Trello, a beloved personal task manager used by millions worldwide, has been a cornerstone of Atlassian’s product suite since its acquisition in 2017. However, its role within Atlassian’s broader strategy has been somewhat ambiguous, especially in relation to Jira, the company’s flagship work management tool. This ambiguity has led many to question Trello’s relevance in an enterprise setting. With the recent launch of a “new” Trello, designed to help individuals manage their to-do lists, Atlassian has provided a clear answer to these questions.

Gaurav Kataria, head of product at Trello, explains that while Jira focuses on managing work across teams and organizations, Trello is being repositioned as the go-to tool for individual productivity. “We are at that cusp where Trello is transforming from being a flexible project management tool to really being the super to-do list, or the organizer tool for an individual,” Kataria says. “And Jira, which is another big, major product, is mature as a project management tool…”

As we plan out the next decade for Atlassian — and not just for Atlassian, as we think about how people work over the next decade — individual productivity will be a separate category, or separate set of experiences, from project management. Jira is going to be the project management tool, and Trello is going to be the individual productivity tool.

Gaurav Kataria, Head of Product at Trello

Organizing Tasks with AI and Visual Cues

Trello’s visual approach to task management, which mirrors the Kanban methodology, remains unchanged. However, Atlassian is introducing new features that reflect the evolving digital landscape, particularly the proliferation of online tools and the rise of AI. The goal is to help users organize and prioritize tasks in a world where the number and variety of tasks have increased significantly.

To think through what’s important, how things are connected, or what should happen first, is where human insight and human creativity comes in. We can use artificial intelligence and the Trello interface to play to our strengths as humans. Trello is a very visual tool. It’s that metaphorical canvas or the placemat where we can organize our active ideas and organize our mind. Trello really helps us do that.

Gaurav Kataria, Head of Product at Trello

The new features, currently in private beta and set to roll out starting in April, leverage AI to capture tasks from various sources such as email, Slack messages, Siri voice notes, or Jira tickets. These tasks are then extracted and organized into Trello’s digital boards, where users can add labels, checklists, and automations. A new Trello Planner integrates with Google or Microsoft Outlook calendars, allowing users to drag-and-drop tasks directly into available time slots. This bi-directional integration supports multiple calendars, enabling users to link both personal and work calendars.

The framework that we are using to help people be more productive is capture, organize and then get stuff done.

If we can make the process of capturing things a little bit more seamless, a little bit more intuitive, then we will solve the problem of things slipping through cracks…

Organizing is also important… That’s where the beauty of the human mind comes in, and our human creativity comes in. We decide what’s important. AI doesn’t decide what’s important. We decide, we make that decision.

Then the third aspect is actually getting stuff done. Bringing in the calendar experience is really bringing that methodology that nothing is slipping through the cracks, things are nicely organized and prioritized, and then time can be set aside on the calendar to get it all done…

By bringing that calendar view inside Trello, we can help people plan their day in a more hour-by-hour fashion, and because Trello is very visual and very tactile… this drag-and-drop experience helps you organize information in that same visual way.

Gaurav Kataria, Head of Product at Trello

Focusing on Individual Needs

Previously, Trello was marketed as a project management tool for both teams and individuals. The new strategy shifts the focus to helping individuals manage their personal work. This shift addresses a gap left by tools that primarily focus on team collaboration. Kataria explains, “Sometimes the way I organize the information in my head is different than how a company organizes the information.”

For instance, a manager might use Trello in conjunction with Jira to keep track of intern projects. Behind the scenes, a JQL query selects specific tasks from various Jira projects. Kataria elaborates, “It’s not a Jira issue that’s assigned to me. I just want to keep an eye on these intern projects, because I’m supervising their work. I can create a nice list inside Trello that gives me the real-time status of what’s happening in Jira on those four or five different projects, or those four or five different work items. I can see this information in Trello, and I can organize this information in Trello…”

So the value of Trello here is that it fits to your individual style and preference, but the information can be pulled in from any place you like. With Jira, it’s a seamless integration, because both the tools are within the Atlassian portfolio.

Gaurav Kataria, Head of Product at Trello

Adding another app to combat application sprawl might seem counterintuitive, but Atlassian argues that Trello’s ability to unify an individual’s tasks from various applications meets a critical need. Kataria elaborates, “Often times, when people say there are lots of tools, they want to create a tool that can get rid of other tools. You may have heard this expression, ‘One tool to manage the work in all the other tools.’ Our insight is actually a little bit different.”

Our insight is that we don’t think we can get rid of other tools. There is a reason people have to use Salesforce and Workday and Slack and email and Microsoft Teams. We don’t think Trello replaces any of the other tools, and Trello does not replace any application from that perspective, but it is your individual or personal view of what needs to be done and a mental tracker of all the things…

Where Trello is uniquely good is, it helps people organize their thoughts in the way their mind thinks. Colors play a very important role in Trello. The spatial organization of information plays a very important role in Trello.

[It] is about what we, as humans, think about organizing the information in the world or connecting the dots in the world. Trello is really connecting those dots and prioritizing those things, without getting rid of other tools. The other tools will remain. Trello is just a nice way to seamlessly organize all of those things.

Gaurav Kataria, Head of Product at Trello

My Take

As a Trello user, I can see the logic behind Atlassian’s new features. Making it easier to add tasks and integrating them with calendars makes Trello more attractive for managing a wider range of tasks. This new direction carves out a distinct role for Trello, avoiding overlap with Jira, which Atlassian now positions as the primary tool for team-based project management.

However, the success of these new features will depend on how effectively the AI converts incoming tasks from other applications into meaningful Trello cards. While the concept is intriguing, I will reserve final judgment until I see these features in action.

Real-World Applications and Case Studies

Consider a marketing manager at a tech startup in Silicon Valley who juggles multiple projects and deadlines. With the new Trello, this manager can seamlessly capture tasks from various sources, such as Slack messages, email, and voice notes, and organize them into a visual board. The integration with Google Calendar allows the manager to schedule tasks directly into available time slots, ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks.

Another example is a freelance writer in New York City who uses Trello to manage client projects, personal tasks, and deadlines. The writer can pull in tasks from different applications, such as email and project management tools, and organize them on a Trello board. The visual nature of Trello helps the writer prioritize tasks and stay on top of deadlines, even when managing multiple projects simultaneously.

Potential Challenges and Counterarguments

While the new features in Trello offer promising solutions for individual productivity, there are potential challenges to consider. One concern is the learning curve associated with integrating new AI-driven features. Users who are already familiar with Trello’s basic functionalities might find the transition to these advanced features daunting.

Another potential issue is the effectiveness of the AI in accurately capturing and organizing tasks. If the AI fails to correctly interpret tasks from various sources, it could lead to confusion and inefficiency. Additionally, the integration with multiple calendars might create complexity for users who prefer a simpler, more streamlined approach to task management.

Despite these challenges, the new Trello represents a significant step forward in personal productivity tools. By leveraging AI and visual organization, Trello aims to help users manage their tasks more effectively in an increasingly digital world.