How to use GitHub
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Background and problem
In many project management tools, it is possible to configure whether a task can be assigned to multiple people or only to a single person.
In Nextcloud Deck, a card can currently be assigned to multiple users. While this can be useful in some situations, it can also make it unclear who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the task is completed.
For my workflow, the person assigned to a card represents the person responsible for that task. This does not mean that they have to complete the task alone; they can still collaborate with other team members. However, there should be one clearly identifiable person responsible for the task.
When a piece of work needs to be handled independently by several people, I would create separate cards and assign each card to one person. This makes ownership explicit and makes it easier to see who is responsible for each task.
Preferred solution
Add an optional board-level setting that allows users to choose between:
- Multiple assignees: the current behavior, where a card can be assigned to multiple users.
- Single assignee: a card can have at most one assigned user.
When Single assignee is enabled, assigning a new user should replace the current assignee. If the card already has multiple assignees, assigning a new user should replace all existing assignees, leaving only the newly selected user assigned to the card.
A card should still be allowed to have no assignee. The restriction is about having at most one assignee, not requiring exactly one.
If the setting is enabled on a board where some cards already have multiple assignees, existing assignments should not be changed automatically. The single-assignee rule should instead take effect when the assignee field is next edited. When saving the changes, the UI should enforce that the card has no more than one assignee.
A frontend-only implementation would be sufficient for an initial implementation. The goal is to help teams enforce a workflow convention, rather than to provide a strong security mechanism. If a team deliberately bypasses the convention through the API or other means, this should not necessarily be considered a problem.
The default should remain Multiple assignees, so existing boards and workflows are not affected.
Considered alternatives
A separate "responsible person" field could be introduced while keeping multiple assignees. However, this would add another concept to Deck and could make task ownership more complicated.
How to use GitHub
Background and problem
In many project management tools, it is possible to configure whether a task can be assigned to multiple people or only to a single person.
In Nextcloud Deck, a card can currently be assigned to multiple users. While this can be useful in some situations, it can also make it unclear who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the task is completed.
For my workflow, the person assigned to a card represents the person responsible for that task. This does not mean that they have to complete the task alone; they can still collaborate with other team members. However, there should be one clearly identifiable person responsible for the task.
When a piece of work needs to be handled independently by several people, I would create separate cards and assign each card to one person. This makes ownership explicit and makes it easier to see who is responsible for each task.
Preferred solution
Add an optional board-level setting that allows users to choose between:
When Single assignee is enabled, assigning a new user should replace the current assignee. If the card already has multiple assignees, assigning a new user should replace all existing assignees, leaving only the newly selected user assigned to the card.
A card should still be allowed to have no assignee. The restriction is about having at most one assignee, not requiring exactly one.
If the setting is enabled on a board where some cards already have multiple assignees, existing assignments should not be changed automatically. The single-assignee rule should instead take effect when the assignee field is next edited. When saving the changes, the UI should enforce that the card has no more than one assignee.
A frontend-only implementation would be sufficient for an initial implementation. The goal is to help teams enforce a workflow convention, rather than to provide a strong security mechanism. If a team deliberately bypasses the convention through the API or other means, this should not necessarily be considered a problem.
The default should remain Multiple assignees, so existing boards and workflows are not affected.
Considered alternatives
A separate "responsible person" field could be introduced while keeping multiple assignees. However, this would add another concept to Deck and could make task ownership more complicated.