> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.8space.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Task Management

> Create, organize, and track work items with rich metadata, priorities, and relationships

Tasks are the core work items in 8Space. Every feature in the platform revolves around creating, organizing, and completing tasks efficiently. This guide covers the task model, lifecycle, and how to work with tasks across different views.

## Task Anatomy

Each task in 8Space has a comprehensive set of properties:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Core Fields" icon="file-lines">
    * **Title**: The task name (required)
    * **Description**: Optional rich text details
    * **Status**: Current workflow column (required)
    * **Priority**: P0 (critical), P1 (normal), or P2 (low)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Scheduling" icon="calendar">
    * **Start date**: When work begins
    * **Due date**: When work should complete
    * **Estimate**: Optional time estimate (numeric)
    * **Completed at**: Timestamp when marked done
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Assignment & Organization" icon="users">
    * **Assignees**: Team members responsible for the task
    * **Tags**: Colored labels for categorization
    * **Order rank**: Numeric position for manual ordering
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Extended Data" icon="paperclip">
    * **Checklist items**: Sub-tasks with done/undone state
    * **Attachments**: File links with titles
    * **Is milestone**: Boolean flag for key deadlines
    * **Activity log**: Audit trail of changes
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Creating Tasks

8Space offers multiple ways to create tasks depending on your workflow:

### Quick-Add in Backlog View

The fastest way to bulk-create tasks:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Backlog view">
    Navigate to the Backlog view from the project navigation.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use the quick-add form">
    Fill in title, start date, and due date at the top of the page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Press Enter">
    The task is created instantly with default P1 priority and backlog status.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Repeat">
    The form clears but dates persist, letting you rapidly add more tasks.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  The Backlog quick-add is ideal for planning sessions where you need to capture many tasks quickly.
</Tip>

### In-Column Creation in Board View

Create tasks directly in a specific workflow stage:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Board view">
    Navigate to the Board view (Kanban).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a column">
    Each column has its own quick-add form at the top.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill details">
    Enter title, start date, and due date for the new task.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Quick add or Enter">
    Click the Quick add button or press Enter to create the task in that column.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  Tasks created in the Board view automatically get the status of the column where you created them.
</Info>

## Task Priority Levels

8Space uses a three-tier priority system:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="P0 - Critical">
    **Use for**: Urgent issues, blockers, production bugs, or work that must be done immediately.

    **Examples**:

    * Production outage fix
    * Security vulnerability patch
    * Blocking dependency for other work
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="P1 - Normal">
    **Use for**: Standard planned work, features, and improvements (default for new tasks).

    **Examples**:

    * Planned feature development
    * Scheduled maintenance
    * Regular project tasks
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="P2 - Low">
    **Use for**: Nice-to-haves, polish items, or work that can wait if higher priorities emerge.

    **Examples**:

    * Code refactoring
    * Documentation improvements
    * UI polish
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

You can change task priority in the Backlog view using the priority dropdown on each task row.

## Task Status and Workflow

Tasks move through workflow columns that represent stages of completion:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Backlog">
    Tasks are captured and planned but not yet ready to start.
  </Step>

  <Step title="To Do">
    Tasks are ready to begin work, typically prioritized for the current sprint or cycle.
  </Step>

  <Step title="In Progress">
    Active work is happening on these tasks.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Done">
    Tasks are completed and meet the Definition of Done criteria.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  You can configure custom workflow columns at the project level to match your team's process.
</Note>

### Changing Task Status

Move tasks between workflow stages using:

* **Backlog view**: Use the status dropdown on each task row
* **Board view**: Drag the task card to a different column
* **Timeline view**: Tasks maintain their status when you adjust dates

## Task Dates and Scheduling

### Start Date

Indicates when work on the task should begin. Used for:

* Timeline visualization (left edge of the bar)
* Planning resource allocation
* Scheduling dependent work

### Due Date

Indicates when the task should be completed. Used for:

* Timeline visualization (right edge of the bar)
* Overdue detection
* Workload planning
* Dashboard metrics ("Due this week")

<Warning>
  The due date must be the same as or later than the start date. 8Space validates this constraint when creating or editing tasks.
</Warning>

### Overdue Detection

A task is considered overdue when:

* The due date is in the past (before today)
* AND the task status is not "Done"

Overdue tasks show:

* Red border and ring on cards (Board view)
* Overdue badge with alert icon
* Included in Dashboard "Overdue tasks" metric

