# Understanding Flexi Kanban Types Flexi Kanban supports three board types: **Standard**, **Child**, and **Composite**. Choosing the right one depends on where the board will live and how it relates to your data — not on how complex your workflow is. All three types are equally powerful and share the same underlying capabilities. *** ### Standard Board #### What It Is A **Standard Board** is the most common Flexi Kanban board type. It presents records as cards organized into columns, giving your team an immediate visual overview of where work stands across your entire org — or any filtered subset of it. A Standard Board lives as a **standalone page** in your Salesforce app. It is org-wide by default, meaning it can display records from across the organization, scoped only by whatever filters you configure. A single Standard Board can surface records from **multiple Salesforce objects simultaneously** — making it flexible enough to represent mixed or cross-functional workflows in one place. #### How It Works You configure a Standard Board by selecting: * **The Salesforce object(s)** whose records should appear on the board (e.g., Opportunity, Case, Lead, or any custom object — including a mix of object types) * **The columns** — each column is independently configurable, including its header, footer, data loading settings, and the criteria that determine which records it displays * **The fields to display** on each card, along with card layout and optional dynamic color coding based on conditions you define * **Filters** to control which records appear on the board, supporting complex, multi-criteria conditions Once configured, users see a live board. Moving a card from one column to another immediately updates the underlying Salesforce record — and can trigger automated actions such as field updates, notifications, or Salesforce flows. #### When to Use a Standard Board A Standard Board is the right choice when: * You want a **standalone, org-wide view** of a workflow or process * Your team needs a fast, actionable overview they can work from directly **Common examples:** * Sales pipeline (Opportunities by Stage) * Support queue (Cases by Status) * Lead nurturing board (Leads by Lead Status) * Project tracker (Custom Object by Phase) * Staffing triage board (Job Openings and Candidates as separate columns on one board) * Real estate listings board (Properties and Deals as separate columns on one board) {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** Boards that display records from multiple objects — like the staffing and real estate examples above — are still a single Standard Board. This is a native capability of any Flexi Kanban board, not a reason to use a Composite Board. A Composite Board is for placing multiple independent boards side by side on one screen — not for mixing object types. {% endhint %} *** ### Child Board #### What It Is A **Child Board** is technically the same board type as a Standard Board — it uses the same engine, the same configuration options, and works in exactly the same way. The difference is purely in **where it is placed** and **how its filters are set up**. A Child Board is embedded directly on a **Salesforce record page** as a Lightning component. Its filters are pre-configured to automatically show only the records related to the parent record it is placed on. When a user opens that parent record, the board loads instantly and displays only the relevant child records — no manual filtering required. This makes it ideal for managing work within the context of a single record, without navigating away from it. #### How It Works A Child Board is placed on a parent record page using Salesforce's Lightning App Builder. During configuration, you set hidden filters that scope the board to records related to that specific parent — using the relationship field that connects them. When a user opens the parent record, the board reads the current record's ID, applies the pre-configured filters automatically, and displays only the related child records grouped by their stage or status. Everything else — card layout, column configuration, automation, color coding — works identically to a Standard Board. #### When to Use a Child Board A Child Board is the right choice when: * You want to manage related records **in the context of a specific parent record** * Your team works record-by-record and needs all related work visible without navigating away * Different parent records have different sets of child records that need independent tracking **Common examples:** * **Account → Opportunities**: All open deals for a specific account, visible directly on the Account record page * **Opportunity → Tasks**: All follow-up tasks for a deal, managed without leaving the Opportunity * **Project → Milestones**: All milestones for a project, tracked directly on the Project record * **Case → Child Cases**: All sub-cases linked to a parent case, visible in context * **Contact → Activities**: All pending activities for a contact, triaged without leaving the Contact record #### Standard Board vs. Child Board at a Glance | | Standard Board | Child Board | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Underlying board type | Same | Same | | Where it lives | Standalone page in a Salesforce app | Embedded on a parent record page | | Scope | Org-wide, controlled by manual filters | Automatically scoped to the parent record | | Filter setup | Configured by the user or admin | Pre-configured hidden filters tied to the parent record | | Best for | Org-wide process and pipeline views | Contextual, record-level work management | | Multi-object support | Yes | Yes | *** ### Composite Board #### What It Is A **Composite Board** is a workspace that **combines multiple independent Standard Boards into a single screen**. Think of it as a mashup — instead of one board with one purpose, you assemble several standalone Flexi Kanban boards and place them together side by side.
Each board within a Composite Board remains fully independent: it has its own object configuration, its own columns, its own filters, and its own set of records. But placing them together gives teams a broader, unified view of work that spans different processes or domains at once. What makes Composite Boards especially powerful is the ability to **set up communication between the individual boards** — so that selecting or acting on a record in one board can filter or trigger a reaction in another. This turns a simple side-by-side layout into a coordinated, multi-board workspace. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** Composite Boards are an advanced capability designed for specific use cases. Most teams will find that Standard and Child Boards cover the vast majority of their needs. Composite Boards are less commonly used and typically require more deliberate planning to configure well. {% endhint %} #### When to Use a Composite Board A Composite Board becomes relevant when: * You need to **monitor multiple independent workflows simultaneously**, side by side, in one place * Different teams or processes each have their own board, but you want a single consolidated view * You want boards that are **aware of each other** — where an action on one board influences another * A single Standard Board is not enough to represent the full breadth of what a role or team needs to see at once **Example:** A sales operations manager might assemble a pipeline board (Opportunities by Stage), a support board (Cases by Priority), and a renewals board (Contracts by Renewal Status) into a single Composite Board — giving a full picture of the business without switching between separate apps or views. *** ### Choosing the Right Board Type ``` Do you need a standalone board for an org-wide process or workflow? └─ YES → Standard Board Do you need a board embedded on a parent record page, showing only that record's related work? └─ YES → Child Board Do you need to place multiple independent boards together in a single workspace, with optional coordination between them? └─ YES → Composite Board ``` For most teams getting started with Flexi Kanban, a **Standard Board** is the natural first step — fast to configure and immediately useful for any process. As needs grow, a **Child Board** brings contextual, record-level visibility directly onto parent record pages. A **Composite Board** is the right choice when multiple standalone boards need to live together and, optionally, interact with each other.