Verk

Project Organization

Project structure, task organization, member access

Once you've created a project, the next step is organizing it effectively. Good project organization makes work easier to find, helps team members stay coordinated, and keeps projects running smoothly.

Project Structure Basics

Understanding Project Organization

Projects in Verk can be organized in multiple ways:

  • Flat structure - All tasks at the same level (simple projects)
  • Task groups - Tasks organized into sections or phases
  • Hierarchical - Parent tasks with subtasks (complex projects)
  • Custom views - Different team members see different organization based on their needs

Start simple and add structure as needed. Most projects work well with task groups for different phases or types of work.

When to Add Structure

Simple flat list works when:

  • Project has fewer than 20 tasks
  • All tasks are similar types of work
  • Single person or small team working together
  • Short timeline (under 2 weeks)

Add task groups when:

  • Project has multiple phases (Planning, Execution, Review)
  • Different types of work (Design, Development, QA)
  • Tasks need logical grouping for clarity
  • Team needs to focus on specific areas

Use hierarchical structure when:

  • Tasks have clear parent-child relationships
  • Complex deliverables with multiple components
  • Need to track dependencies between major pieces
  • Large projects that benefit from breakdown

Task Groups and Sections

Creating Task Groups

Task groups help organize work into logical sections within your project.

To create task groups:

  1. Click "Add Section" above your task list
  2. Name your section - e.g., "Planning Phase", "Design Tasks", "Development"
  3. Add tasks to the section - Drag existing tasks or create new ones
  4. Reorder sections - Drag section headers to rearrange

Common Task Group Patterns

By project phase:

  • Phase 1: Discovery - Research, requirements, planning tasks
  • Phase 2: Design - Wireframes, mockups, prototypes
  • Phase 3: Development - Build features, integrate systems
  • Phase 4: Testing - QA, user testing, bug fixes
  • Phase 5: Launch - Deployment, communication, monitoring

By work type:

  • Strategy - Planning and decision-making tasks
  • Creative - Design, writing, visual content
  • Technical - Development, configuration, integration
  • Operations - Management, coordination, reporting

By deliverable:

  • Homepage - All tasks for homepage redesign
  • About Page - All tasks for about page
  • Contact Form - All tasks for contact functionality
  • Navigation - All tasks for site navigation

By team:

  • Design Team - All design-related tasks
  • Development Team - All technical tasks
  • Marketing Team - All marketing and communication tasks
  • Client Review - All tasks awaiting client feedback

Managing Task Groups

Group operations:

  • Collapse/expand sections - Click arrow to hide/show tasks
  • Move entire sections - Drag to reorder all tasks together
  • Bulk edit section tasks - Select all tasks in a section quickly
  • Archive completed sections - Clean up finished work

Best practices:

  • Keep sections focused - 5-15 tasks per section works well
  • Use consistent naming - Similar projects should use similar section names
  • Order logically - Arrange sections in workflow order
  • Archive when done - Collapse or archive completed sections

Subtasks and Hierarchies

When to Use Subtasks

Subtasks break large tasks into smaller, manageable pieces.

Great uses for subtasks:

  • Complex deliverables - "Design Homepage" with subtasks for hero, features, footer
  • Multi-step processes - "Launch Product" with subtasks for each launch activity
  • Distributed work - Parent task for manager, subtasks assigned to team members
  • Checklists that need tracking - Each checklist item becomes a subtask

Avoid subtasks for:

  • Simple tasks - "Send email" doesn't need subtasks
  • Unrelated items - Each unrelated task should be separate
  • Too many levels - More than 2 levels deep gets confusing

Creating Subtask Hierarchies

Method 1: Create subtask from parent:

  1. Open parent task details
  2. Click "Add Subtask"
  3. Enter subtask details
  4. Subtask automatically linked to parent

Method 2: Convert existing task:

  1. Drag task slightly right under another task
  2. Task becomes subtask with indentation
  3. Drag back left to make it a top-level task again

Method 3: Bulk create subtasks:

  1. Select multiple tasks
  2. Right-click → "Convert to Subtasks"
  3. Choose parent task
  4. All selected tasks become subtasks

Working with Subtask Hierarchies

Parent task behavior:

