New AI Helper for starting Boards and making Templates

AI, Kanban & Lean, ,

We have made substantial improvements to the previously released AI Helper to make it more useful for anyone who wants to start a new Task Board or Template.

Creating New Boards

The AI Helper is always available when you want to start a new Task Board:

Screenshot showing the Start New Board dialog, which contains the new CREATE WITH AI button

What’s different now is that clicking on the CREATE WITH AI button will open a new AI Helper pane on the right side of the window:

Screenshot showing a Kerika Home page with the AI Helper dialog open in a separate pane on the right edge of the screen. The AI Helper has asked the user which of several accounts to which he has access he wants to create the new board.

If you have access to multiple accounts — for example, if you are working with different organizations or companies that all have their own Kerika accounts — the AI Helper will first ask you which account you want to create the new board in.

(If you are working in a single account, which is true for the vast majority of Kerika users, the AI Helper skips this step.)

Screenshot showing the AI Helper pane asking what type of board the user wishes to create.

The AI Helper offers some suggested areas, as shown above. You can choose one, or simply provide more specifics about the kind of board you want to create.

In the example below the user selects the first suggested category: project management and task tracking:

Screenshot shows the AI Helper offering suggestions to help the user clarify what his new board should focus on.

Unlike our first (experimental) version of an AI Helper, the new version is much more interactive: it provides suggestions and prompts to help the user think about what the new board should do, and, in particular, what kinds of management and collaboration problems they are currently facing.

If you have something very specific in mind, you can skip the back-and-forth with the AI Helper and provide a specific request, like this example for a board that contains all the steps necessary to start a new business in Washington State:

Screenshot shows an example of a user request that is very specific.

Given a specific enough request, the AI Helper can quickly suggest a board that will meet the user’s needs:

AI Helper offers a preview of a proposed new board.

The AI Helper doesn’t immediately create a new board; instead, if first offers a preview so the user can confirm the new board will meet their needs.

If the preview looks good, the user can ask the AI Helper to make the new board (this step can take a little time):

Once the new board is created, the AI Helper give a quick link to it:

Screenshot showing that the AI Helper has created a new board

Here’s the new board created by the AI Helper: as you can see, the AI has also created appropriate and helpful tags, assigned the work to the user (since the user hadn’t said anything in their request about working with a team), and even estimated how long each task might take and assigned due dates accordingly.

Screenshot showing the new board created by the AI Helper
Click to see a larger image

Creating Templates

Creating templates works in the exact same way: for example, the user could have asked for a template to be created using the same reference source (Washington State’s Department of Revenue Guide for Starting Businesses).

This is what the output looks like:

Screenshot showing a template created by the AI Helper
Click to see a larger image

Mobile & Tablet

The AI Helper is available on phones and tablet as well; the user interface is, naturally, a little different to accommodate the more limited screenshot

Please give this a try and let us know what you think!

An easier way to deal with a large number of boards

Kanban & Lean, Usability, Whiteboards

As folks use Kerika over a long time, and for a variety of purposes, they may end up with dozens or more Task Boards and Whiteboards in their account.

One easy way to keep your focus on the most important boards is to use the Favorites feature: the Home screen has separate tabs for Favorites and All Others:

We have made it even easier with two new filters:

  1. Show only Active Boards: this means that only boards that are not in the Archive or have been deleted will be shown.|
  2. Show all types of Boards: you can choose to see only Task Boards, only Whiteboards, or both.

Enjoy.

Dragging tasks into hidden columns

Usability

The ability to hide (collapse) columns is very useful when a board has many columns, and not all of them are immediately important. We have now made it easier to use hidden columns: if you want to drag-and-drop a task into a hidden column, just hold it over the hidden column for a couple of seconds and the column will open to let you drop the task into it.

Screenshot showing how task (card) can be dragged and dropped into a hidden column by holding the card for a couple of seconds over the hidden column.

