Core Concepts

Kanman uses a simple but powerful hierarchy to organize your work. Rather than overwhelming you with complex features and endless configuration options, we’ve designed a system that’s easy to understand yet flexible enough to handle everything from personal to-do lists to complex team projects.

Understanding these core concepts will help you structure your work effectively and get the most out of Kanman. Once you internalize this hierarchy, organizing your work becomes second nature.

The Hierarchy

Kanman organizes your work in a clear, nested hierarchy where each level serves a specific purpose:

Workspace → Board → Project → Task → Subtask

Think of it like Russian nesting dolls—each level contains the next, creating a natural structure for organizing work of any complexity.

When to Use Each Level

Choosing the right level for your work is key to staying organized. Here are some guidelines:

• Use a new Board when you want to completely separate contexts. Work and personal life? Different boards. Different clients? Separate boards.
• Use a new Project when you have a distinct goal or deliverable within a board. Each project should have a clear end state.
• Use a new Task for each individual piece of work. Tasks should be completable—if you can’t check it off, it’s probably too big.
• Use Subtasks sparingly, for when a task has multiple sequential steps you want to track.

The Power of Simplicity

Many project management tools suffer from feature bloat—endless custom fields, complex workflows, and steep learning curves. Kanman deliberately keeps things simple:

• Three status levels (Open, In Progress, Done) cover most workflows
• No mandatory fields beyond task names—add detail when you need it
• Flexible views let you switch between Simple and Kanban layouts per board
• Automatic progress tracking shows completion without manual updates

This simplicity isn’t a limitation—it’s a feature. You spend less time managing your system and more time actually doing the work.

Learn More

Dive deeper into each concept to master Kanman’s organizational model:

• Workspaces - Understand team boundaries, billing, and collaboration
• Boards - Master top-level organization with customizable workspaces
• Projects - Group related tasks and track progress toward goals
• Tasks - Learn everything about creating, managing, and completing work items
• Subtasks - Break down complex tasks into manageable steps