services customer
• Write case study - Healthcare customer
• Write case study - SaaS customer
• Write blog post - Enterprise security trends
• Write blog post - Scaling team collaboration
• Write blog post - Integration best practices
• Schedule partner co-marketing webinars (3)
• Create social media calendar (90 posts)
• Design social graphics (15 templates)
• Set up marketing automation workflows
• Configure lead scoring model
• Weekly campaign performance review
• Mid-campaign optimization (based on data)
• Post-campaign analysis and ROI calculation
• Campaign retrospective meeting

Example 4: Operational project

Name: Ongoing - Customer Support

Icon: Headphones icon with purple background

Description:

Ongoing customer support ticket management, resolution, and customer success activities.

Support lead: Kevin Park (kevin@company.com)
Team: 8 support specialists (3 per shift for 24/7 coverage)
Hours: 24/7 support (Follow-the-sun model: US, EU, APAC teams)

Support channels:
- In-app chat (primary)
- Email (support@company.com)
- Phone (enterprise customers only: +1-800-SUPPORT)
- Community forum (community.company.com)

SLAs by customer tier:
Free tier:
- First response: 48 hours
- Resolution target: 5 business days
- Channels: Email, community only

Pro tier:
- First response: 8 hours
- Resolution target: 2 business days
- Channels: Email, in-app chat, community

Enterprise tier:
- First response: 2 hours
- Resolution target: 1 business day
- Channels: All (including phone)
- Dedicated support rep assigned

Metrics tracked (reviewed weekly):
- First response time (target: beat SLA by 20%)
- Resolution time (target: beat SLA by 20%)
- Customer satisfaction (CSAT) (target: 4.5+ / 5.0)
- Net Promoter Score (NPS) (target: 50+)
- Ticket volume trends (identify spikes)
- Top 10 issues (inform product roadmap)
- Knowledge base article usage
- Self-service resolution rate (target: 40%)

Escalation process:
Bug reports:
- Document in ticket with repro steps
- Tag as "Bug Report"
- Escalate to Engineering team via #engineering-bugs Slack
- Follow up for fix timeline
- Update customer when fixed

Feature requests:
- Document in ticket with use case
- Tag as "Feature Request"
- Add to Feature Request board in product management
- Follow up with customer quarterly on status

Billing issues:
- Tag as "Billing Issue"
- Escalate to Finance team (email: billing@company.com)
- Response required within 4 hours

Enterprise customer issues:
- Immediately notify Account Manager
- CC Enterprise Support Lead
- Phone follow-up within 1 hour
- Document in CRM (Salesforce)

Resources:
- Support documentation: https://help.company.com
- Internal knowledge base: https://confluence.company.com/support-kb
- Ticket system: Zendesk (zendesk.company.com)
- Playbooks: https://confluence.company.com/support-playbooks
- Slack channel: #team-support
- Daily standup: 9am PT (US team), 9am CET (EU team), 9am SGT (APAC team)
- Weekly metrics review: Fridays 10am PT
- Escalation contacts: On-call rotation in PagerDuty

Tasks you might create (recurring and one-off):

• Monday: Review weekend ticket queue
• Daily: Triage new tickets (priority assignment)
• Daily: Follow up on pending tickets
• Daily: Update status of escalated tickets
• Customer inquiry: Login issues (Acme Corp user)
• Bug report: Export failing for large CSV files
• Feature request: Calendar view for task deadlines
• Billing question: Upgrade to Enterprise plan details
• Technical issue: API integration not syncing properly
• Password reset: User locked out of account
• Account management: Change primary admin user
• Data export request: Customer wants full data download
• Integration help: Setting up Slack integration
• Training request: New team member onboarding
• Enterprise escalation: System downtime affecting client
• Documentation update: Add OAuth 2.0 setup guide
• Knowledge base article: How to set up SSO
• Weekly support metrics report and dashboard
• Weekly top issues analysis (inform product team)
• Monthly customer satisfaction survey
• Monthly NPS survey
• Quarterly playbook review and updates
• Train new support team member: Product overview
• Train new support team member: Ticket system
• Train new support team member: Escalation process
• Update canned responses for common questions
• Review and improve response templates
• Audit ticket tags and categories (maintain consistency)
• Test knowledge base links (fix broken links)

Project Settings

Essential Project Configuration

After creating a project, configure these key settings:

Access Settings → Project Settings by:

• Clicking the gear icon in the project header
• Or selecting "Project Settings" from the project menu

Key Settings to Configure

Project visibility:

• Private - Only invited team members can see this project
• Team - Everyone in your team can see it
• Organization - Anyone in your organization has access

Default task settings:

• Auto-assign - Automatically assign new tasks to someone
• Default priority - Set standard priority (usually Medium)
• Required fields - Which fields must be filled out for every task
• Task prefix - Automatic task IDs like "WEB-001", "BLOG-042"

Workflow configuration:

• Status columns - Customize your workflow stages
• Completion rules - What happens when tasks are marked done
• Approval requirements - If tasks need sign-off before completion

Advanced Project Options

Custom statuses: Create workflow stages that match how your team actually works.

Default statuses (To Do, In Progress, Done) work for many teams, but you might need:

• Review - For work awaiting feedback
• Blocked - Tasks waiting on external dependencies
• Testing - Development work in QA
• Client Review - Waiting for client approval
• Deployed - For completed technical work

To add custom statuses:

1. Go to Project Settings → "Workflow"
2. Click "Add Status"
3. Name your status and choose a color
4. Set status type - In Progress, Completed, or On Hold
5. Save changes

Project Organization Strategies

By Team or Department

Create projects aligned with your organizational structure.

