¶ Workflow Views
Once you've created a project, Planally organises all its activities, roles, and governance rules based on the roadmap you selected. Workflow Views help you see and manage that work. Four complementary views let you track progress, deadlines, and dependencies, and make decisions, in one place.
¶ Why This Matters
Workflow Views allow you to:
- Visualise progress across phases and activities.
- Track deadlines and dependencies with ease.
- Move through governance checkpoints in sequence.
- Choose the view that fits your task.
¶ Switching Views
Open the project's Workflow tab, then choose a view from the switcher: Phase Gate, Timeline, Diagram, or Table.
- Each view has its own link, so you can bookmark it or share it with a colleague.
- Planally remembers the last view you used and opens projects in it next time.
¶ 1. Phase Gate View
Phase Gate View presents your project as a governed sequence of phases with gate checkpoints. Activities appear as cards within each phase and swimlane, showing status, dates, late indicators, and assignees.
¶ How to Use This View
- Add Activity within the relevant phase; new activities follow the roadmap's rules and permissions.
- Collapse/Expand All to focus on one phase or scan the whole project.
- Search to find an activity card by keyword.
- Read the cards: each shows its planned dates (or Not Planned), how late it is, and small indicators for Related Work, pending approvals (steps done / total), Discussions, and Attachments, when there are any.
- Drag and drop a card to another phase or swimlane, or to a new position within the same cell. Dropping a card in the Other swimlane removes its swimlane. Gates, prerequisites, and completed or waived activities can't be moved, and nothing can be moved into a phase that isn't active yet.
- Use the card's ⋮ menu to Move To another phase, Move Up or Move Down, Copy Link to the activity, or Open it.
- Open an activity to update its status, form, and attachments. See Managing Activities.
- Toggle Actual Dates to switch the dates shown on cards between planned and actual. This only changes which dates are displayed. It doesn't change late status or the late count. See Understanding Late Status.
¶ Gates and Easy-Gate
At the end of each phase, a gate is where you decide what happens next. Easy-Gate lets you decide in one click. If prerequisite activities are still open, you'll see Complete the prerequisite Activities to continue.
- Proceed: move the project to the next phase (Complete on the last phase).
- Go Back: return the project to the previous phase.
- Stop: end the project by setting its status to Inactive.
¶ 2. Timeline View
Timeline View shows activities over time, grouped by swimlane, so you can see whether work is on schedule.
¶ How to Use This View
- Zoom in or out to change the scale (months or years).
- Read status counts in each swimlane for a timeframe.
- Click a status in a swimlane to see the list of activities behind it.
¶ 3. Diagram View
Diagram View shows phases and activities as a diagram, so you can see relationships and dependencies at a glance.
¶ How to Use This View
- Zoom and pan to move around.
- View dependencies: Related (R), Start-to-Start (SS), Start-to-Finish (SF), Finish-to-Start (FS), and Finish-to-Finish (FF).
- Add a link between activities from the diagram.
- Click an activity to open it.
¶ 4. Table View
Table View is a spreadsheet-style list of every activity: ideal for reviewing, filtering, and exporting. Columns include Phase, Activity Name, Applicability, Swimlane, Status, Assignees, and Planned/Actual dates.
¶ How to Use This View
- Sort and filter by clicking column headers. To find late work, filter Status by, for example, In Progress - Late.
- Search to filter rows instantly.
- Export to XLSX or CSV for offline reporting.
- Add Activity from the toolbar.
- Open an activity by clicking its name.
- Change the page size (10, 25, or 50 rows).
¶ Snapshot
Snapshot isn't one of the four views. It's a separate feature: click Snapshot at the top right of the project, next to Team and Settings. It lets you compare the project at different points in time. Snapshots are taken automatically on key changes (status, phase, roadmap) and can also be taken whenever you need one.
Snapshot also records team structure, so you can see how roles and assignments have changed, not just activity and phase progress.
¶ How to Use Snapshot
- Click Snapshot at the top right of the project.
- Create a snapshot to record the current state, including team structure.
- Compare snapshots to track progress and team changes over time.
- Export snapshots, including the team structure chart, for reporting or audits.
¶ Best Practices
- Choose the view that matches your task: Phase Gate for governance, Timeline for scheduling, Diagram for dependencies, Table for reviews and exports.
- Share the view link when you want a colleague to see exactly what you're seeing.
- Use Snapshot before and after major decisions.
- Keep activity status up to date so every view stays accurate.