Collaboration has several advantages in every sector. Teams can complete jobs more quickly and effectively, and cooperation may inspire invention and encourage creativity. Collaboration tools, by definition, allow a group of two or more individuals to work together to achieve a single purpose or goal. Although there are several non-technical solutions available, such as post-it notes, paper, whiteboards, and flip charts, this essay will focus on a popular technological application—Trello. We will address important questions and demonstrate how to utilize Trello in detail.
What is Trello?
Trello for project management is particularly useful if you’re a project manager working on a budget. The free Kanban-based work management application assists you in project management and team collaboration. There are several project management solutions available. Trello, on the other hand, stands out due to its simplicity.
It offers a simple approach for planning and tracking tasks at a glance. It’s so straightforward that you might be inclined to pass it up. However, Trello’s simplicity may be a source of strength. Let’s look at how it may help you become an organizational ace.
Let’s start with a brief overview if you’re unfamiliar with the tool. Trello is a form of online whiteboard made up of lists and cards. That’s all there is to it. Sounds too simple? Trello, on the other hand, is based on the concept of better insights across tasks and projects, as well as the flexibility to reorganize them based on your priorities. As a result, each Trello card represents tasks, notes, projects, clients, and so on (whatever meaning you give them) that you may see on your board and utilize to manage further.
Cards are designed to be arranged into lists that may be used for a variety of reasons, including displaying statuses, projects they relate to, individuals in charge of them, clients, and so on. The list structure is easy to adapt to any situation and may be modified at any moment based on your requirements.
Trello Project Management Features
Trello isn’t simply about getting projects started. It will also assist teams at every phase of the process, from planning to implementation. If you’re new to project management, here’s a basic rundown of what it entails:
1. Planning – As one might anticipate, the planning phase is where you conduct research, set goals, and sketch out your overall project approach. The goal is to determine the scope of your project. You’ll work with stakeholders to set goals and create a budget.
2. Setup – With your approach in place, begin assembling the elements of your project. It’s ideal to hold a meeting to go through the specifics, whether your team is in-office or remote. Distribute the project plan, go through everyone’s duties, and address any questions that arise. This is also an excellent area to solicit feedback from your team and make modifications before you begin.
3. Execution – This is the stage at which ideas are turned into actions. While you may begin to believe that the majority of your job is completed, this is not the case. It’s critical to keep your hands on the wheel. As the larger picture begins to emerge, attend meetings, gather progress reports, and deliver updates to stakeholders.
4. Closing – This is the stage during which you and your team put the final touches on your initiatives. While today is a time to rejoice, you are not yet finished. The ability to self-evaluate distinguishes between excellent and outstanding project managers. When the project is over, write notes on what worked, what didn’t, and how to make things go more smoothly in the future. It’s better to do this as quickly as possible, while your memories of the journey are still vivid.
Trello is useful at all of these stages. Here’s how you can use it to improve project management.
7 Benefits of Using Trello for Project Management
1. IT IS SIMPLE AND FAST
Trello employs a straightforward card-and-list format. Enter something and press the return key. That’s a playing card. Something else should be typed. Yet another card. To create lists, drag cards from one column to another. Add a few cards and a couple of columns to your board to get started. Within 60 seconds, you’ll have a basic Trello board up and running.
It works equally well on the web or desktop, as well as on free and well-designed mobile apps.
2. IMMEDIATELY ADD TO YOUR BOARD
It’s simple to add items to any card. I enjoy including pertinent documents, photos, or checklists. When you add an image to a card, it appears as the card’s thumbnail when you view the whole board. To divide a project step down into smaller sections, use checklists on the reverse of a card.
3. WORK WITH SOMEONE OR A TEAM
Cards can be assigned to a collaborator. For a group project, utilize a board. This increases transparency in cooperation and allows you to define who is doing what. You can make decisions by allowing users to upvote cards they like.
4. CREATE A PUBLIC BOARD TO SHARE INFORMATION WIDELY
People generally use Trello for personal reasons. However, creating a board is simple. A Trello board may be made public in the same way that a Google Doc can.
You may even allow people to add to your board in order to obtain public feedback. Here’s a public Wonder Tools concept board I created for you to peruse. Please contribute ideas for future newsletter post topics as a means of obtaining a response.
5. IMPROVE YOUR BOARD’S USEFUL FEATURES
Trello’s “power-ups” are little programs that link it to other services. Your Trello board may be linked to Slack to automatically notify a certain channel of project updates.
Google Drive to automatically produce a Google Slide deck from your board or attach documents to cards. Giphy makes it simple to find and add gifs to any card. You may also print a board and embed or link to specific cards.
6. ADD YOUR BOARD TO YOUR CALENDAR AND EMAIL LIST
Cards can be given start or due dates. This allows you to organize your board by what’s due shortly. Labels may also be added to cards to help you, filter boards, by subject.
To see cards grouped by date, add a calendar view.
Email items to your board. Each board has its own private email address, which allows you to add to it from your mailbox.
