What is a lane on a fenbs board?

A lane is a column on the board, and it says where a task is: To Do, Next Up, In Progress or Completed. There are four, and they do not change.

Last checked

A lane is where a task is. fenbs has four, fixed: To Do, Next Up, In Progress, Completed. A task is in exactly one lane, and moving it between lanes is the main thing anyone does on the board — so it is its own permission, separate from editing what the task says. A site crew can move work along a spec they must not rewrite.

What each lane means

  • To Do: everything you have written down and not committed to. This is the backlog.
  • Next Up: what you have decided to do next. Keeping this lane short is the discipline that makes the board useful.
  • In Progress: what is being worked on now, by a person or an assistant.
  • Completed: finished. A task can also be closed without being built — as a duplicate, or won’t fix — and the board’s numbers say so.

Why colour is never status

On a fenbs board the colour of a task is its kind — Feature, Enhancement, Bug — and never its lane or urgency. A board full of red reads as “a lot of bugs” and never as “a lot of panic”. The lane carries status; nothing else does.

Questions people ask.

Can I add a lane, such as “In Review”?

No. Four lanes are the product. A task waiting for review is In Progress with a comment saying so, or Next Up for the reviewer. Adding lanes is how boards stop being read.

Who can move a task between lanes?

Anyone whose role includes “move tasks between lanes”. It is a separate permission from editing a task, so a person or an assistant can be allowed to move work without rewriting it.

Start with one thing.

Your own board is free. AI assistants cost nothing extra on any plan.