Team-based projects:

• Engineering Team - All technical work
• Marketing Team - All marketing activities
• Design Team - All design projects
• Operations Team - Internal operations work

Benefits:

• Clear ownership - Team naturally owns their project
• Easy workload tracking - See everything on a team's plate
• Simplified reporting - Team performance in one place

Best for: Companies with distinct functional teams working on varied tasks.

By Goal or Initiative

Group work around specific outcomes or objectives.

Goal-based projects:

• Launch Mobile App - Everything needed for app launch
• Expand to Europe - All international expansion work
• Reduce Support Tickets 30% - Initiative-focused work
• Improve Website Performance - Specific improvement goal

Benefits:

• Clear focus - Everything serves the same goal
• Cross-functional - Different team members working toward same outcome
• Progress visibility - Easy to show goal advancement

Best for: Organizations working on specific initiatives with defined outcomes.

By Client or Customer

Organize all work for each client in separate projects.

Client-based projects:

• Client: ACME Corp - Website
• Client: TechStart - Mobile App
• Client: DesignCo - Brand Refresh

Benefits:

• Client visibility - All client work in one place
• Easy reporting - Show clients exactly what's been done
• Billing clarity - Track time and tasks per client
• Context retention - All client communication and files together

Best for: Agencies, consultancies, and service businesses with multiple clients.

By Time Period

Organize projects around specific timeframes.

Time-based projects:

• Q1 2024 Goals
• Sprint 15 (Jan 15-29)
• March Marketing Activities
• 2024 Annual Initiatives

Benefits:

• Time-bound clarity - Everything has clear start and end
• Natural archiving - Old time periods get archived automatically
• Planning alignment - Matches business planning cycles

Best for: Teams using sprints, quarterly planning, or time-based budgeting.

Project Lifecycle

Active Projects

While projects are active:

• Appear in main project list - Easy to find and access
• Show in task creation - Can assign tasks to these projects
• Contribute to analytics - Included in team metrics and reports
• Receive updates - Team members get notifications

Completing Projects

When work is finished:

1. Review project completion:

• All tasks marked done or moved to other projects
• No outstanding blockers or issues
• Final deliverables approved

2. Mark project as complete:

• Go to Project Settings → "Status"
• Select "Mark as Complete"
• Add completion notes if needed

3. What happens next:

• Project moves to "Completed Projects" section
• No longer appears in active project lists
• Tasks remain accessible but are archived
• Project data preserved for future reference

Archiving Projects

For old or cancelled projects:

Archive when:

• Project is cancelled - Work won't continue
• Project is very old - No longer relevant to current operations
• Need to reduce clutter - Too many completed projects

To archive a project:

1. Project Settings → "Archive Project"
2. Confirm archival - This can be undone later
3. Add archive reason - Note why you're archiving (optional but helpful)

Archived projects:

• Don't appear in lists - Keeps your workspace clean
• Data is preserved - Nothing is deleted
• Can be restored - Unarchive anytime if needed
• Still searchable - Find archived projects via search if needed

Project Duplication

When to Duplicate Projects

Duplication is perfect for:

• Recurring projects - Monthly reports, quarterly campaigns
• Similar client work - Same process for different clients
• Iterative development - Sprint 1, Sprint 2, Sprint 3...
• Proven templates - Turn successful projects into reusable templates

How to Duplicate a Project

1. Open the project you want to copy
2. Click project menu (three dots in header)
3. Select "Duplicate Project"
4. Choose what to copy:

• Tasks - Include all tasks (usually yes)
• Task content - Copy descriptions and comments (optional)
• Dates - Copy due dates or leave blank (your choice)
• Assignees - Keep assignments or clear them (your choice)
• Files - Include attached files (optional)

5. Name your new project
6. Click "Duplicate"

Smart Duplication Options

Date handling:

• Keep relative dates - Tasks due "5 days after start" maintain that relationship
• Clear all dates - Start fresh with new timeline
• Shift dates - Move everything forward by X days/weeks

Assignment handling:

• Keep assignees - Maintain team structure
• Clear assignees - Reassign for new iteration
• Keep roles - Copy role structure but not specific people

Common Project Setup Scenarios

Setting Up a Client Project

For new client work:

1. Create project - "Client: [Name] - [Project Type]"
2. Set project color - Use consistent color for all client work
3. Add custom fields:

• Client Name (text)
• Project Phase (dropdown: Discovery, Design, Development, Launch)
• Hours Budgeted (number)
• Billing Code (text)

4. Invite team members with appropriate roles
5. Set visibility to Private (client work should be controlled)
6. Create task groups for project phases
7. Set up project timeline with key milestones

Setting Up a Sprint Project

For development sprints:

1. Create project - "Sprint 15 (Jan 15-29)"
2. Use Sprint template if available
3. Add custom fields:

• Story Points (number)
• Sprint (dropdown: current and upcoming sprints)
• Component (dropdown: Frontend, Backend, etc.)

4. Set sprint dates as project start/end
5. Configure Kanban board with development workflow columns
6. Import stories from backlog or previous sprint
7. Assign story points and team members

Setting Up a Campaign Project

For marketing campaigns:

1. Create project - "Q4 Product Launch Campaign"
2. Set campaign color and icon
3. Add campaign fields:

• Campaign Type (dropdown)
• Target Audience (dropdown)
• Budget (number with currency)
• Launch Date (date)

4. Create task structure:

• Planning phase tasks
• Creative development
• Execution tasks
• Measurement and reporting

5. Set up approval workflow for creative review
6. Connect integrations (social media, email tools)

Related Documentation

• Project Organization - Learn how to structure tasks and manage team access
• Project Schemas - Set up custom fields specific to your projects
• Project Analytics - Track project progress and team performance
• Task Creation - Master creating tasks within projects

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