When you send an email to your Trello board, the subject line is converted to the card title, and the email body is converted to the card description. You may also include attachments.
7. RESTRICTIONS
Because of its simplicity, Trello lacks several functionalities seen in more complicated systems. It is not, for example, intended for composing or editing large blocks of text or hosting threaded conversations. Other project management software, such as Basecamp and Clickup, are better suited for this purpose.
Trello is less configurable than rivals like Notion or Coda, which enable you to construct more advanced bespoke project organizing sites.
Top 5 Trello Project Management Features
Trello is a simplified project management tool that places a strong emphasis on collaboration. While the capabilities of this application are basic in nature, this platform provides many important features that will make your life as a project manager or team member much simpler. Trello’s top five features are as follows.
1. Kanban Project Management
This is the heart of the platform, as Trello task management is based entirely on a kanban project management methodology. With this management system, you will always have an overview of your project’s progress, with all steps and task cards presented on the main dashboard.
All tasks and card modifications are pushed through the workflow utilizing a drag-and-drop method that automatically alerts and updates all users.
2. Checklists For Task Cards
I like how you can establish internal checks within your tasks. These checklists are simple to make and offer a percentage of completion as you check off each accomplishment. This will save project managers from having to ask questions about task progress in events, emails, or meetings.
3. Photos For Card Covers
This is another basic but effective function for providing context to project activities. Instead of providing long lists of text that are difficult to traverse, task card cover photographs may help break up tasks and make them more recognizable.
4. Card Search
Because task cards might become buried in the weeds of your kanban process, searching for them by name, user, or label is an easy method to spare yourself a scrolling fest when using Trello. This is a basic, yet effective function that I utilize frequently for both my personal projects and my work with The Ascent.
5. Automation Features
Trello is ideal for streamlining monotonous project operations such as establishing frequently completed tasks, archiving old cards, and sorting and prioritizing tasks.
All you have to do is choose an automation “Power-Up” from their large catalog and establish the relevant parameters during the project life cycle planning stage.
How to Use Trello to Manage Projects Effectively
The following measures aid in the efficient use of Trello for project management:
Step 1: Create an account on Trello.
New users may sign up by going to trello.com.
Step 2: Make a Trello board.
Take the following steps to establish a board, as nothing occurs on Trello without one.
- Click the Create new board option under the Personal Boards menu.
- Give the board a name. You can select a backdrop pattern or color that you can change afterward.
- If you have many teams, you may pick which ones have access to a board.
Step 3: Create a Team
For professional reasons, you must form a team. To do so, use the “Create a team” option. You must name your team, specify its nature, and offer a brief description. Then click ‘Continue,’ and you’ll see the opportunity to invite team members.
Enter your team member’s email addresses and click the Send Invitation button. They will be invited to join Trello.
Step 4: Make Trello lists
You make lists based on your needs. You may, for example, have three lists: To Do, In Progress, and Done. You may also make a list for each team member. The following are the stages for making a list:
- To make a new list, open the board. Click the Add a list option to the right of the board’s name.
- Enter a name for your list and then click Add List.
- You’ll see an option to add a card right below your list.
Step 5: Make Trello Cards
- Click the Add a card link located beneath the list name.
- Click Add Card after entering a title for the card.
You may write a description/comment for your team members by clicking on a card. From the same panel, you can also add labels, checklists, and attachments.
Step 6: Assigning Cards and Giving Due Dates
Trello cards can have members and due dates added to them. It is beneficial to know who is working on a task while working with a team. Due dates assist in keeping track of when chores must be completed.
You may assign a person to a card and keep track of who has been allocated a task. You may also add several people to a card to ensure that everyone is kept up to speed on a particular job. To add someone to a card, complete these steps:
- Select the card to which you wish to allocate members.
- On the right, select the Members option.
- Search for team members and click their names to add them.
To add due dates, proceed as follows:
- Select the card to which you want to assign a due date.
- Select Due Date from the list on the right.
- Choose a deadline from the calendar. You may enter a time and then save it.
- Cards with due dates less than 24 hours away are labeled yellow, while cards that are past due are labeled red.
Step 7: Attach Labels to the Cards
Trello allows you to apply colored labels to cards to designate the task type or group to which the card belongs. A single card can also have many labels attached to it. The following are the processes for adding labels to a card:
- Select the card on which you want to apply a label.
- On the right, select the Labels option.
- Choose a label from the list. It shows a variety of pre-selected colors. You can add a label by clicking the edit icon.
Shortcuts for Searching in Trello
When your list grows in size, it becomes tough to view everything at once. Trello provides a lot of handy keyboard shortcuts for searching for what you’re looking for.
B: It brings up the Boards menu, where you may search for and move between different boards.
/: It opens the search box to look for cards and lists.
F: It brings up the filter dialog box, where you may sort cards by labels, keywords, members, or due date.
Final Thoughts
We’ve finally reached the conclusion of our tutorial, and hopefully, we’ve covered all you need to know to get started with Trello project management. So now it’s your chance to put everything into action and create the ideal work procedure.
