Here’s how it works.

Notion’s board view is one of those features that — we know is critical as project managers — but has a learning curve for users new to sprints, kanban boards, or project management in general.

I think the product team at Notion picked up on this early, because this update followed months of beta testing (and deliberation) around one key question:

What should be the default statuses for project boards?

Standardized Phases

With the latest update, there are now three stages for project boards:

1. To-do

2. In Progress

3. Complete

Using the New Board View

Option 1: Use Standard View

Typing /board will create a new board, with the three status by default. As of this post, creating a board this way will only allow for the three statuses. In other words, it’s not possible to add additional phases after the fact.

Option 2: Create A Custom Board

For teams who use boards in a more custom fashion, the best strategy is to:

1. Create a table

2. Add the new “Status” property

3. Add additional properties

4. Move to the correct location

Once the right statuses are set up, creating a board view will function as expected.

Why does this matter?As a Notion Consultant, I’ve helped creators, teams and entire companies get up and running in Notion, and boards always take a little extra time to get comfortable with.A common sticking point:
What do we call each phase, and what do we call them?The Project Board is a tough feature to standardize, as teams use boards drastically differently. Sales teams may use a board to track customer pipelines. Product teams for progressing through sprints. You get the idea.This small update brings consistency while still allowing for customization.

Interested in watching a walkthrough? Check out the video below!