Content:
1. Introduction
2. Integration Capabilities
2.1. From Kanbanize to Other Software Solutions
2.2. From Other Software Solutions to Kanbanize
3. Prerequisites
4. Implementation
5. Common Zaps
6. Building Your Integrations
1. Introduction
This article describes integrations between Kanbanize (https://businessmap.io) and external software solutions using Zapier (https://zapier.com). If you have not previously heard of Zapier, it is a web automation platform that allows you to connect hundreds of web applications and services to each other.
With Zapier, you can create “Zaps,” as they call it, that pair a trigger to one or multiple actions. Whenever a trigger event occurs, Zapier automatically completes the predefined actions for you. What makes Zapies even greater is that you don't need to be a developer to make a Zap. Anyone can do it!
You can learn more about the key concepts in Zapier here. You can find a full list of apps that can be integrated with Kanbanize using Zapier in their app directory.
A potential reader of this article is expected to be familiar with Kanbanize (boards, cards, business rules, etc.). However, if you have any questions or encounter some difficulties along the way, do not hesitate to contact our Support team at support@kanbanize.com.
2. Integration Capabilities
Kanbanize integrations with Zapier can be in any direction — from Kanbanize to a third party, or from a third party to Kanbanize. We will review both cases here.
From Kanbanize to Other Software Solutions
We support one general trigger which is used for all card events
1. Card Events Trigger — This is a general Kanbanize trigger, that will fire up instantly when an event occurs in Kanbanize. This trigger supports the following events: “Card created,” “Card details changed,” “Card moved,” “Card deleted.” You can use “Paths by Zapier” to implement different actions for different events or “FIlter by Zapier” to filter out only specific events.
All trigger events are related to a card and, because of that, we also return all the card details along with the trigger action.
From Other Software Solutions to Kanbanize
Our Zapier connector supports multiple actions. Here is a list of them along with a short description of what action can be used and what for:
2. Add Comment — Adds a comment to an existing card or initiative. You need to specify a card id and set the comment to be added.
3. Add Subtask — Adds a subtask to an existing card or initiative. You need to specify the board, card id, and a subtask description. Optionally, you can add an owner from a dropdown list or mark the subtask as completed.
4. Archive/Unarchive Card — Archives or unarchives a card. You need to specify the card id and the action to take.
5. Block Card — Blocks a card or initiative. You need to specify the board, card id, and a block reason. Optionally, you can add a comment to the block reason.
6. Create/Remove Link — Creates or Removes a link between 2 cards. You need to specify the card ids of the two cards, the action, and the link type.
7. Discard Card or Restore Discarded Card — Discard or restore a discarded card or initiative. You need to specify the card id and the action.
8. Download Attachment — Downloads an attachment from a card or initiative. The attachment is automatically uploaded to the Zapier AWS and a link to the attachment is provided. You need to specify a Kanbanize attachment link for this action. You can take it from card details.
9. Log Time for Card — Logs time to a card or initiative. The card must not be in the “Backlog” or “Requested” sections. You need to specify the board, card id, workflow, lane, column, date and time in hours. Optionally, you can specify the user and a comment to the log time.
10. New Card — Creates a new card or initiative. You need to specify the board, workflow, lane and column. Optionally, you can add a title, description, custom id, priority, owner, color, size, tags, deadline, external link, type, template, and custom fields.
11. Unblock Card — Unblocks a blocked card or initiative. You need to specify the card id of the blocked card.
12. Update/Move Card — Updates or moves a card or initiative. You need to specify the board, card id and workflow. With this activity, you can update the title, description, custom id, priority, owner, color, size, tags, deadline, external link, type, template, and custom fields. Alternatively, you can use it to move a card to a specific lane and column.
13. Upload Attachment — Uploads an attachment to a card. You need to specify the board, card id, filename, and URL or content of the file to be uploaded.
14. Find Card — Retrieves the details of a card or initiative. You can search by board, title, owner, or external link. There are 2 search types supported - “exact match” and “similar to.” The default search type is “similar to.” There is an option to consider this action as successful if no card is found matching the criteria or to create the card in Kanbanize if it doesn't exist.
15. Get Card by Custom Card ID — Retrieves the details of a card by searching for a custom card id. There is an option to consider this action as successful if no card is found matching the custom card id.
16. Get Card Details by ID — Retrieves the details of a card by searching for the internal card id. There is an option to consider this action as successful if no card is found matching the internal card id.
3. Prerequisites
In order to use Kanbanize actions and triggers in Zapier, you need to obtain the subdomain for the account and the API key for the user to be used. The subdomain is the first part of the Kanbanize URL: https://{subdomain}.kanbanize.com, and the API key can be retrieved by navigating to the My Account menu (top right corner) and switching to the API tab.
4. Implementation
To begin with the integration, you need to create a new “Zap” in Zapier. You can create a "Zap" by logging into your Zapier account and clicking on the “Create Zap” button in the top left side of your screen.
This will create a new Zap and load it in the Zap editor window. Zaps are created with 1 trigger and at least 1 action.
Once it has been created, you need to select the “Trigger” activity and search for the app you want to use as your source.
Each trigger has different setup requirements. To set up your trigger, follow the steps and instructions in the right side menu that shows up after selecting the trigger you will use.
After the trigger has been configured, you need to specify the first action to take. Selecting an action works in a very similar way to selecting a trigger. You need to click on the “Action” box or the “+” sign and select the action that you want to perform when the Zap is triggered. Actions, similar to triggers, have different setups, depending on the activity you want to perform. To set it up, you can follow the steps and instructions in the right side menu that shows up after adding an action.
5. Common Zaps
Here is what some of the most common Zaps would look like:
Google Calendar
The video below demonstrates the connection between Kanbanize and Google Calendar. In this integration, a new Google Calendar event is automatically generated whenever a Kanbanize card is created within a designated lane. This process extracts the card's title, description, owner, start date/time, and end date/time from Kanbanize, and leverages this information to construct a corresponding event in Google Calendar.
JIRA
The video below shows the integration between Jira and Kanbanize. In this setup, when a Jira issue is opened, it triggers the creation of a Kanbanize card within a predefined workflow and column. This process captures the summary, description, and assignee information from Jira, and imports them into Kanbanize. It also accommodates all default and custom fields from Jira, and it adds a hyperlink to the corresponding Jira issue within Kanbanize.
PipeDrive
The video below demonstrates an integration between PipeDrive and Kanbanize, where a Kanbanize card is automatically generated within a specific workflow when a PipeDrive deal is initiated. The Kanbanize board mirrors the columns present in the PipeDrive Deals panel, ensuring that the created card dynamically lands in the corresponding column. Furthermore, any movement of the card in PipeDrive triggers a corresponding movement in Kanbanize, maintaining synchronization.
This integration extracts the deal's title and deadline from PipeDrive, transferring this information into Kanbanize. It also supports all default and custom fields from PipeDrive. As an additional feature, it incorporates a hyperlink to the associated PipeDrive deal within Kanbanize.
6. Building Your Integrations
Businessmap offers to design and build custom integrations for our clients. If you are interested in purchasing a support package which includes hours for integrations, please contact us at support@kanbanize.com.