Bottlenecks
What it is for: a bottleneck is a step the rest of the work is stuck on — it is overdue, or it has not moved for a long time while unfinished steps sit below it. killBottleneck shows it from facts (days overdue, number of steps held, days without movement), with no scores or percentages. Use it when you ask "where is this stuck" in one project or across the company.
Where to find it
- Map toolbar → the Bottlenecks button (always visible, on the phone too). While the map has bottlenecks, it carries a red outline and a counter even when switched off.
- Goal card → the Bottleneck badge (red) or Potential bottleneck (amber, only with the button on).
- My day → the bottleneck · holding N steps badge on your overdue goal.
- Organization (administrator and manager) → the Where it stalls most section across projects.
- AI assistant → ask "Where is my bottleneck?" and click Highlight in the map.
What is a bottleneck and what is only potential
| Badge | When a goal gets it |
|---|---|
| Bottleneck (red, always lit) | an unfinished goal that is overdue, OR has not moved for 14 days or more while holding at least one unfinished downstream step |
| Potential bottleneck (amber, only with the button on) | an unfinished goal with two or more unfinished downstream steps below it that is not overdue and not stalled yet |
"Downstream steps" are the unfinished goals below it in the map. "Not moving" means no real change in the project's change log — dragging a card with the mouse is not movement. The apex, notes and finished goals are not rated.
How to: the Bottlenecks button
- Open the map. When it has a bottleneck, the Bottlenecks button carries a red outline and a number — the count of real bottlenecks.
- Click the button. Highlighting switches on: the cards also show the amber Potential bottleneck, the edges leading to red bottlenecks are drawn red and dashed (the critical path) and the counter shows "1 + 3" = real + potential bottlenecks.
- Hover over the badge — the tooltip says why: Overdue by N days, Blocking N downstream steps, No movement for N days • Blocking N steps, for potential ones N unfinished steps converge here.
- A second click switches the highlighting off; the red badges of real bottlenecks always stay.
A bottleneck in My day
An overdue goal that holds further work carries the bottleneck · holding N steps badge in the My day panel (tooltip: This overdue goal is holding up further unfinished steps — until it moves, others wait.). The simplified view on the phone has no such badge.
Organization: Where it stalls most
Administrators and managers have a Where it stalls most section on the Organization page (bottlenecks — holding up further unfinished steps): real bottlenecks across team and shared projects with the columns What · Project · Who · Deadline · Overdue · Idle · Blocking · Why stuck, sorted by days overdue, then by the number of steps held. Clicking a row opens the map right on that goal.
Difference from the map
The Organization page lists only bottlenecks that hold at least one step. An overdue goal without sub-steps is marked Bottleneck in the map, but on the Organization page you find it only under Overdue.
Ask the assistant
In the AI assistant type "Where is my bottleneck?", "What is stuck here?" or "What is overdue?". The answer has the sections Overdue / Blocking / Waiting for sub-steps / Idle and a Risks in project card with a Highlight in the map button: goals in the open map get a coloured outline (red overdue, amber blocking, purple idle, yellow waiting) and a Risks strip with counts and Clear highlight appears above the canvas. The highlight lasts an hour, in this window only — nothing is written to the map.
Limits and honest notes
WARNING
- In the organization map and in the public view bottlenecks are not rated and the button is absent.
- "Not moving" arrives from the server when the map loads; a freshly changed deadline shows immediately.
- The 14-day threshold is fixed. A bottleneck is not the same as waiting for children — that is a switch you set on purpose, a bottleneck is computed from facts.
Related
- The map and goals — the goal card, waiting and blocking
- Tasks and My day — the Overdue and Not moving sections
- Dashboard and changes — the Organization page and the report
- The AI assistant on the side — risks in a project