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Item Workflow

Statuses

Custom Statuses

Rename Statuses, create extra Statuses, and customize which appear on your Templates.

What are Custom Statuses?

Custom Statuses allow you to customize which Statuses appear on your Templates to facilitate your workflows better.

You can:

Rename existing Statuses
Create new Statuses
Customize which Statuses appear on which Templates
Remove Statuses from Templates

Example of an Item with Custom Statuses.

Important: Contact your Customer Success Manager if you want to use Custom Statuses. Status configurations must be performed by KaiNexus staff.

What are the benefits?

Match your organization's unique terminology by renaming any of the default Item Statuses.
Distinguish different versions of the same Status Type. For example, if you manage projects in KaiNexus, creating "On Track" and "Off Track" versions of Active Status will help you better categorize your projects.
Remove unnecessary Statuses on Templates. For example, if users should never move an Item to Planned Status, you can simplify their experience by removing the option.

How do they work?

Important: Your Customer Success Manager will configure your Custom Statuses and add them to your Templates.

Every Custom Status will have a Status Type. The Status Type drives the behavior and availability of the Status throughout the Item lifecycle. For example, a Custom Status with the Complete Status Type will function the same as the Complete Status without any customization.

The Status Types are:

Draft
New
Planned
Active
Resolution Submitted
Complete
Deferred

By default, every Template will have one Status for each Status Type.

Pro Tip: You can't create a Custom Status with the Overdue Status Type. Each Status with the Active Status Type will also have an Overdue version.

Configuration Options

Each Template can be customized to have a unique set of Statuses. These Statuses can be utilized across multiple Templates or exclusively assigned to a single Template for specific tracking and management purposes.

You have the following configuration options for each Status:

Name: Pick a unique title for your Custom Status.
Description: Customize the tooltip that appears when you hover over the name of the Status in the Status drop-down on Items. You can even customize the tooltip per Template.
Status Type: Pick which of the seven Status Types your Custom Status will be.
Color: Choose a color for your Custom Status.
- If it's an Active Status Type, you will also choose an Overdue color.
Rank: Pick the order in which Statuses will appear in Status drop-downs throughout the system. If you sort an Item List by Status, the rank will also determine the order of Statuses.

What do Custom Statuses look like on an Item?

When a Custom Status is added to a Template, you will see it in the Status drop-down in Items of that Template Type. This allows users to select the Status to which the Item should transition.

Example of an Item with multiple Active Statuses.

However, there are a few exceptions:

Only the Primary Complete Status will be available in the Status drop-down. If you have more than one Complete Status on a Template, you must move it to the Primary Complete Status before you can transition it to another Complete Status.
Resolution Submitted Statuses will not be available in the Status drop-down. An Item will transition to the Primary Resolution Submitted Status when you submit a Resolution for approval.
Draft Statuses will not be available in the Status drop-down.

What happens when a Template has multiple Statuses of the same Type?

When a Template has more than one Status of the same Status Type, one of them will be the Primary Status.

The Primary Status is the default Status within its Status Type. If you initiate a Status change without specifying which Custom Status you want, the system will automatically pick the Primary Status. The Primary Status will also be the first Status listed in Status drop-downs and the highest-priority Status when sorting Lists by Status.

For example, when you submit an Item, you cannot specify which New Status you want your Item to be. If you have two New Statuses on your Template, it will default to the Primary New Status.

Example of a Create Screen where you pick which Status you want your Item to be. Only the Primary Status of each available Status Type will appear.

Primary Status matters when you:

Submit an Item. If the Item automatically defaults to a certain Status Type, it will default to the Primary Status Type. If you use the Status & Team section on the Create Screen to pick a Status to submit an Item into, you will only have the Primary Statuses as your options.
Assign an Item. It will automatically default to the Primary Active Status.
Complete an Item. It will automatically default to the Primary Complete Status.
Submit a Resolution for approval. The Item will automatically default to the Primary Resolution Submitted Status.
Have a Milestone that triggers a Status change. The Item will automatically transition to the Primary Status if multiple options exist.
Reopen an Item. The Item will automatically reopen in the Primary Active Status.
Bulk Change Items. The Items will transition to the Primary Status.

Pro Tip: Need to change the Primary Status? Contact your Customer Success Manager.

Where are Custom Statuses supported?

Detail View: When you include Status in an Item's Detail View, the Custom Status will be displayed.
Item List columns: When you add a Status column to your List in List, Tree, or Gantt View, the Item's Custom Status will be displayed.
The Item Filter and Status Quick Filters: Anytime you filter a List, Widget, Board, or Report using the Item Filter or Status Quick Filter, you can specify a Custom Status.
Calendar View: The Status colors on Item Lists in Calendar View will respect your Custom Status colors.
Notification Preferences: You can configure your notification preferences so that you can be alerted when an Item enters any of your Custom Statuses.
Item API: Custom Statuses can be specified in Item API exports and imports.
PDF and XLSX exports: An Item's Custom Status will be included in PDF and XLSX exports.
Translations: With the Multi-Language Module, you can translate Custom Statuses to other languages.

Where are Custom Statuses not supported?

In the following app areas, you will only see Statuses displayed by their Status Type, not by your unique Custom Statues:

Item Dates: Custom Statuses will not have a unique system date to indicate when the Item entered that Status.
- For example, an Item's Start Date will be when the Item entered any type of Active Status. There will not be a separate Start Date for distinct Active Statuses.
Bulk Change: While Bulk Changing Items in a List, you can only specify the Status Type to which you want to transition the Item.
The Status Bar on Nested Item Lists: Status Bars throughout KaiNexus will be broken down by Status Type, not Custom Statuses.
Kanban View: Item Lists in Kanban View will have a column for each Status Type. Custom Statuses with the same Status Type will be grouped together in their Status Type column.
All Reports: Custom Statuses are not supported on KaiNexus Reports. This includes date filtering, status bars, and breaking down data by Status.
Milestone Blocked Statuses: If you have Milestones blocking a certain Status, you can only specify a Status Type to block, not an individual Custom Status.
Badges: If you have Badges that are awarded when Items reach a certain Status, you can only specify a Status Type, not an individual Custom Status.
Locked Targets and Forecasts: If you prevent users from editing Target and Forecast Resolutions based on the Item Status, you can only specify a Status Type, not an individual Custom Status.