MyBoard – A SharePoint Kanban Task Management System

SharePoint MyBoard

A SharePoint Single Page Application (SPA) that turns any SharePoint list into a task board (Kanban) complete with drag-and-drop
and card easy access widgets for managing the board efficiently.
The web app is easily added to any SharePoint site without the need to engage the IT department. It uses existing site data to display visual boards where updates by others are near-instantly reflected on the screen without the need to refresh.  

The app’s modern user interface provides users with quick access to all predefined board as well as the ability to create new boards, filter content to be displayed and collaborate with other users of the app.  Pre-defined boards can be setup to target (filter) specific groupings of items within a list, further proving the ability to customize the app toward specific functions or job responsibilities.  Board can also take advantage of Discussion channels, where team members can comment or discuss tasks around the given board.

 

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Addin Support

The app supports the concept of plugable Addins that further enhance or augment its capabilities.  This feature allows me to provide customizations built around specific business problems without having any impact to the apps core functionality.  Some of the generic addins available today are:

• Collaboration
  When installed, it enables the ability for user’s of the app to have private chats with each other. It also enables each predefined board to have its own dedicated discussion channel.
  
• Notifications
  Enables notifications through out the app as actions are taken on cards. Notifications are presented to users in the app, via a top-navigation bar widget that provide quick access links to the source of the notice.
  In addition to enabling activity notifications, this addin also allows for the definition of a SharePoint List field that can be used as the card’s “watchers” – individuals that may want to receive notifications on the particular card’s activity. When a column is defined for this new List Settings option, cards will start to display an icon that allows user to quickly toggle their desire to receive notifications.
• Swim Lanes
  This addin enhances the Boards by allowing Swim Lanes to be created. A Swim Lane is a horizontal grouping of tasks based on the value of one of the Fields available from the associated SharePoint List that is being used as the source for the Kanban. Swim Lanes allow for more advanced visualization of cards by allowing you to split your board into multiple sections that display related cards, while not loosing context from the overall board.
  Here is a quick showcase of this feature – youtu.be/PNf5pcenj3Y
  The addin adds new settings to a saved Board Configuration panel that allows you to configure Swim Lanes as part of the board setup. A new “Swim Lanes” option is also added to the Board Option menu that allows users to quickly apply Swim Lanes to any board as well as visually see the breakdown of tasks per board state as a stacked horizontal bar.
  
• Quick Filters
  This addin adds a new action to the Boards’s action bar that displays a panel with a list of filters that can be quickly applied to the board being viewed. Available filters are fully configurable and support both the ability to filter on values of any of the SharePoint List fields or the ability to setup more complex filters based on multiple sets of criteria. User will be able to quickly toggle on and off filters like “Due Date in next x Hours/Days/Weeks” or “Modified by Y person” or “Created in Last x Hours/Days/Weeks” (just to name a few).
• SharePoint Host Site Links
  Displays the the user the Links available on the hosting site’s left navigation bar.
• Card Customizer 
  Enables additional customization options for the Board Cards, by allowing the selection of additional List fields values to be shown on the Cards.

 

Simple to Install, Setup and Configure

MyBoard is a self-contained web Single Page Application that does not require assistance from an IT department to be installed.  The app, which is provided as one aspx file, is simply uploaded to a Document Library in order to be available for use. If at this point you are still wondering if this app will work within your SharePoint environment, see the instructions down below on a how you can use a test app to verify/confirm your ability to run MyBoard.

Configuration of individual site lists or app setup is all done from the app it is installed. Configuration options are available at the app level as well at each list individually, and includes the following features:

1. Configuration of cards, including display of Due Date, Assignee(s), categories/labels, and colors (card left edge, card background)
2. Option to use a custom view/edit form for cards, which incorporates easy to use editable fields, file uploads, todo lists and activity timeline
3. Ability to define colors for categories (categories are shown as a horizontal bar across each card on the board)
4. Create or Delete pre-defined boards
5. “live” data persistence – updates by others are near-instantly reflected on the board
6. Bookmarkable URLs – Users are able to customize views and then bookmark those
7. Support for multiple languages (internationalization and localization support)

Limitations

1. As with any SharePoint web app that utilizes the out-of-the-box API, this solution is limited to lists containing less than 5000 items. This limit is imposed by SharePoint thresholds which render the API un-usable once this threshold has been surpassed.
2. The solution works best when using the Chrome or Firefox browsers. Internet Explorer 11 is also supported, but there is a performance degradation due to that browser’s age.

How do I get It?

This app is not currently open source. If you are interested in obtaining trial version, just drop a comment below and I will email you back more details.

Test (light) App

The main question I receive on this app is:

Will I be able to run it on my “locked down” SharePoint environment? I’m not a Sys Admin.

If you like to try a simple (and extremely light) test app, download the following zip file, extract its content (a single file named app.run.aspx) and upload it to a Document Library within your SharePoint environment. If that works – then MyBoard will work. NOTE that if using O365, this will only work on a Classic Themed Teams Site.

Test App: lightBoard.zip

Showcase

Video coming soon

 

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2017.04.08: Updated with v3.0 content.
2017.11.25: Updated with Swim Lanes showcase
2018.03.31: Updated with Quick Filters Addin