Understanding Data Types in Motion
Last updated
Was this helpful?
Last updated
Was this helpful?
Note: This article assumes you've read "Data Hierarchy: How Data is Structured in Motion". If you haven't, we recommend starting there for foundational concepts.
All data types in Motion are workspace-specific and enhance how you manage tasks and projects within their respective workspaces. Through statuses, custom fields, labels, and stages, you'll establish clear progress tracking, enhanced filtering, and efficient team communication.
To learn more about how data is structured in Motion, click [here].
Motion stands apart through its exceptional customization capabilities within each workspace. By utilizing Motion's visual indicators, status updates, and custom filtering, you'll transform how you manage tasks and projects.
Status in Motion represents a task's relationship to completion. Every task moves toward either being completed or canceled, and its status indicates where it stands on that path.
For example, when you see a task in Backlog, you know it's typically further from completion than tasks marked as In Progress or To Do. These statuses are self-reported, making them great for keeping an individuals progress organized, or for cross-team communication on a task's progress toward completion.
Additionally, statuses can be used for added filtering in 'All Projects' and 'My Tasks/All Tasks' views. For more on views in Motion click [here].
All statuses essentially map this relationship between the task and its ultimate destination (Completed or Canceled). They tell the story of the task's progress toward these end states:
Consider workspace collaborators John and Kate's film production project. Kate manages casting while John handles wardrobe. John can't start costume design until actors are chosen.
When Kate marks casting as "Completed," John immediately knows he can begin his work - no meetings or direct correspondance needed.
Custom Fields provide additional layers of detail and filtering to your tasks within a workspace. They serve two essential functions: precise filtering and contextual information.
Text: Track specific information like project codes, client references, or documentation links that need to be easily searchable.
Select: Create a single-choice dropdown menu for categories like department.
Multi-Select: Enable multiple selections - perfect for tasks that span different areas.
Number: Assign numerical values such as budgets, story points, or time estimates.
Person: Designate specific roles to tasks - such as assigning a QA reviewer or project owner.
Multi-Person: Add several team members with different responsibilities to a task.
URL: Connect directly to external resources, making reference materials instantly accessible.
Date: Track important milestones or review dates independent of the task's primary deadline.
Allan, a sports journalist, uses URL custom fields to streamline his research process:
Sarah's engineering team uses Multi-Select custom fields to manage complex features:
Labels were Motion's original solution for task categorization before Multi-Select custom fields. While still available, we recommend using Custom Fields for more robust organization and filtering capabilities.
Stages in Motion represent sequential waves of tasks within a workspace project. They help teams coordinate complex projects by ensuring work happens in the right order.
A workspace project for property development demonstrates effective stage usage:
Each stage completion automatically notifies the workspace team:
Stage 1: Permit Application Process.
Stage 2: City Planning Review.
Stage 3: Construction Phase.
Here's how stages organize a marketing team's campaign launch:
By understanding and implementing Motion's workspace-specific data types effectively, you create a system that:
Communicates progress automatically.
Organizes work intuitively.
Reduces coordination overhead.
Ensures proper task sequencing.
Summary: The true potential emerges when combining these tools within your workspace - using statuses for progress tracking, custom fields for detailed organization, and stages for project phase management.