Work Items is the personal and project-bound to-do management in the personal area of ZEP. Tasks are a lightweight format with status, priority, subtasks and file attachments. They differ from tickets (Ticket system module) and project work items (project core function) by their to-do character without time recording or planned hours.
Note: Work items are a standard function in ZEP Compact and ZEP Professional. In ZEP Clock the area is not available. The standard statuses and priorities are configured by the administration in the work item master data.
Views and navigation
Tasks appear in two contexts — depending on whether they are own items or a project view. Both views share the same fields and actions.
Use case: A consultant maintains her personal to-do list and works in a project team that coordinates work items together. The personal list opens via the main menu entry Work Items; the project work-items view opens from the project detail page. When switching between the two, her own assigned items are immediately recognizable.
View variants
View | Opening | Content |
My Work Items | Main menu entry Work Items | All work items assigned to the logged-in employee across all projects. |
Project Work Items | Project detail page, Work items tab | All work items of a specific project. Whether other members' work items are visible is controlled by the administration via the setting Project Work Items visible to employees — by default disabled; visible then are only own work items plus, for admins, project leaders and controlling, all work items. |
Within each view two display modes are available side by side: a tabular list view and a Kanban board. The Kanban board is the default on opening; a button in the header (tooltip „Switch to table" or „Switch to board") toggles between the views. Both operate on the same data — what is changed in one view is immediately visible in the other.
List view
The list view shows all work items in tabular form and is particularly suited for evaluations, bulk editing and detailed filtering. It is the fastest way to overview many items at once or to prepare structured lists for status meetings.
Show and hide columns: title, status, priority, assignee, project, task, due date, creator, created and modified date can be shown as needed.
Sort: every sortable column orders the list ascending or descending — single- or multi-level.
Inline editing: status, priority, assignee and due date can be changed directly in the cell without opening the entry window.
Bulk edit: mark multiple work items and change status, priority, project, assignee or due date together.
Favorites: the current combination of visible columns, sorting and filters can be saved as a personal favorite and recalled later.
Kanban board
The Kanban board is the visual view on the work items — ideal for ongoing work, daily stand-ups and sprint planning. Each column represents a status, each card a work item. Status changes happen by dragging, without opening a form.
Columns equal statuses: each column matches a status from the work item master data, including its colour. Which statuses appear on the board is controlled by the status flag Show on Default Board; additional statuses can be added to or removed from the board at any time. Columns can be reordered via drag and drop and deleted via the column-header menu. Work items in a deleted column are preserved and keep their status.
Drag and drop: dragging a work item between columns updates its status immediately. The card order within a column can also be adjusted — the personal sort order is stored per employee.
Card content: each card shows title, project, task, subtask progress as well as the created and due date. The due date turns red or orange when overdue. The priority appears as a coloured pill on the card and can be changed inline. In the project view the card additionally shows the assignee; in the personal view My Work Items this field is omitted. A click on the card opens the entry window for editing.
Quick add per column: every column has an Add work item button that creates a new work item directly in the column status.
Filters, search and favorites: the same filters as in the list view also apply to the board and reduce the cards accordingly. The search covers title, status, priority, task, project, assignee and attachment file names. Personalised filter combinations can be saved as a Kanban favorite — independent of the list-view favorites.
Filters and favorites
Both views share the filters and column options. Frequently used filters are:
Status: single or multiple statuses, often combined with „not done".
Priority: one or more levels, e.g. only „high".
Project and Task: narrow to a work context.
Due date: period, for example the current week.
Creator and Assignee: people filters for overviews in project views.
Title and Description: full-text narrowing.
Filter combinations can be saved as personal favorites and directly applied again on the next visit.
Create and edit a task
A new work item is created via the Add new work item button in the header area. In the entry window mandatory fields are set and optional fields maintained. Existing items can be edited by clicking the title to reopen the entry window.
Use case: After a meeting the project lead distributes three new work items to team members. For each item he opens the entry window, enters title and description, chooses status „open" and priority „medium", assigns the respective person as assignee and sets the project. The assigned people see the work items immediately in their personal list.
Fields of a task
The mandatory and optional fields follow directly from the validation rules of the work item form:
Field | Mandatory | Note |
Title | Yes | Work item title, maximum 255 characters. Appears in list and Kanban card. |
Status | Yes | Selection from the statuses configured by the administration (for example open, in progress, done). Each status has name, short form, color and sort position. |
Priority | Yes | Selection from the priorities configured by the administration (for example low, medium, high). |
Assignee or project | Yes (at least one) | One of the two fields must be set. When assigning the item to another employee than the own account, the project is mandatory. |
Description | Optional | Detail text for the task. |
Task | Optional | Selectable when a project is set. The work item must belong to the chosen project. |
Due date | Optional | Date by which the work item should be completed. Visible in list and Kanban card — highlighted in colour when overdue. |
Files | Optional | Attachments in PDF, JPG or PNG format, total size maximum 52.5 MB. |
Subtasks | Optional | Checklist entries. If present, title (max 255 characters) and done status are mandatory per entry. |
Steps to create a task
Steps to create a new task:
Switch to My Work Items or the Project Work Items view.
Click the Add new work item button at the top right — the entry window opens.
Set the mandatory fields title, status and priority.
Choose at least an assignee or a project — depending on the use case an own plan or an assignment to another person.
Optionally maintain description, task, due date, file attachments and subtasks.
Save with Save — the work item appears immediately in the list or Kanban.
Actions in list and Kanban
Most changes can be made directly from the table and Kanban board without opening the entry window. Inline updates are especially fast for ongoing status or priority changes.
Use case: In a daily stand-up the team walks through the Kanban columns. A team member drags a completed work item from the column „in progress" to „done" — the status is updated immediately. Another item gets a new priority level via click on the priority cell because the customer priority has changed.
Available actions
Action | Available in | Description |
Create task | List and Kanban | Opens the entry window with empty mandatory fields. |
Edit task | List and Kanban | A click on the title opens the entry window with stored values. |
Change status | List (inline) and Kanban (drag) | In Kanban by dragging between columns, in the list by clicking the status cell. |
Change priority | List (inline) | A click on the priority cell opens the selection. |
Change assignee | List (inline) | A click on the assignee cell opens the employee selection. |
Tick off subtasks | Detail view in the entry window | Checkbox list, changes are saved directly. |
Bulk edit | List | Mark multiple items and change status, priority, project, assignee or due date together. |
File upload and download | Entry window | Add file attachments or open existing attachments. |
Delete | List, Kanban and entry window | Removes the work item including subtasks and attachments. |
Distinction from tickets and tasks (project tasks)
In ZEP three related but clearly separated concepts exist. Whoever chooses the right tool for the work avoids double entries and uses each strength fully.
Concept | Application | Key feature |
Work Items | Personal or project-bound to-dos without formal workflow | No hour tracking, no planned hours, Kanban view. Work item management module. |
Tickets | Customer requests, service incidents, internal issues | Assignee workflow, hour booking, priority, categories. Ticket system. |
Tasks (project tasks) | Project structuring in work packages | Planned hours, over-booking stop, bookable or non-bookable phases. Project core function. |
Tip: Tasks are particularly suitable for personal reminder lists and sprint bundles without formal workflow. As soon as hours have to be booked on the item or an approval becomes necessary, the ticket system or a project work item is the better tool.