  • Shows subtask progress - "3 of 5 subtasks complete"
  • Can't complete until subtasks done - Optional setting to enforce completion order
  • Rollup custom fields - Sum hours, average scores, etc.
  • Affects project progress - Parent tasks contribute to overall progress

Subtask benefits:

  • Clear breakdown - Big task split into clear steps
  • Progress tracking - See exactly what's done and what's left
  • Team coordination - Different people own different subtasks
  • Dependency management - Subtasks can depend on each other

Project Member Management

Adding Team Members to Projects

Invite members to projects:

  1. Click "Members" in project header
  2. Click "Add Member"
  3. Select team member from organization
  4. Choose role - Admin, Member, or Viewer
  5. Send invitation

Project Roles and Permissions

Project Admin:

  • Full project control - Edit project settings, delete project
  • Member management - Add/remove members, change roles
  • Structure changes - Edit custom fields, workflows, schemas
  • Everything Members can do

Project Member:

  • Create and edit tasks - Full task management
  • Comment and collaborate - Participate in discussions
  • View all project data - See everything in the project
  • Cannot change project settings or member roles

Project Viewer:

  • View-only access - See tasks and project data
  • Comment on tasks - Participate in discussions
  • Cannot edit tasks or project structure
  • Perfect for stakeholders and clients who need visibility

Managing Member Access

Access control scenarios:

Client projects:

  • Team members - Project Members role
  • Project manager - Project Admin role
  • Client stakeholders - Viewer role for updates
  • External consultants - Member role with specific task assignments

Internal team projects:

  • Team lead - Project Admin
  • Team members - Project Members
  • Other teams - Viewer role if they need visibility
  • Executives - Viewer role for status monitoring

Sprint or development projects:

  • Scrum master - Project Admin
  • Dev team - Project Members
  • Product owner - Project Admin or Member
  • Stakeholders - Viewer role

Removing Team Members

When team members leave projects:

  1. Go to Project Settings → "Members"
  2. Find the member
  3. Click "Remove"
  4. Choose what happens to their tasks:
  • Reassign tasks - Move their tasks to someone else
  • Unassign tasks - Leave tasks without assignee
  • Keep tasks - Tasks stay assigned but member can't access project

Project Views and Layouts

Default Project View

Set the default view that team members see when opening your project.

To set default view:

  1. Switch to desired view (List, Kanban, Calendar, or Table)
  2. Configure filters and layout
  3. Click "Save as Default View"
  4. All team members see this view when opening project

Consider your team when choosing:

  • Kanban - Great for teams managing workflow states
  • Calendar - Perfect for deadline-driven projects
  • Table - Best for data-heavy projects with lots of custom fields
  • List - Simple, fast for teams focused on completion

Custom Project Views

Create multiple saved views for different purposes:

Common custom views:

  • "My Tasks" - Filtered to show just your assigned work
  • "This Week" - Tasks due in the next 7 days
  • "High Priority" - Urgent items that need attention
  • "Client Review" - Tasks waiting for client feedback
  • "Blocked Items" - Tasks that are stuck

To create custom views:

  1. Apply filters and layout you want
  2. Click "Save View"
  3. Name your view clearly
  4. Set visibility - Private (just you) or Shared (whole team)
  5. Access saved views from view dropdown

View Permissions

Control who sees which views:

  • Personal views - Only visible to you
  • Team views - Shared with all project members
  • Role-specific views - Only visible to certain roles
  • Client-safe views - Hide internal details for external viewers

Task Dependencies

Setting Up Dependencies

Dependencies help manage task relationships and workflow sequencing.

To create dependencies:

  1. Open task details
  2. Click "Add Dependency"
  3. Choose relationship type:
  • Blocked by - This task can't start until another completes
  • Blocks - This task blocks another from starting
  • Related to - Tasks are connected but not dependent
  1. Select the task it depends on
  2. Save

Dependency Types and Uses

Blocker relationships:

  • "Design wireframes" blocks "Build frontend" - Can't code without design
  • "Get approval" blocks "Start development" - Need sign-off first
  • "Install server" blocks "Deploy application" - Infrastructure first

Sequential workflows:

  • Phase 1 tasks block Phase 2 - Complete discovery before design
  • Review blocks launch - Must approve before going live
  • Development blocks testing - Build first, test second

Resource dependencies:

  • "Hire developer" blocks "Assign coding tasks" - Need team member first
  • "Buy license" blocks "Install software" - Need access first

