Introduction
A good Trello board design is not just about a board name and a collection of lists, labels, custom field definitions, checklists, ...etc. There are many available templates that are just that. A good design has to align to your business processes and the use cases it supports.
However, if you are using Trello to support your business, it is very unlikely that you can~~~~ avoid automation. Therefore it is important to have well thought through naming conventions that will support the automation to be set onto the board. This will including Trello automation as well as any tools like Zapier, Make and or you own custom micro.
Since Trello's intra-board permission are very limited. Therefore, any Trello project invest in change management to ensure board members understand the implication of making changes to the board.
Below is a list of board designs which you can use as the starting point for discussion of a design that best suits your requirements. It is likely that the final design will incorporate different design elements, carefully assembled together your address your unique requirements.
Simple EOS
This design is a derivative work from a Trello consultancy and proof of solution for a HR consultancy company looking to develop a Trello equivalent for the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System).
For instance, while Trello excelled in task management through cards and checklist items within cards, it lacked a crucial feature—the ability to visualize members of the enterprise in a hierarchical organizational structure. Despite this, by the conclusion of the engagement, we successfully crafted a streamlined EOS system that provided clear visibility into Rocks, tasks, and issues.
A Management System with Checklists
The genesis of this design stems from two collaborative engagements, each presenting unique challenges and opportunities. The first involved an investment company keen on harnessing the power of videos to captivate prospects and encourage them to explore their services. In the second engagement, a client aimed to streamline their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) across various facets of their business, empowering virtual assistants to seamlessly handle routine tasks. This strategic shift enabled partners to dedicate more time to prospecting and nurturing client relationships.
In both scenarios, the system's core functionality involved automatically populating cards with new checklists based on predefined criteria. These criteria encompassed a spectrum of parameters such as task assignment to board members, setting target due dates, and other relevant details. The beauty of the automation lay in its use of templates, providing the client with the flexibility to make modifications without the need to alter the underlying automation rules.
This approach not only enhanced operational efficiency but also ensured adaptability to evolving business needs. The combination of automated checklist generation, assignment, and template-based flexibility allowed for a seamless integration of these processes into the workflow. It's a testament to the power of tailored automation in optimizing diverse business operations.
A Management System with Cards
This innovative design is a direct outcome of a collaborative engagement with a dynamic software game developer based in Australia. In this project, we established crucial parent-child relationships, drawing inspiration from a set of templates and incorporating predecessor, successor, and related peer relationships. Notably, the completion status seamlessly reports to either a parent or a successor card, ensuring comprehensive project tracking.
What makes this design particularly versatile is its adaptability to diverse business use cases. Whether applied to project management, client relationship management, or event coordination, the structure commences with an epic or subproject card. This foundational approach allows for a scalable and intuitive representation of hierarchical relationships.
Given the intricate nature of this design, Trello automation leverages HTTP requests to manage requirements that aren't supported natively in Trello. The~~~~ use of automation enhances the system's capabilities, providing a robust solution for businesses grappling with complex hierarchies.
Weekly Schedule
A sought-after design by multiple clients involves the dynamic display of cards in a "days of the week" view, catering to specific scheduling needs. This versatile feature has proven particularly useful for scenarios where cards are automatically generated from form applications or through Zapier integrations, seamlessly transitioning to the designated day of the week.
This functionality is especially valuable for clients who wish to streamline their workflows by automating the creation of cards from external sources. Notably, some clients have expressed a preference for the additional capability of generating date-specific cards as part of this process.
The implementation of Trello automation plays a pivotal role in the efficiency of this design. It facilitates the automatic archiving of cards from the board, ensuring a clean and organized workspace. This not only simplifies task management but also enhances overall productivity by eliminating manual interventions.