Work Items
Work items are the actual tasks—the things people do. They live inside work packages and represent the concrete work that needs to happen.
If a work package is “Phase 1: Site Assessment,” the work items might be things like “Survey trees in north quadrant,” “Photograph hazard areas,” “Write assessment report.”
Creating tasks
Section titled “Creating tasks”Open a work package and click to add a work item.
Give it a clear title that describes what needs to be done. “Inspect oak trees for disease” is better than “Tree inspection.” Someone should be able to read the title and understand the task.
Add a description if there are details, special instructions, or context. Assign it to someone if you know who’s doing it. Set a due date if there’s a deadline.
That’s the basics. Create the task, and it shows up in the package.
Status
Section titled “Status”Work items move through statuses:
- Not Started — waiting to be worked on
- In Progress — someone’s actively working on it
- Completed — done
- Cancelled — no longer needed
Update the status as work happens. This is how everyone sees progress—if statuses aren’t updated, the dashboard lies.
Assigning work
Section titled “Assigning work”When you assign a task to someone, they can see it in their task list. Consider:
- Do they have the right skills for this?
- Are they available when it needs to be done?
- What’s their current workload?
It’s fine to leave tasks unassigned during planning. Assign them when you’re ready to schedule the work.
Tracking progress
Section titled “Tracking progress”Progress rolls up: work items → work packages → projects. When half your tasks are done, your work package shows 50%. When all your packages are done, your project shows 100%.
This only works if people update their task statuses. Make it a habit—mark things “In Progress” when you start, “Completed” when you finish.
Keep tasks right-sized
Section titled “Keep tasks right-sized”A work item should be:
- Something one person (or a small team) can do
- Completable in hours to a few days, not weeks
- Specific enough to know when it’s done
“Complete the entire project” is not a good work item. “Install replacement equipment in Building A” is.
If you find yourself with 50 tiny tasks or one massive task, you’ve probably got the granularity wrong. Aim for meaningful chunks of work.
Notes and updates
Section titled “Notes and updates”Add notes to tasks as work progresses. “Waiting on permits,” “Found additional damage, will need more time,” “Completed ahead of schedule.” This helps the team understand what’s happening without having to ask.
Bulk import
Section titled “Bulk import”If you have a spreadsheet of tasks, you don’t need to create them one by one. See Importing Tasks for the CSV import.
On mobile
Section titled “On mobile”Field workers can view and update their tasks from phones. They see what’s assigned to them, mark things complete, and add notes—without needing a laptop.
Related: Work Packages for organizing tasks into phases, Importing Tasks for bulk creation, Planning Tasks for resource allocation.