Kanban Task Manager for Outlook V2 Released

Today I am proud to announce the release of Kanban Task Manager for OutlookV2. The new version has several enhancements and new features, and I am sure that the efforts of the kalmstrom.com team will once again be rewarded by praise from subscribers and evaluators.

Drag and drop color coded tasks
With Kanban Task Manager users can cooperate on projects and tasks in a virtual kanban board in Outlook or SharePoint. The "cards" are color coded by project or responsible, and they can be dragged and dropped within or between phases. This way it is easy to get an overview and see how work proceeds,and bottlenecks are easily discovered.

Details pane
Different teams have different requests, and to make Kanban Task Manager versatile we give two different sizes for the cards on the kanban board. The smaller size make room for more tasks on the screen, but on the other hand they don't have so much space for text. Then the new reading pane comes handy.
By adding a details pane to Kanban Task Manager we give users a chance to see more of the text than what is visible on the card itself. The solution uses standard Outlook or SharePoint tasks, and the text you enter in them can be seen in a pane at the bottom of the screen when you right click a task.

Custom parameter
Besides description text and subject, the project, responsible and priority (if enabled) are shown on the Kanban Task Manager cards. Project, responsible and priority are also the default parameters to filter the tasks by. However, version 2 gives an additional possibility.

When you want to filter by another parameter than the default ones and also show the value for that parameter on the card in the kanban board, you can make use of the Extra field. Write the name of the parameter in the Extra field form in the Kanban Task Manager settings, and the add-on will create a list where you can fill out the values you need.

Now your own parameter will be shown in a task dropdown, so that users can select a value when they create or edit a task. That value will be displayed on the kanban card. There will also be an additional filter possibility on the kanban board in Outlook.

Upgrade
These are only a two of the new features in Kanban Task Manager V2. If you are already using Kanban Task Manager, please have a look at the Revisions page for a full list. Also refer to my earlier blog post about version 2 of Kanban Task Manager for Outlook.

Upgrades are included in the subscription, just like support, and I recommend current users to upgrade their installations. It is very easy. Just close Outlook, download the setup file to any folder on your computer and run it. The installer will find your earlier installation and upgrade it.

Try
Do you need a tool for keeping track of projects and tasks? In that case you are welcome to evaluate Kanban Task Manager for Outlook for 30 days without any obligations. Version 2 is easier to evaluate than the earlier versions, as it gives a possibility to create example data.

Please take a look at the introduction demo below, and if you like what you see you can find much more information on the kalmstrom.com website.



Sharing options
Kanban Task Manager data, like tasks and settings, is shared in the workgroup via a Microsoft Access database, an SQL Server database or a SharePoint site. The Access database is created by Kanban Task Manager, but to select one of the other options you need to have your own, in-house or hosted, SQL Server or SharePoint site.

SharePoint version
There is also a SharePoint version of Kanban Task Manager, and if you select the SharePoint sharing option in the Outlook version you can use both versions on the same data. When a change is made in the SharePoint kanban board, this change will be reflected to the Outlook kanban board and vice versa. Both versions are included in one subscription.
By Peter Kalmstrom
CEO and Systems Designer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions