Blockers: how to mark a task as blocked
In Taska, a blocker tells your team that a task is stuck or slowed down, and why. It shows right on the card. You can set blockers in team spaces on the Business plan.
Impediment and full stop
There are two kinds of blockers.
- “Impediment”. Work goes on, but slower. This blocker is shown in amber.
- “Full stop”. Work has stopped completely. This blocker is shown in red.
How to set a blocker
- Point to a card and click the STOP sign in its upper-right corner. In an open task, the same sign is in the window header. If it isn't there, click “⋮” in the header and choose “Set a blocker”.
- In the “Set a blocker” window, choose “Impediment” or “Full stop”.
- Click a ready-made option under “Recent impediments” or “Recent full stops”. Or type your own in the “What is stopping the task?” field, up to 200 characters.
- Click “Block”.
As you type, blockers already used on this board and in the space appear under the field. Keep the blocker to one short sentence and discuss the details in the task chat.
The assignee and the author of the task get a “Task is blocked” notification. The person who set the blocker doesn't get one.
You can also set a blocker from the card menu with “Block…”. To block several tasks at once, select them and click “Block…” on the panel at the bottom of the screen. See “Selecting tasks and bulk actions” for details.
Where you can see blockers
- A colored edge on the left of the card. Amber for an impediment, red for a full stop.
- A line under the title with the text of the most serious blocker. “+N” next to it means there are more blockers. Click the line to open the task right on the “Blockers” section.
- The counter in the column header shows how many tasks in the column are blocked. Click it to show only blocked tasks on the board, and click it again to show all tasks.
Full stops always come before impediments. In the “Minimal” and “Icons” card views, a STOP sign with the number of blockers replaces the line, and the “Detailed” view lists all blockers. The board filters let you pick “Blocked”, “Full stop only” or “Not blocked”.
How to remove a blocker
- Open the task. In the middle block of the window, choose the “Blockers” section. If another section is open, a blinking “The task is blocked” bar appears at the bottom of the block. Click it.
- Click the “Remove the blocker” checkmark in the blocker's row.
Taska shows “Blocker removed” with an “Undo” button. You can also remove a blocker from the card menu. Open “Blockers” and click the blocker you need. “Remove all blockers” removes them all at once.
The same row has an “Edit” pencil and a “Delete” trash icon. The pencil changes the text and the kind of the blocker. The trash icon removes a blocker set by mistake, but a line about it stays in the task history.
When a task is marked as complete, all its blockers are removed automatically.
Blockers and column conditions
If a column has the “The task has no active blockers” condition, a blocked task can't be moved into that column. Taska shows “Transfer is not possible” and the text of the blocker. See “Status automations” for details.
On a phone
There's no STOP sign on the card, because phones have no pointer to hover with. Open the task and tap the STOP sign in the window header. In the task window, “Blockers” is a separate tab.