Managing Dependencies

Dependency visualization:

  • Task cards show blockers - Visual indicator of blocked status
  • Dependency view - See all project dependencies as a diagram
  • Critical path highlighting - Shows which tasks affect project timeline

Automatic behaviors:

  • Blocked tasks highlighted - Clear visual status
  • Notifications when unblocked - Team knows when they can start
  • Timeline adjustments - Due dates adjust based on dependencies
  • Warnings for conflicts - Alert if dependencies create problems

File and Document Organization

Project-Level Files

Store project files in organized locations:

To add project files:

  1. Click "Files" tab in project
  2. Create folders for different file types
  3. Upload files via drag-and-drop or file picker
  4. Set permissions for who can access files

Recommended folder structure:

  • Briefs & Requirements - Project documentation
  • Design Assets - Mockups, logos, brand files
  • Development - Code exports, technical specs
  • Client Deliverables - Final files for client
  • Meeting Notes - Project meeting records

File Permissions

Control access to sensitive files:

  • Project-wide - All project members can access
  • Role-based - Only Admins or Members (not Viewers)
  • Specific people - Only invited individuals
  • Password protected - Extra security for sensitive files

Project Templates and Standards

Creating Reusable Project Templates

Turn successful projects into templates:

  1. Complete a project with good structure
  2. Click project menu → "Save as Template"
  3. Choose what to include:
  • Task structure and groups
  • Custom fields and schemas
  • Workflow statuses
  • Member roles (not specific people)
  • File folder structure
  1. Name template clearly
  2. Make available to organization

Template benefits:

  • Consistency - All similar projects have same structure
  • Speed - New projects start instantly
  • Best practices - Proven structure shared across team
  • Training - New team members see standard approach

Organization-Wide Standards

Set standards for all projects:

Naming conventions:

  • Consistent format - "Client: [Name] - [Project Type]"
  • Clear dates - "Q1 2024" or "Sprint 15 (Jan 15-29)"
  • Team indicators - "Engineering: " or "Marketing: " prefixes

Standard custom fields:

  • Core fields everyone uses - Priority, Due Date, Assignee
  • Department-specific fields - Engineering story points, Marketing campaign type
  • Client fields - Client name, billing code, approval status

Workflow standards:

  • Common statuses - To Do, In Progress, Review, Done
  • Approval processes - Standard review workflows
  • Completion criteria - What "Done" means for different task types

Troubleshooting Project Organization

Common Organization Issues

Can't find tasks:

  • Check filters - You might have active filters hiding tasks
  • Expand sections - Tasks might be in collapsed groups
  • Search project - Use project search for specific tasks
  • Check archived - Tasks might be archived

Too many tasks to manage:

  • Add task groups - Break into manageable sections
  • Use subtasks - Group related work under parent tasks
  • Filter views - Create focused views for specific work
  • Archive completed - Remove finished work from active view

Team members confused:

  • Simplify structure - Too much organization can confuse
  • Clear naming - Use descriptive section and task names
  • Standard templates - Consistency helps understanding
  • Document structure - Add project description explaining organization

Performance with Large Projects

Projects with 500+ tasks:

  • Use task groups - Break into smaller sections
  • Limit default view - Show only active or upcoming work
  • Archive regularly - Move completed work out of active project
  • Split if needed - Consider multiple projects for very large initiatives

Best Practices

Organize for Your Team

Consider these factors:

  • Team size - Larger teams need more structure
  • Project complexity - Complex work needs clear breakdown
  • Timeline - Longer projects benefit from phases
  • Experience - New teams do better with simpler organization

Keep It Maintainable

Organization tips:

  • Review structure regularly - Adjust as project evolves
  • Remove unused groups - Clean up sections no longer needed
  • Update dependencies - Keep task relationships current
  • Archive actively - Don't let completed work clutter project

Balance Structure and Flexibility

Too little structure:

  • Tasks feel chaotic and hard to navigate
  • Team unsure where to put new tasks
  • Progress hard to track

Too much structure:

  • Overwhelming number of sections and levels
  • Time spent organizing instead of working
  • Team confused by complexity

Right balance:

  • Clear sections that make sense to everyone
  • Easy to find what you need quickly
  • Simple enough to maintain without effort

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