## Milestones

Tasks can be marked as milestones using the `isMilestone` flag:

* **Purpose**: Represent key project deadlines or deliverables
* **Visual**: Appear as diamond shapes on the Timeline view
* **Use cases**: Sprint ends, release dates, client demos, project gates

<Tip>
  Milestones typically have a due date but may represent a point-in-time event rather than a work item with duration.
</Tip>

## Task Order and Ranking

### Order Rank

Each task has an `orderRank` numeric field that determines its position in lists:

* **Lower numbers** appear first
* **Higher numbers** appear later
* **Gaps between ranks** allow inserting tasks without reordering everything

### Reordering Tasks

In the Backlog view, you can manually reorder tasks by dragging the **⋮⋮** handle:

* Drag-and-drop updates the `orderRank` automatically
* Reordering is only available when no filters or grouping are active
* Order is preserved across all views

## Task Assignees

### Single Assignee (Backlog View)

The Backlog view shows and edits only the first assignee for simplicity:

* Use the assignee dropdown to assign one team member
* Select "Unassigned" to remove assignment

### Multiple Assignees (Future)

While the data model supports multiple assignees, the current UI primarily works with single assignment. This keeps ownership clear and workflow simple.

<Info>
  Assignee information is used in the Dashboard "Workload by assignee" widget to balance team capacity.
</Info>

## Task Tags

Tags provide flexible categorization beyond workflow status:

* **Purpose**: Organize tasks by theme, epic, component, or any custom taxonomy
* **Visual**: Colored labels with custom names
* **Filtering**: Filter tasks by tag in the Backlog view
* **Grouping**: Group Backlog tasks by tag

### Tag Display

* **Board view**: Tags appear as colored pill badges at the bottom of each card
* **Backlog view**: Tags are visible when you filter or group by them
* **Timeline view**: Tags are not currently displayed (focus is on scheduling)

## Task Dependencies

Tasks can have finish-to-start (FS) dependencies:

* **Predecessor**: Task that must complete first
* **Successor**: Task that depends on the predecessor
* **Relationship type**: FS (finish-to-start) - successor starts after predecessor ends

### Working with Dependencies

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Timeline view">
    Dependencies are visualized as arrow lines connecting task bars.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use the dependency editor">
    Select a successor task in the footer dropdown and set its predecessor.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review conflicts">
    Red arrows indicate dependency conflicts where dates don't align.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Adjust dates">
    Drag task bars to resolve conflicts and maintain dependency logic.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Dependency conflicts occur when a successor task starts before its predecessor ends. Resolve these by adjusting task dates.
</Warning>

## Task Deletion

Delete tasks from any view:

* **Backlog view**: Click the trash icon on the right side of the task row
* **Board view**: Click the trash icon in the top-right corner of the task card
* **Timeline view**: Click the delete button that appears on hover in the task list

All deletions require confirmation and are permanent.

<Warning>
  Deleting a task also removes:

  * Its checklist items
  * Its attachments
  * Its activity log
  * Any dependencies involving the task

  This action cannot be undone.
</Warning>

## Best Practices

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Write Clear Titles" icon="pen">
    Use action verbs and specific nouns. "Implement user login" beats "Login stuff."
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set Realistic Dates" icon="calendar-check">
    Accurate start and due dates make Timeline and Dashboard views meaningful.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Use Priorities Wisely" icon="flag">
    Don't mark everything P0. Save critical priority for true urgency.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Assign Clearly" icon="user-check">
    Each task should have a clear owner. Avoid unassigned work piling up.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add Tags for Context" icon="tags">
    Use tags to group related tasks across different workflow stages.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Review Overdue" icon="triangle-exclamation">
    Regularly check and address overdue tasks to keep the project healthy.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Task Lifecycle Example

Here's a typical task journey through 8Space:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Created in Backlog">
    Product owner adds task during planning with title, dates, and P1 priority.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Refined and Tagged">
    Team adds description, tags, and checklist items for clarity.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Moved to To Do">
    Sprint planning moves task to To Do column, indicating it's ready to start.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assigned and Started">
    Developer assigns themselves and drags card to In Progress on Board view.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Checked Off">
    As work progresses, checklist items are marked done.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Timeline Adjusted">
    Timeline view reveals a conflict; dates are adjusted by dragging the bar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Completed">
    Card is dragged to Done column. completedAt timestamp is set automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Shows in Dashboard">
    Dashboard reflects the completion in the trend chart and "Done" KPI.
  </Step>
</Steps>