Overview
The Enterprise Service management (ESM) project card wall can help teams that are not well served by a traditional project management tool. There may be a small team that just needs something simple and doesn’t require the know-how of a formally trained project manager. Or the team may want to take an iterative approach that a traditional project scheduling tool can’t really accommodate. The card wall can be used in waterfall, standard and agile projects.
Project members can create columns (lists) that represent stages in a process, and cards that represent the tasks that need to move through those stages. The lists can be ordered so that cards start in the leftmost list and then travel through the stages toward completion on the right.
Card walls are sometimes referred to as boards because the original card walls were index cards pinned on a bulletin board.
Features
- It’s a drag and drop interface, so cards can be dragged up and down in a list or dragged from one column to another.
- The card wall allows for live collaboration; changes made by users are immediately visible to all other users working on the same card wall, and on-screen notifications about the changes can also be displayed.
- There are Start and End date fields to indicate the timeline of the task, and time can be entered directly from the board for specific cards.
- Lists can be configured to automatically update a card's percent complete when the card is dropped into the list.
- Each card can have one responsible person whose profile picture appears on the card.
- Updates to the cards appear in both the individual card’s feed, and the card wall’s overall feed.
- Attachments can be added to a card.
- Cards will show up as tasks in reports and desktop modules that currently display task information.
- Multiple card walls can exist within a single project.
- Card walls can be added to a project at any time.
- Cards can be archived to remove them from the screen without permanent deletion.
- Default lists on boards are set by the organization in Admin under Projects > Default Task Statuses.
- The Burndown Chart, which is a graphical representation of work left to do versus time available, can be accessed directly from the card wall right-side flyout menu in the Plan Details section.
- The Backlog Manager is an off-wall repository that allows for conversion of tickets to cards and allows for cards to be moved between boards. To learn more, see this article about the Backlog Manager.
Limitations
- A project card wall cannot be viewed in the plan manager or client portal, it can only be viewed and managed in its own separate web application.
- Card walls do not support dependencies between cards. This feature is only available in waterfall plans.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. Can the ESM Project Card Wall be viewed in the Client Portal?
A. Card Wall is not supported in Plan Manager and in the Client Portal. Rather it will be viewed and managed in its own separate web application.
Q. Can I use the ESM Project Card Wall with a Waterfall model plan?
A. Yes, the Card Wall can be used in both Standard and Agile-mode projects.
Q. Is it true I can change the percent complete dependent on the list a card is in? How do I do that?
A. The answer is yes, you can surely configure the ESM Project Card Wall to change the percent complete. Since the nature of every project is not the same, this setting is on a list-by-list and wall-by-wall basis. To set the percent complete within a list, click on the pencil in the top right corner of the list you'd like to set. This will display all settings about this list that can be modified, one of which is percent complete.
Q.Can I have multiple boards per project?
A. Yes, multiple boards can exist within a single project and each board is comprised of lists containing tasks (cards).
Q. How do I add more than one responsibility to a card?
A. When editing a card, select all users that should be responsible. It is possible to use the dropdown list or type-ahead functionality to add all the users responsible to the card. The responsibility is represented by the user's profile picture when viewing the cards on the board.
Q. How will the ESM Project Card Wall impact reports?
A. Each card in a ESM Project Card Wall represents an individual task. Therefore, cards will show up as tasks in reports. These cards will also appear in dashboards that currently display task information. This being said, cards are a specialized type of task and the differentiation from other forms of tasks will be identified.
Q. Is there a product backlog feature in Card Wall?
A. The Card Wall does contain a backlog feature. This functionality allows for conversion of tickets to cards and also allows for cards to be able to be moved between boards.
Q. Does the Card Wall feature a burn down report?
A. Yes, a Burn Down chart is a graphical representation of work left to do versus time. There is a link to it from the "Reports" menu in Card Wall.
Q. Can Cards be set as dependent upon one another?
A. The Card Wall does not support dependencies between cards. This feature is available in Waterfall plans.
Q. Does the Card Wall use a check in / check out model for editing?
A. No, the Card Wall allows for live collaboration. Changes made by a individuals are immediately broadcast to all other individuals working on the same Card Wall. This removes the need for a check-in/check-out model.
Q. Are there date fields on the cards?
A. Yes, there are Start and End date fields to indicate the time period of the the task.
Q. Can a Card Wall be created for an existing project?
A. Yes, the Card Wall is a type of project plan and plans can be added to projects at any time.
Q. Can I work with Issues from the Card Wall?
A. Yes, Issues can be created and managed on individual tasks (cards). Click on the Edit Card pencil within a card, and then the Issues tab to create/manage an Issue.
Need additional help or have issues
For support, requests may be submitted anytime using the appropriate Enterprise Service Management form. Requests generate a Ticket which will be worked in order received and urgency by IT Employees with the knowledge and permissions to assist with the request.
For immediate assistance please review the Contact Us page for the appropriate support group.