Dragging columns

Usability

Did you know that you can easily rearrange the columns on a Task Board by pressing down on the column name for a couple of seconds? This makes the column “draggable” which means you can then move it easily to the right or left to change its position within the board.

Easier to mark an entire board as read

Usability

Sometimes you want to mark an entire board as read, for example when you don’t have the time to catch up on all the changes that took place (and maybe you don’t care?)

There’s an easy way to do this now: from your Home screen in the Kerika app, right-click on any board card and you will find a new “Mark all tasks as read” option in the dialog that pops-up:

Screenshot shows Kerika's Home screen with the option to mark an entire board as read
Board Mark All As Read

How to use status flags on Task Boards and Scrum Boards

Technology
Card Status Values

Cards on Kerika’s Task Boards and Scrum Boards can have a status flag; this is used to communicate the state of the card to other people working on the board — Team Members and Visitors.

(These flags should reflect the current state of the card, not the importance or other attributes: that’s handled by the Tags and Priority fields, and will be covered in a separate blog post.)

Normal

This is the default for all cards: it simply means that this card has no particular status. Cards are not expected to stay NORMAL for very long: as soon as they are complete they should progress to READY or NEEDS REVIEW.

Ready (To Pull)

The concept of READY TO PULL comes from Kanban, and reflects a “pull rather than push” approach to how work is taken up when people are freed up from their current assignment.

Pull vs. Push deserves its own blog post, but the difference can be summarized as follows:

In traditional project management, with a command-and-control model that places a single project manager in charge of everything, work gets “pushed” to people, usually without any regard to their availability.

This is commonplace across all sorts of teams: for example, a QA person is assigned a card when a developer is finished with it, because the natural next step is for the card to go through QA.

The problem with this approach is that it shows an unrealistic view of the status of the entire project, and often hides the real bottlenecks within a team. In our example,

Easily Update Files With Newer Versions

Technology

If you’re using any other project management tool, chances are this has happened to you: you’re deep into a project, staring at a folder full of files labeled “final,” “final-2,” and “really-final-this-time,” trying to figure out which one is the latest version. Sound familiar?

But if you’re a Kerika user, updating files becomes refreshingly simple, seamless, and efficient. Unlike other tools, Kerika automatically tracks and replaces old file versions, so your team is always working with the most up-to-date version with no confusion and no hassle. Let’s dive into how it works:

How It Works: Updating Files in Kerika

In Kerika, files and attachments can be stored in two main areas: Task Cards and Board Attachments. Each area serves a unique purpose, giving you flexibility and control over your project files.

Let’s explore how you can seamlessly update files in both sections without creating a cluttered mess of versions.

1. Task Card Attachments

Upload new version preview
Click here to preview this task card

Task Cards are where all the magic happens when it comes to organizing files related to specific tasks. Here’s how you update a file:

  • Locate Your File: Open the Task Card where the file is attached.
  • Upload a New Version: Click the Upload New Version icon next to the existing file. This automatically replaces the old version with the new one while keeping the history intact. No need to delete the old version or rename the file.
  • Benefits: The updated file is instantly tied to the task, so your team can continue collaborating without skipping a beat.

Task Cards ensure your file updates stay relevant to the task at hand, keeping everyone on the same page.

2. Board Attachments

Board Upload Preview
Click here to preview this board attachment

Board Attachments are ideal for files that impact the entire project such as project charters or shared templates. Updating files here is just as straightforward:

  • Navigate to Board Attachments: Click the Attachments icon on the board menu.
  • Update the File: Select the file you want to replace and click the Upload New Version button. The older version is replaced seamlessly, so there’s no confusion about which version is current.
  • Benefits: Your entire team gets instant access to the latest version, no matter where they’re working from.

Board Attachments ensure project-wide files stay organized and up-to-date without creating duplicates.

Kerika’s smart file management is here to simplify your project workflows. Say goodbye to the chaos of endless file versions and hello to effortless collaboration. If keeping your team organized and productive sounds like a win, give Kerika a try today!