Cards and tasks: the building blocks of every project

Cards represent what your team is delivering. Tasks break that work into actionable steps. Together they give everyone clarity on what needs to happen and what is done.

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What is a card?

A card is a work item — a user story, feature request, bug report, or anything else your team needs to deliver. Cards live in the backlog until they are pulled into a sprint or onto the board.

  • Each card has a unique ID (shown as #number in the top-left corner)
  • Cards can be assigned to team members
  • Cards support Markdown descriptions for rich formatting
  • Estimate story points to track capacity and velocity
  • Attach files from Google Drive or Dropbox
  • Add comments and discussion threads for async collaboration

Creating cards

Cards can be created in three places: the backlog, the board, and the sprint planning view. In all cases, click the + button, type a title, and press Enter.

  • Backlog: click + in the bucket toolbar to add a card to that bucket
  • Board: click + in the board toolbar to add a card to the current sprint or board
  • Sprint planning: create cards directly while planning, or drag from the backlog
  • Workmate: generate multiple cards at once from a text brief

Tip: Start with just a title. You can open the card later to add a full description, acceptance criteria, tasks, and estimates. This keeps brainstorming sessions fast and fluid.

Card details

Click a card name to open the detail modal. From here you can view and edit everything about the card:

  • Title — a clear, outcome-focused summary of the work
  • Description — Markdown-formatted details, acceptance criteria, or notes. Use the pencil icon to edit, Ctrl+Enter to save.
  • Tasks — a breakdown of steps needed to complete the card (see below)
  • Estimate — story points for capacity tracking
  • Assignment — assign to yourself (Assign Me) or specific team members (Users action)
  • Labels — color-coded tags for categorization and board filtering
  • Comments — threaded discussion for async collaboration
  • Attachments — files from Google Drive, Dropbox, or direct upload
  • Commits — linked Git commits (when a Git integration is connected)

Breaking cards into tasks

Tasks are the actionable steps that make up a card. While cards describe what to deliver, tasks describe how to get there. Tasks have their own status (To Do, Doing, Done) and optional time estimates.

  • Add tasks from the card detail modal or the expanded board view
  • Each task has a title, optional description, and time estimate (in hours)
  • Drag tasks between status columns: To Do → Doing → Done
  • Assign tasks to specific team members
  • When all tasks on a card are Done, the card is considered complete
  • Task estimates feed the sprint burndown chart

Example — User story with tasks:

  • Card: 'Users can reset their password via email'
  • Task 1: Design the password reset email template (2h)
  • Task 2: Implement the reset token generation endpoint (4h)
  • Task 3: Build the reset password form (3h)
  • Task 4: Write integration tests for the full flow (2h)
  • Task 5: Update user documentation (1h)

Workmate can generate task breakdowns automatically from a card's title and description.

Task time tracking

Each task supports two time fields: time remaining (estimate of hours left) and time spent (cumulative hours worked). These values drive the burndown chart and can be updated from the card detail view or via Git commit messages.

  • Set an initial estimate when creating the task
  • Update 'time remaining' as work progresses — the burndown chart reflects changes in real time
  • Log 'time spent' to track actual effort
  • Use Git commit commands to update both: #taskId -left 3h -spent 2h

Blocking cards (impediments)

When a card is stuck — waiting on an external dependency, blocked by another team, or facing a technical issue — mark it as blocked from the card dropdown menu. Blocked cards are highlighted with a red border and a "Blocked" label, making impediments immediately visible to the entire team.

  • Open the card dropdown menu and click 'Block'
  • The card shows a red border and 'Blocked' label on the board
  • Team members and the scrum master can spot impediments at a glance
  • Unblock the card from the same menu when the impediment is resolved

Example: A frontend card is blocked because the backend API is not yet deployed. The developer marks it as blocked. During standup the next morning, the scrum master immediately sees the red border and coordinates with the backend team.

Assigning cards and tasks

Assignments make ownership clear. From the card dropdown menu, use Assign Me for quick self-assignment or Users to assign other team members. Assigned users' avatars appear on the card.

  • Cards assigned to you appear on your Dashboard
  • Use 'Show only my cards' on the board to filter to your work
  • Tasks can also be assigned to specific team members independently of the card assignment
  • A single card can have multiple assignees

Common questions

Is there a limit on the number of tasks per card?+
No hard limit. However, if a card has more than 10–15 tasks, consider splitting it into multiple smaller cards for better tracking.
Can I move a card from one sprint to another?+
Yes. Use the card dropdown menu or the sprint completion flow to move cards between sprints or back to the backlog.
How do Git commits link to cards and tasks?+
Include the card or task ID (e.g., #1234) in your commit message. The commit appears in the card detail view with a link to the repository.
Can I duplicate a card?+
You can create a new card with the same content. Workmate can also help by generating similar cards from existing ones.

Start breaking work into clear, trackable steps

Cards and tasks give every team member clarity on what to work on, how to do it, and when it is done.

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