Generic kanban tools treat all tasks identically. Slice enforces different workflow paths, brief templates, and QA rules per task type — with a commercial audit trail built around your highest-risk work.
Every card on the Slice board carries a track colour. That colour determines which columns the card is allowed to move through, which brief template appears at handoff, and which QA rules apply at review. No other kanban tool enforces per-card workflow rules.
Marketing and content tasks — copy, on-page optimisation, blog work. Brief template includes MK-specific fields.
Web team tasks — technical implementation, speed fixes, dev changes. Brief fields tailored to web handoff.
Client developer dependencies — highest commercial risk. Triggers escalation ladder and audit trail. Amber at 5 days, red at 10.
Internal SEO team tasks handled directly by PMs — no external executor required. QA requires sign-off from a second PM.
Slice is continuous-flow kanban — no sprints, no burndown. Cards move left to right through their track-specific column path as work progresses.
Board Owner runs a planning call. PMs drag relevant Backlog cards into "This Week." The board is the planning artefact — no separate document, no separate tool.
Each card follows its track-specific column sequence. The board blocks illegal moves server-side — a Grey card cannot skip the Handoff Brief column, an Orange card cannot enter a MK-only column.
When a card reaches Handoff Brief, the modal auto-opens with a track-specific brief template. The PM fills it in and ticks "Brief Complete" — the only way to move the card forward. The brief lives inside the card, always in sync.
When a card enters QA/Review, the Acceptance Criteria from the brief become a tickable checklist. QA verifies exactly what was specified. Outcomes: Pass, Fail (card returns with QA Failure badge), or Partial Pass.
When a card reaches Client Update, the system generates an editable draft from card data and the track template. PM edits and sends via their own channel. "Client Notified" checkbox gates entry to Done. Draft is saved as a Communication Record.
PMs open the metrics panel while reviewing the board. Velocity chart (8-week stacked bar), cycle times, QA health, and Grey Card Watch — a live list of all open client dev dependencies sorted by age.
Jira, Trello, and Linear are powerful tools built for software teams. Slice is built for SEO delivery teams — and the difference shows in every workflow decision.
Seven track colours, each with a different enforced column path. Green (MK) follows a different sequence than Orange (Web Team) which follows a different sequence than Grey (client dev). Illegal moves are blocked server-side and reflected visually. No generic tool enforces per-card workflow logic.
No separate Google Doc. No version drift between brief and task. When a card reaches Handoff Brief, the modal renders track-specific template fields — Green has MK fields, Orange has Web Team fields, Grey has client dev handoff fields. Brief Complete checkbox gates departure. One source of truth, always.
PMs write Acceptance Criteria in the brief. When the card enters QA/Review, those become a tickable checklist. QA verifies exactly what was specified, not ad hoc. Structured outcomes — Pass, Fail, Partial Pass — with track-specific escalation rules. Two fails on a Green card triggers a recolour warning. One fail on a Grey card requires a mandatory comment.
Client developer dependencies are the highest commercial risk in agency SEO. Grey cards track how long they've sat in Awaiting Execution — amber at 5 days, red at 10. Escalation prompts at 5, 10, 20, and 30 days each require a logged comment. At 20 days, a Purple card (SEO impact statement) is created. At 30, account manager escalation is prompted. This creates an audit trail your agency can use in commercial disputes.
Applying a filter dims non-matching cards to 20% opacity rather than hiding them. The spatial layout of the board — which columns are full, which tracks are heavy — is preserved while you focus on a subset. Standard tools hide non-matching cards and destroy the board's visual context. Slice doesn't.
Client-facing PDF and CSV reports are generated on-demand. PM names never appear — executor role labels only. Internal comments, QA failures, priority ratings, brief fields, and escalation logs are architecturally excluded from the export model. Not filtered at query time — new fields are excluded by default unless explicitly whitelisted.
The board, card system, workflow rules, and real-time sync are built and working. The phases that make Slice genuinely powerful — brief templates, QA checklists, Grey card escalation, metrics, and client reporting — are coming next.
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