Getting organized is vital. In an increasingly hectic world, you must know what you need to do, what you have finished, and where everything you achieve is taking you.
Various organization systems have been adopted over the years, but few are as durable as Kanban. If you like the Kanban approach, Kanbani is one of the best apps on the market in 2020.
What Is Kanban?
Kanban is a method of organizing workflows, with a board (or "Kanban" in Japanese) split into three lists: "To Do," "Doing," and "Done." Workflows are broken down into boards, then lists, and finally cards. Cards can be moved between lists, depending on the card's content, the status of the list, and so on.
You might have used Kanban without realizing it, perhaps organizing tasks on a whiteboard, or using sticky notes to process your tasks.
Bringing Kanban into the mobile space, Kanbani adds a selection of useful digital enhancements that super-charge the Kanban experience. You can get it for free from the Kanbani website, from Google Play, and also from the Huawei AppGallery.
What Can You Do With Kanbani?
A physical Kanban workflow is sadly two-dimensional. Kanbani brings that extra third dimension to the process, replacing any Kanban-oriented workflow.
Further, Kanbani doesn't stop working because you have no mobile data or Wi-Fi connection. Like an "offline Trello" Kanbani keeps working, making it ideal for both solo and team-based work.
Collaboration is a key aspect of Kanbani, with individual boards available for sharing (via QR code) with different groups. You might share one board with your family (perhaps a weekly household to-do list) and another with your colleagues at work (project work, coffee rota, anything!).
All sharing is via QR code for simplicity. There is no signup or registration necessary---only those with the QR code can access a Kanbani board.
A whole host of possibilities present themselves with the Kanban way of working. Kanbani can provide them all. Writing a book? Use Kanbani cards to order your chapters, plot, and message. Organizing a party? Kanbani's embracing of the Kanban workflow makes this a far simpler endeavor than ever before.
Enjoy These Features in Kanbani
When you install Kanbani on your Android phone (tablet is supported, but not optimized), you'll find a simple user interface that can be used to create and plan new tasks and projects.
Kanbani supports online and offline functionality; collaboration can be managed via the publisher's server or your own. There's a user interface designed for easy Kanban management, supporting gestures, and bulk commands.
Importantly, cards can be color-coded for easy search. You can also search by Title and Description.
Kanban boards can be converted into a calendar-style organizer by switching to the Timeline view, which text notes can be grouped into cards or saved as a journal with the Description editor.
Lists can be customized individually and archived based on a predetermined threshold. Customizations include sorting by due date, syncing due to an event occurring, and more.
Boards can be shared for viewing in a web browser. There's also a PHP-based Kanbani board browser, as well as a web-based version (see below). In short, you should be able to access your Kanbani project on any platform, not just via the Android app.
Creating a Project in Kanbani Is Easy
Getting started with Kanbani demonstrates how simple the app is. A "Welcome Board" is provided, providing quick instructions on how to use the app.
To create your own Kanban workflow, tap the drop-down menu, and select Create a new board. Give it a name, click OK, then double-tap as instructed in the app to add a new card.
You'll see how the workflow is split into the three stages (To Do, Doing, Done), while the Settings menu lets you set general and hierarchical configurations.
Creating a new card requires a Title, Description, and appropriate List. The default list names can be adjusted in the settings, colors can be assigned to cards, and a date specified for completion.
This is a simple app that removes what little complication there is with Kanban, and puts your projects in your pocket.
Kanbani's Extra Features Set It Apart
Beyond the standard features you'd expect in a Kanban app, Kanbani offers an impressive collection of advanced features.
After you've created your project, you'll notice that lists can have separate configurations, for example how the cards are ordered, the number of lines to show, and more. In fact. The detail and configuration available for each Kanbani card is pretty granular---you'll be continually surprised how versatile the app is.
There is also the option to bulk-move cards and other general commands. This is an incredible time-saver, and a feature you won't find in popular card-based task management apps like Trello.
For the ultimate in time-saving workflow management, the optimized user experience allows you to simply swipe down from the top (as you would refresh in other apps) to save a card.
We also love Kanbani's encryption. The service has one-tap end-to-end encryption; not even the server owner can see the contents of your card. Coding geeks can dig down into the source code (available on GitHub) and verify the encryption soundness themselves.
Kanbani Is Ad-Free
Rare for Android apps, Kanbani is also completely free of adverts. There are no in-app purchases either. This tool is 100 percent free and designated as freeware.
Further, if you choose to use the Kanbani server, they won't charge you for the pleasure. This is a marked departure from other apps with central servers, and very welcome. This lack of data limits covers any number of cards, lists, boards, and text. Testing shows Kanbani works smoothly on huge boards of over 500 plus cards, data that will all sync between your Android apps.
As PDApps states, this data is "mere kilobytes."
It's refreshing to see an honest and realistic attitude from app developers, especially for such a useful and desirable app like Kanbani.
Complete Freedom: No Dependency
Freeware is good news, but also impressive is developer PDApps' attitude to dependency. Using Kanbani doesn't lock you into their service. Rather, you can set up your own server (using OwnCloud, FTP, or SFTP) to store your Kanbani projects. If your server requirements are driven by privacy concerns, Kanbani is available without Google Play's analytics if you download directly from the developer's website.
Data can be exported in JSON format and imported on a different system manually as a backup. Backups differ from syncing as they completely replace data when imported or restored.
What this means is that you can keep using Kanbani without any reliance on the developer. If they go away, move onto other types of software, or end support for Kanbani, it should continue to work regardless.
Like it says, complete freedom.
Use Kanbani Across Multiple Devices
With Kanbani installed on your Android device, you can use it on another Android device.
The sync feature requires just a username and password. Once inputted on the devices that require access, the Kanban project can be synced to whoever needs it. OpenSSL end-to-end encryption is an optional extra, with the secret stored locally on relevant devices.
Clearly, this makes Kanbani a collaborative organizational powerhouse, letting everyone who needs access to your workflow designs view it and make suggestions.
Enjoy Kanbani on the Web
It gets better than that. You can also access your Kanbani board on any device with an internet connection.
A web version allows viewing any Kanban board project that is synced to the Kanbabi server. You can check this at kanbani.pdapps.org/Welcome, which also doubles as a useful demo of the whole service.
Further, you can download a Kanbani viewer app. This is open-source, available to download from GitHub. It's designed to run in any browser, allowing you to view (but not edit) any Kanbani board you have synced.
By visiting the demo version, you can check the benefits of using the browser interface. These include switching between the horizontal left-to-right, Trello-like view into a vertical list topped with a table of contents and print function.
There's also the import/export feature, allowing your Kanban boards to be viewed through the web app. JSON, CSV, Excel, and text formats are supported here. The viewer also supports plugins, so developers on your team can add custom features if desired.
Kanbani: Mobile Kanban Workflow in Your Pocket
For mobile workflow management across any device with a web browser, Kanbani makes sense.
With data syncing to a centralized server of your own choice, online collaboration, optional data encryption, and gesture-based control over your cards, Kanbani is the app-based Kanban system that just works.
To learn more about Kanbani and talk with the developers directly, check out the XDA forum about the app.
