5j: Admin Onboarding - Item Workspace -Right Bar part 7: Start Dates and Due Dates

Item Workspace Tour: Right Bar Features continued - Start Dates and Due Dates

Start dates and due dates can be used in either a manual or automated fashion within DevStride.

You can choose to set start dates and end dates manually by setting the dates up from any of the multiple item views that DevStride offers (including boards, gantt charts, and reports, which will be covered later).

In the item's workspace, you can simply type in or use the calendar icon to select or enter start and end dates (1). You can also click "today" (2) to quickly insert today's date. Click "clear" (2) to clear out the date if you decide you do not want a date to appear right now (3).

Start and end dates can also be used as triggers in Automations.

If you use cyclical planning, as with sprints, you can sync your start and end dates with your cycles. DevStride's default is to sync start and end dates automatically with the cycle cadences you set up (1).

If any of your teams work in board cycles (sprints or other specified cadences) this sync setting becomes important. When you set up your boards and assign them to a cycle, the tasks associated with that board adopt the start and end date board's cycle as their start and due date.

Note: You can set dates to end before the board's cycle end date, so that you can plan for that item to end earlier than the cycle itself. This can happen when you want something completed in the first half of a cycle, for example, and you want to make another item dependent on it finishing by a certain date.

If you reset the item to another board, however, that item will adopt the new board's date. If you want a different date from the new board's, you will have to re-set the date.

We will cover the default setting more as well as other options when we discuss Boards.

Now, continue to tour the features on the right bar of the item workspace:

Teams through Status
Point Estimates
Time Estimates
Best Practices for Time Estimates
Time Spent
Priority

Progress Tracking
Custom Fields