Action Items

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Introduction

Available as part of Articles, Action Items are a tool that allows editors and contributors to assign tasks to themselves or to other group members. Once tasks are created and assigned, assignees can track progress against those tasks. This tool is a simple way to keep you and other members of your group focused and transparent.

Action Items Components

Action

The specific action or task relating to the article.

Description

Further details, if needed, that explain the task or provide additional context.

Assigned To

By default, an action item is assigned to the person creating the action item. However, an action item can be assigned to any member of the group or left unassigned so that another user can choose to take it on.

Start

Determines when the Action Item will begin. This can be right away, on a certain date, or when the Action Item before this one in the list is complete.

Start Date

The user can set a specific date for when they would like the Action Item to start. By default, the date in this field will be the date you are creating the task.

Due

You can determine when the Action Item should be completed by choosing to have it due ASAP, On a Specific Date, After a specified number of days, or Eventually.

Due Date

Due date will only appear if you have selected On a specific date in the previous field. It is intended to capture the specific date by which the action item should be completed.

Activating Action Items

Because Action Items are a feature within Articles, you must first have an article open in Edit Mode to activate them. Once an article is open, users can engage Edit Mode in one of two ways:

By clicking the Edit button on the bottom right corner of the screen

By clicking on the Article Tab drop-down and selecting Edit

Once Edit Mode is engaged, you can activate Action Items directly by clicking the On/Off toggle that appears beside it on the top right corner of your article.

Alternatively, you can activate Action Items by:

Clicking on the Article Tab drop-down and selecting “Settings”
Checking the “Action Items” box in the Visible Components section
Clicking “Save”

Creating Action Items

Once Action Items have been activated in your article, you can begin to craft them. When clicking the +Item button to add a new Action Item, the user will see a set of fields they can set to customize the Action Item.

When adding a new action item, users can fill in the following values specific to each Action Item they are adding.

Action

The specific action or task relating to the article.

Description

Further details, if needed, that explain the task or provide additional context. This description cannot exceed 500 characters.

Assigned To

Success Message

Here, editors can add a default Success Message that end users will see when they complete an Action Item.

Start

Determines when the Action Item will begin. This can be right away, on a certain date, or when the Action Item before this one in the list is complete.

Start Date

The user can set a specific date for when they would like the Action Item to start. By default, the date in this field will be the date you are creating the task. If “Once previous item is complete” is selected in the previous field, this option will disappear.

Due

You can determine when the Action Item should be completed by choosing to have it due ASAP, On a Specific Date, After a specified number of days, or Eventually.

Due Date

Due date will only appear if you have selected On a specific date in the previous field. It is intended to capture the specific date by which the action item should be completed.

Once you have filled in all Action Item settings, click Save. If you have assigned the task to a specific user, they will receive an automated alert informing them that they have a new task.

Saved Action Items will display in a list under the Action Items header at the upper right side of the article page or after the article content on mobile devices.

Updating Action Items

Action items can be updated by the Assigner and the Assignee.

Assigner

If you wish to adjust an existing task (i.e. change the due date, assign to a different user, add additional details in the description box, etc.) you can do so easily. Hover the action item until additional options appear.

You can move the action item up or down the list by using the arrows on the left. You can also adjust the action item by clicking Settings. Once adjustments are made, click Save.

Assignee

As the assignee, you can update the Percent Complete field to indicate progress. You will also have a Mark Complete button available at any time to complete an Action Item and set it at 100% whenever you're ready.

In Update mode, the user will be able to add a note related to that particular update using the "Note" field.