If you've ever tried to manage a complex process — like customer onboarding, compliance training, or a product launch — inside a flat task list, you know the pain. Everything looks equally important, context gets lost, and it's hard to know where to start or what comes next.
That's exactly why we built Multi-Phase Task Lists, our newest feature in Tasks & Subtickets.
Multi-Phase Task Lists let you organise your tasks into logical, sequential stages rather than dumping everything into one long checklist. Each phase represents a distinct step in your process, giving your team a clear, structured path from start to finish.
Think of it like chapters in a book — instead of reading a wall of text, your team moves through one chapter at a time, always knowing where they are and what's coming next.
This feature shines in any multi-step process that has a natural order:
Customer Onboarding — Guide new customers through account setup, training, and go-live stages without overwhelming them on day one.
Compliance Training — Ensure employees complete foundational modules before accessing advanced content, maintaining audit-ready process integrity.
Product Launches — Coordinate pre-launch, launch day, and post-launch tasks across teams with clear phase ownership.
One of the most powerful aspects of Multi-Phase Task Lists is optional sequential locking. When enabled, users must complete all tasks in a phase before they can move on to the next one. This ensures process compliance and eliminates the risk of steps being skipped — whether by accident or in a rush.
This is particularly valuable in regulated industries or any process where the order of operations truly matters.
By breaking large workflows into digestible phases, your team gains clarity on what to focus on right now. Completed phases feel rewarding. Upcoming phases provide anticipation. And the whole process becomes something people can actually follow — rather than a checklist they dread opening.
Multi-Phase Task Lists are available now in Tasks & Subtickets. If you're already using the app, you'll find the new phase configuration options in your task list settings. New to Tasks & Subtickets? Learn more and install it from the Zendesk marketplace.
As always, we'd love to hear how you're using this feature. Reach out to our team or drop us a note — your feedback shapes what we build next.