Goals helps a community agree on useful work, find people to carry it forward, and see its progress. Each goal has a card for planning and an article for the explanation, supporting material, and discussion behind it.
Start by opening Goals in the space or activity where the work belongs. Browse the board, open a goal that interests you, and read its article before deciding how to contribute.
A Shared Plan
A new board starts with To Do, In Progress, and Done. Goal managers can adapt the column names and add stages such as Review, while each column retains one of those three broader meanings.
The workspace separates three useful views:
A backlog goal is still published and available to people with access. Moving it there does not hide its article or remove its discussion.
The board groups current work by status while keeping its activity and assignee visible.
Cards show the title, a reference such as VS-42, and available activity, assignee, tag, and participation details. Search helps find a particular goal; assignee and color filters help review a part of the plan. Filters allow ordering; text search pauses it. Clear the search before dragging goals or inserting one between existing items.
Board and workflow explains the active plan. Backlog explains how later work returns to it.
Give The Work Enough Context
Selecting a card or backlog row opens its article beside the planning surface. The board keeps its position and filters, so you can read the details and return to the same place. Continue to the full article when you need more room.
A useful goal article explains the result people are working toward, why it matters, and what someone can do next. Keep supporting links and decisions there so a newcomer does not need a private briefing to participate.
Open a goal to read its context and review its status without losing the board.
Where your permissions allow, you can comment, react, give an Award, or choose View Later to keep a personal shortcut. Saving a goal does not assign it to you. See View Later for your saved collection.
Responsibility And Access
Reading a goal, editing one, and managing the board are different kinds of access:
Assignment works best when it reflects responsibility someone has accepted. A goal can remain Unassigned while people discuss its scope or look for a contributor.
Goals follow the access rules of their space and area. An activity keeps work close to its conversations and documents, while a space-wide board provides a broader view. Private activity membership still matters. Archived activities remain readable but do not accept new goals.
Create, Develop, And Finish
A space owner or goal manager with Coordinator access can use New, a column composer, or the backlog composer to create a goal. Creation publishes it immediately. Begin with a clear title, then develop the article; there is no separate draft queue in this flow.
Goals can be assigned to one person or one role and given one color tag. Tags make shared priorities easy to scan without replacing the fuller explanation. Create and develop a goal walks through the whole process.
Moving a goal to a Done-category column marks it complete and leaves it visible on the board. A manager can later use Clear Done to move that column's completed work into Done Goals history. Clearing keeps the goal and article. If work resumes, an editor can open the article and choose a status outside Done to return it to the board.
Share A Goal In Conversation
In Chat, type /goal to choose a joined space and one of its accessible goals. If you know the space key, a shortcut such as /VS- narrows the choice. Select the goal in the picker to insert a reference that follows the same work after a key change or move.
A reference does not grant access. A reader who cannot open the goal sees Goal unavailable. Goal references explains the shortcuts and space keys.
Common Questions
Is the backlog a private place to develop a draft?
No. It is a planning location for published goals. Its visibility follows the owning space and area.
Why can I edit one goal but not the columns?
You may be its reporter or assignee. Individual goal responsibility does not include board management.
Can I plan across several activities?
Yes. Use the broader space view to see accessible work across areas, or open one activity's Goals view to focus on that context.
Where did a completed goal go?
Check its Done column first, then Done Goals. A goal enters history only after a manager clears the column.
Does choosing View Later make me responsible for the goal?
No. It saves a personal shortcut. Assignment is a separate decision.