How to Use ClickUp Kanban Boards

ClickUp makes it easy to build a visual Kanban workflow so your team can see every task, limit work in progress, and ship projects faster. This guide walks you through creating and customizing a Kanban system from scratch using the Board view and features inspired by the best practices in Kanban.

What Is a Kanban Board in ClickUp?

A Kanban board is a visual system for organizing work into columns that represent stages in your process. In ClickUp, this is done with the Board view, where tasks appear as cards that can be dragged between columns.

Each column is usually a status, such as:

• Backlog or Ideas
• To Do
• In Progress
• Review or QA
• Done

By laying tasks out this way, you can immediately see who is doing what, what is blocked, and how work is flowing through your pipeline.

Prepare Your Workflow Before Building ClickUp Boards

Before you configure anything inside ClickUp, clarify how you want work to move through your team. That way, your board reflects reality instead of forcing people into a tool-driven process.

Map Your Work Stages

Start by listing the major steps every task passes through, from idea to completion. For example:

1. Capture incoming requests
2. Prioritize and scope the work
3. Execute and collaborate
4. Review and test
5. Deliver or deploy
6. Retrospective and improvements

Simplify stages where possible so you do not end up with too many columns, which can slow your team down.

Define Work-in-Progress Limits

One of the core ideas of Kanban is limiting work in progress so that people finish what they start before taking on new work. Discuss realistic WIP limits for each stage of your workflow. You will use these limits to monitor your ClickUp board and keep things flowing.

Create a Kanban Space in ClickUp

Once your process is clear, you are ready to create the structure that will hold your Kanban board. In ClickUp, the main hierarchy is Spaces, Folders, Lists, and tasks.

Step 1: Add a New Space

1. In your Workspace sidebar, click the button to create a new Space.
2. Name the Space after your team or project, such as “Product Development” or “Marketing Kanban.”
3. Choose the color and icon to make it recognizable.
4. Decide which features you want active in this Space, such as sprints, time tracking, or custom fields.

This Space will contain your Kanban Lists and shared workflows.

Step 2: Organize With Folders and Lists

Inside the Space, create Folders and Lists to group work. For example:

• Folder: “Product Roadmap” with Lists for “Backlog,” “Current Sprint,” and “Bugs.”
• Folder: “Content Pipeline” with Lists for “Blogs,” “Email Campaigns,” and “Social Posts.”

Each List can have its own ClickUp Board view, or you can use higher-level Boards that pull in tasks from multiple Lists.

Configure Kanban Statuses in ClickUp

The heart of a Kanban board is its statuses. ClickUp lets you fully customize statuses for each Space or List, so they match your process exactly.

Step 3: Customize Statuses

1. Open the List or Space where you want your Kanban board.
2. Go to settings and find the Statuses section.
3. Replace generic statuses like “Open” and “Closed” with your mapped stages.

Common status sets include:

• Backlog → Ready → In Progress → In Review → Done
• Ideas → Planned → Building → Testing → Released

Use clear, action-oriented names so team members instantly understand where each task belongs.

Turn On the Board View in ClickUp

With statuses in place, you are ready to see your work as a Kanban board using the Board view in ClickUp.

Step 4: Add the Board View

1. Open the Space, Folder, or List where you configured statuses.
2. Click the option to add a new view.
3. Select “Board” from the available view types.
4. Name the view, such as “Team Kanban” or “Sprint Board.”

Once created, you will see tasks as draggable cards organized by status columns.

Step 5: Adjust Board Settings

To make your ClickUp Kanban board more useful, fine-tune the view options:

• Group by status so each column matches your workflow.
• Sort by priority, due date, or assignee for better visibility.
• Filter to show only active work, such as tasks that are not done or not archived.
• Toggle swimlanes using assignee, tag, or custom fields to slice the work.

These settings help teams quickly see the most important work and avoid clutter.

Build and Manage Tasks on Your ClickUp Board

Now it is time to populate your Kanban board with tasks and keep them moving from left to right.

Step 6: Create Kanban-Friendly Tasks

1. Click the button to create a new task in your List.
2. Use a clear, outcome-focused title so the card is understandable at a glance.
3. Add a short description outlining scope, requirements, and success criteria.
4. Assign the task to the right team member.
5. Set a due date or sprint if you are working in iterations.

Use subtasks or checklists to break out steps inside larger tasks without overwhelming your board with tiny cards.

Step 7: Move Cards Through the Workflow

During daily work, the Kanban board in ClickUp becomes your team’s shared visual hub:

• Drag cards from one status to the next as work progresses.
• Watch for columns where cards pile up, signaling a bottleneck.
• Limit how many cards can live in “In Progress” to avoid burnout and multitasking.
• Use comments and mentions directly on the card to keep conversations in one place.

Regular standups around the board help teams identify blockers and keep work flowing smoothly.

Use Advanced ClickUp Features to Improve Kanban

Once the basics are running, you can layer in more ClickUp features to fine-tune your Kanban board and get better reporting.

Step 8: Add Custom Fields

Custom fields let you add structured data to your cards, such as:

• Effort estimates or story points
• Cost or budget impact
• Risk level
• Client name or campaign name

Use these fields to filter and group tasks on the board for quick analysis.

Step 9: Automate Repetitive Work

Automation in ClickUp can handle routine actions so you spend less time on manual updates. Common automation ideas include:

• When status changes to “In Review,” automatically reassign to a reviewer.
• When status becomes “Done,” move the task to a specific List.
• When a due date is approaching, send a reminder in the task comments.

These small improvements keep your Kanban board accurate without extra effort.

Measure and Improve Your Kanban Flow in ClickUp

Kanban is about continuous improvement. Use your ClickUp data to refine the workflow and increase throughput.

Step 10: Review Metrics Regularly

Track indicators such as:

• Lead time: how long tasks take from Backlog to Done.
• Cycle time: how long tasks spend in active work statuses.
• Blocked tasks: cards that have not moved for several days.

Discuss these metrics in retrospectives and adjust WIP limits, statuses, or responsibilities accordingly.

Additional Resources for Mastering ClickUp Kanban

To go deeper into building strong, visual workflows, review the original guide on how to create a Kanban board, which inspired this walkthrough. You can find it at this ClickUp Kanban article.

If you want expert help with optimizing your workspace, processes, or integrations, explore consulting options at Consultevo, where specialists focus on efficient work management systems.

Start Streamlining Work With ClickUp Kanban

By mapping your workflow, configuring statuses, adding a Board view, and managing tasks visually, you can turn ClickUp into a powerful Kanban system for any team. Keep refining your board, monitor flow, and use automation and custom fields to evolve your process over time, and your team will gain the transparency and control Kanban is known for.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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