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Using the Issues tab

Using the Issues tab

The Issues tab helps teams track obstacles, risks, and unresolved questions that need attention. Use it to organize open challenges, assign ownership, and prioritize what needs to be addressed.

How it works

Issues are organized into three sections:

  • Short term — Issues that require near-term attention or are impacting current work
  • Long term — Issues that should be tracked or revisited later
  • Archived — Issues that have been moved out of the Short term or Long term sections

An Issue can be archived once it's been ticked off as solved on the left side of the item. Before that, the Archive option in the Additional settings dropdown (⁝) is grayed out and unavailable — ticking the Issue off as solved is what enables it. Archiving itself is then a separate manual step done through that menu. Archiving is reversible — you can move an Issue back to Short term or Long term if it needs to be reopened. This structure helps teams separate urgent work from lower-priority or future concerns.

What's included in an Issue

Each Issue includes required information used for ownership, prioritization, and tracking.

Required fields

Every Issue must include:

  • Icon
  • Title
  • Team
  • Assignee
  • Timeframe
  • Priority

The Assignee is responsible for driving the Issue toward resolution.

Optional fields

You can also add:

  • Links to related items

Linked items help connect Issues to related work such as:

  • Rocks
  • To-dos
  • Meetings
  • KPIs

How an Issue appears in the list

Each Issue row follows a consistent layout. Reading left to right, you'll see:

  1. Solved checkmark — clicking this marks the Issue as solved. It doesn't archive the item; that's a separate step.
  2. Priority — represented visually as tally marks (see below).
  3. Issue title — the description of the obstacle or risk.
  4. Owner — the user accountable for resolving the Issue. Internally this field is called "Assignee," but it appears as "Owner" in the list view.
  5. Notes — the Notes icon, with a number badge if Notes exist.
  6. Additional settings dropdown (⁝) — on the far right, opens the Edit / History / Archive / Delete menu.

Priority tally marks

The priority value is displayed as tally marks rather than a number:

  • 0 — no tally marks shown
  • 1–4 — tally marks corresponding to the priority value
  • 5 — a full tally mark group, displayed in red to visually emphasize the highest priority

This makes priority easy to scan at a glance without reading numbers — and the red color on a 5 helps urgent Issues stand out in a list.

Using priority levels

Issues use a priority scale from 0 to 5. Only three points on the scale are explicitly defined:

  • 0 — No priority
  • 1 — Low priority
  • 5 — Highest priority

Values between 1 and 5 are not specified, so teams can use them as gradations of importance based on their own judgment. Priority helps focus attention on the most important or time-sensitive Issues first.

Using timeframes

The Timeframe determines whether an Issue appears in the Short term or Long term section. Use:

  • Short term for Issues affecting current work or requiring immediate attention
  • Long term for future risks, lower-priority concerns, or items to revisit later

Create and manage Issues

  1. Open a team.
  2. Select the Issues tab.
  3. Create or open an Issue.
  4. Add the required fields.
  5. Set the appropriate timeframe and priority.
  6. Optionally link related items.
  7. Save the Issue.
  8. Tick the Issue off as solved on its left side once resolved.
  9. Archive the Issue from the Additional settings dropdown (⁝) once you're ready to move it out of the Short term or Long term list.

Adding Notes to an Issue

Notes let you attach additional context, follow-ups, or ongoing updates directly to an Issue without changing its description or fields. Use them to capture discussion, investigation findings, or decisions as the Issue is worked through toward resolution.

A Note lives on the Issue it's added to, so anyone opening the Issue sees its details along with any Notes that have been added to it.

When to use a Note

  • To capture findings from investigating the Issue
  • To record decisions or next steps agreed on during a meeting
  • To share progress updates as the Issue is being resolved
  • To preserve a running history of how the Issue was handled, from first raised to resolution

Add a Note to an Issue

  1. Locate the Issue you want to add a Note to.
  2. Click the note icon to the far right of the Issue, just to the left of the three-button menu (Edit, History, Archive, Delete). When Notes already exist on the Issue, a number appears above the icon showing how many. Clicking it opens a compact view of the Issue, a thread of any existing Notes, and a text box for adding a new Note.
  3. Type your Note in the text box.
  4. Click Add note to post it.

Your Note appears in the thread alongside any earlier Notes, so the full history of context and updates stays with the Issue. Notes are preserved when an Issue is archived, but they're deleted along with the Issue if the Issue itself is deleted.

Best practices

  • Reserve the highest priorities for Issues that require immediate action.
  • Use Short term only for active blockers or urgent concerns.
  • Assign every Issue to a clear owner.
  • Archive resolved Issues from the Additional settings dropdown (⁝) to keep active lists focused — ticking one off as solved doesn't archive it on its own.
  • Review open Issues regularly during team meetings, but pick only 3 Issues to resolve in any single meeting so the team can give each one real attention.
  • Use Notes to capture discussion and decisions, so the Issue's history travels with it rather than getting lost in chat or meeting recaps.

Things to keep in mind

  • The Archive option is grayed out until an Issue is ticked off as solved. Archiving itself is a separate manual step from the Additional settings dropdown (⁝), and is reversible.
  • Deleting an Issue is permanent, and any Notes on it are deleted with it.
  • An Issue belongs to one team. It can be moved to another team or assignee, but it can't be co-owned.
  • Priority determines how Issues should be reviewed and escalated.
  • Timeframe controls where the Issue appears in the tab.
  • Linked items help connect Issues to related team work.

Related articles

  • Using Notes
  • Linking items together
  • Icons, Tags, and shared item elements
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Using the Team Dashboard
  • Create and manage Rocks
  • Assign and track To-dos
  • Running meetings