The Masterboard Setup
Overview
The “Master board” template is a project management solution that is straightforward and scalable depending on the business needs.
The solution is best suited for the following use cases:
- You have dozens of standard projects or clients (20+) that you want to manage and report from one place
- You want your team to work from one board instead of going to different client or project boards.
The configuration includes five major sections being grouped using folders. Each folder contains the boards.
Portfolio folder
- Clients
- Portfolio
Projects folder
- The Master board
- Projects boards
Dashboards folder
- Manager Dashboard
- Employee Dashboard
Template folder
- Template – Project
Archive folder
- Master board – Archive
The whole setup is geared toward being time-efficient and well-coordinated project management.
How to Install the Master Board app
Step 1
Log in to the monday.com account where you intend to install “The Master board.”
Step 2
Copy the provided link on the address bar of the browser. As the page loads, click on “Install.”
Step 3 (Optional)
After the installation, if you want to check that the app has been correctly installed, click on Apps button 
which is located on the lower left menu bar of your account.
To find the installed app, click on “Installed Apps.”
Important: You need to use an account with admin right so you can install the app.
Please watch the video:
How to Add the Master Board workflow
Step 1
To use the boards on the “Master board” – click on +Add and then “Choose from template.”
Step 2
On the search field, type “Master board” or you can also find it under the “Project Management” category.
Note: If it doesn’t show on the first attempt, refresh the page.
Step 3
The Master Board workflow will be installed in your Main Workspace. You can keep it there or move it to another workspace and incorporate then the subfolders.
Detailed Workflow
The Portfolio and Contacts boards
The process starts on the “Portfolio” board where the initial deal negotiation takes place. The fields for the new lead may be automatically populated if a CRM is being used.
Once a lead is generated on the Portfolio board, an item on the Contacts should be manually entered. A lead is linked to the respective contact.
Note: The creation of contacts can be automatically done if the details are available on the form that receives the project details.
The Creation of the Project board
When terms are agreed upon, the project manager can then change the “Create Project” status column to “Create Project. The change would trigger the automation recipe in place.
A project board will be created based on the configured “Project – Template” board.
Note: The “Project – Template” board is customizable. Additional columns may be added depending on the project’s requirement.
From the Project Board to the Master board
Once the project board is created, it will have the name of the client project. The columns from the template are already mirrored from the Master board. Also, the automation recipe is already added on the Template – Board so it gets automatically generated on the new project board.
As the project is already connected to the Master board, then the project details can already be managed on the Master board or the project board. The changes will take effect and will be visible on both boards.
On the Master board, you can set up different views like the Gantt, chart, workload, and others depending on what type of data you would want to see directly for better analysis.
Other than the different views on the Master board, you can also set up the Manager and Employee dashboards. It will provide you and the team a quick high-level view of the things that are relevant based on the position and tasks.
Archive and Delete Activities
If the project is already completed, there are two options to manage the tasks:
- Archive Activity – Once “Archive Activity” is clicked, the task will stay on the Project board but is removed from the Master board. It is then transferred to the “Master board – Archive.” The link on the “Portfolio” board will stay.
- Delete Activity – Once “Delete Activity” is clicked, the task will be removed from the Master board and the Portfolio board link is also cleared.
How to Archive an Activity
From the Project board:
- Click on the activity or task
- Change the “Archive / Delete Activities” column to “Archive Activity”
- Click on the activity or task
How to Delete an Activity
From the board:
- Click on the activity or task
- Choose Delete Activity from the “Archive / Delete Activities” column
- Finally, click on “Delete” as shown on the image to remove the activity from the Project board.
Boards
Clients
This board holds the contact details of the clients. It has basic information such as title, phone and email. This is linked to the Portfolio board.
Portfolio
This board holds the deals that will be for negotiation. This is connected to the Clients board.
The following are some columns of this board:
- Estimated Timeline – the timeframe for the project completion
- Committed Date – the delivery date of the project
- Project Value – the negotiated cost of the project
- Hourly Rate – if project fulfillment billed hourly
- Project Cost – the actual budget spent on the project.
- Create Project – triggers the creation of a dedicated project board.
The Master board
Configuring the Master board
- Create all the automations that you need only in this board.
- Setup dependencies by adding the “dependency” column, if needed.
- Incorporate additional automation recipes depending on the need, below are some examples:
- When status changes to something, change another status to something (When Status changes to Done, change Archive Activities to Archive Activity)
- When a status changes to something, move item to group (When Status changes to Working on it, move item to Ongoing Projects)
Below are automation recipes that come with the Master board template.
Template - Project
This will serve as the standard board for all client projects board. This is customizable depending on the type of information that needs to be displayed.
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Add the relevant group/phases and activities.
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Add additional columns depending on your requirement. For mirror columns the have to be added to the Master board first.
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Connect the new columns, if added, to the automation shown below within the item.
Projects boards
These boards are client-specific. Each won deal/project/client will have one dedicated project board.
How to connect the Project board to the Master board
- Select all the tasks, for ticking all the tasks faster, hold the shift key and then click the first task and the last one.
- Update Project Name, Project No., and Client. At least Project Name is required to be able to automatically connect the tasks from the Master board to the Portfolio.
- Select “To Master board” in To Master column. The tasks will be copied into the Master Board and connected to this board. From now on you can work on the tasks from the Master Board or from the project board.
Dashboards
These can be configured depending on the high-level view that you need.
- Manager Dashboard
- Employee Dashboard
The dashboard is filtered by Person “Me” so anyone that is looking the dashboard will only see the activities that he has been assigned to. You can create a duplicate for each employee.
You can also add more tables and other widgets as required.
Master board - Archive
This board receives the completed projects from the Master board. This is for record and reporting purposes.
The process starts on the “Portfolio” board where the initial deal negotiation takes place. The fields for the new lead may be automatically populated if a CRM is being used.
Once a lead is generated on the Portfolio board, an item on the Contacts should be manually entered. A lead is linked to the respective contact.
Note: The creation of contacts can be automatically done if the details are available on the form that receives the project details.