Set up columns and workflows

Add, rename and reorder columns, group cards a second way, and know what deleting one does.

In short

A board's columns are the tags of one category, such as Status: To Do, In Progress, Done. A card is in a column because it carries that tag. Add a second category, such as Severity, and the same cards can be laid out a second way.

Before you start

Who: only people who manage the board ("Create and manage boards") change columns, categories and workflows. Everyone who can open the board sees the result.
Plan: every plan.
First: decide which column counts as done. It comes with the board's layout and cannot be changed afterwards.

Steps

Open the board's … menu, then "Board settings", then "Columns" ("What are your columns?").
Choose "Add column" at the end of a category's list to add one.
Rename, recolor, reorder or delete a column from its … menu, or reorder by dragging.

Add a category to a workflow, or a new workflow with "New workflow", then add its columns.
Choose "Show as columns" beside the new category to open the board grouped by it.

Result: each column appears on the board at once. On the board, a column's menu also offers "Rename…", "Set card limit…", "Move left", "Move right" and "Delete column".

A column is a tag

Example: the same cards, two views

Add a category, Severity (Low to Critical), to the Outcome workflow. A bug can now be In Progress and Critical at once. Choose "Columns by" Outcome / Status and it sits in In Progress; choose Outcome / Severity and it sits in Critical. Dragging it to Done keeps it Critical.

Good to know

Changing columns needs the manage permission on the board.
Names must be unique at each level.
A card limit (1 to 1,000) is a warning only: the count turns red above it.
A column counts as done when it is marked "Finished here". The columns of the board's layout, such as Done, or Won and Lost on a sales board, carry that mark for good, and a lock shows beside it. On a column you added yourself, open its menu and choose "Mark as finished here"; "Not finished here" takes it back. A card in a done column counts as finished in the report and the pulse, and is never overdue.
The stage columns of a project-tracking or hiring board cannot be deleted; rename and recolor them freely.
What happens next: a change appears for everyone with the board open within a moment.
Deleting is real: the tag leaves every card that carried it. Move cards out of a column before you delete it.

What deleting does

Deleting changes real cards and cannot be undone Deleting a tag removes it from every card that carried it. Deleting a category deletes its tags. Deleting a workflow deletes its categories and tags and sets its cards back to no workflow.

A card on a workflow but with no tag has no column, so it drops off the board. It still exists, and giving it a tag brings it back; the card panel warns you before you remove its last tag.

If something goes wrong

"Only people who manage this board can change its columns, rules and settings."
A name is refused because a tag, category or workflow with that name already exists: choose another name.
"This column's finished mark comes with its workflow and cannot be changed."
A column of the bug and story lifecycle cannot be deleted: rename or recolor it instead.
Done reads 0 in the report although cards are in the last column: that column is not marked "Finished here". Open its menu and choose "Mark as finished here".
"A column limit must be between 1 and 1000, or empty.": type a limit in that range, or leave it empty.
"This workflow has no values yet. Add one in Board settings before assigning it.": add a column first.
"Keep at least one workflow value, or clear the workflow - a card with none would not appear on the board.": a card on a workflow needs a column.
"This board has no workflow column. Add a workflow and at least one workflow tag first."

/help/boards/card-types
/help/boards/board-rules
/help/boards/board-pulse