This handout provides a starting point for using Trello for research planning on genealogy research projects.

1. © 2022 Jordan Jones. Used by permission.
TURBO CHARGE YOUR RESEARCH PLANNING
WITH TRELLO
JORDAN JONES
NGS CONFERENCE, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
SESSION S448
SATURDAY, 28 MAY 2022, 2:30 PM
TWITTER: @GENEALOGYMEDIA
WEB: WWW.GENEALOGYMEDIA.COM
FOR THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT AND ITS ACCOMPANYING PRESENTATION MATERIALS,
VISIT WWW.GENEALOGYMEDIA.COM/TALKS/
WHAT IS TRELLO?
Trello is a cloud-based project planning system. Based on a Japanese lean
manufacturing project management technique known as Kanban (literally “signboard”),
Trello was designed to aid in planning business and technology projects. But
genealogists can use it for research planning.
Kanban, and thus Trello, use the metaphor of a bulletin board or signboard to organize
discrete tasks listed on “cards.” You move cards from left to right through the
progressive stages of a project, from ideation through completion and archiving.
By creating lists and cards on a Trello board, genealogists can turbo charge their
research planning, quickly making adjustments to their overall plan, and record both
positive and negative findings to prepare for a research report.
HOW CAN GENEALOGISTS USE TRELLO?
Genealogists have many tasks that benefit from organization:
• Planning — Creating research plans and logs
• Documenting — Citing sources
• Gathering — Cataloging digital assets
• Processing — Evaluating information and its value as evidence
• Writing — Articles, proof summaries, and family narratives

2. © 2022 Jordan Jones. Used by permission.
• Trello can help with each of these and provide a way to quickly get a view of
what you have accomplished and what the next steps are. And it can provide a
way to note all the research ideas you have so you can draw on them when you
get to the website or repository where you will do that research.
• Trello can be even more powerful when sharing research with other researchers
or communicating with research clients, allowing everyone to see a common
dynamic list of tasks and an overview of progress.
GETTING STARTED
Trello is free for much of what a genealogist would do with it.
You can create a free account at trello.com. Once you create an account, you can work
with Trello projects on the web or using the mobile applications.
There are four different tiers. With the free tier, you have access to the core features of
the product, including unlimited cards, unlimited storage (but limited to 10MB per file),
and an unlimited activity log.
The free tier only allows you to create 10 boards per Workspace, but this should be
plenty. For more details on the different kinds of accounts, see trello.com/pricing.

3. © 2022 Jordan Jones. Used by permission.
THE TRELLO USER INTERFACE
As you can see, Trello provides a graphical representation of cards in lists. You can
have as many lists and cards as you want, but I recommend having a simple and short
set of lists such as “To Do,” “Doing,” and “Done.” For genealogy, I like the idea of
naming my “Done” list “Journal” or “Log.”
KANBAN FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
You can set up Trello to guide you through your research process: search for
documents, evaluate then for their value as evidence, and so on. Here’s a way you can
use Trello to guide your research.
Trello is flexible, and you may use it differently, but here’s my current process:
1. Create research plan cards to capture what I am trying to find, confirm, or
rule out. I include as much information as necessary, as well as attachments or
checklists, or notes outside of Trello, and information about the repository.
If there in an online search tool for a physical repository, I might look up and
note microfilm numbers.
I store these research plan cards in the “To Do” list. I label the note with the
repository or database where I will be conducting the search, so I can find all the
research plan cards for that repository when I need them.

4. © 2022 Jordan Jones. Used by permission.
2. Update the research plan note as I am conducting the search.
o First, I move it from the “To Do” list to the “Doing” list.
o Then I note anything about the research itself.
o If I have a positive or negative research finding, I document it in the
Description field, including the citation.
o The card will be my research log and will move to my “Done” list.
3. I update related cards. I write the citation immediately, then create Evernote
links between the research note and the record note.
4. I review and adjust the lists. This helps me understand progress and refine
my plans for future research and writing.
NEXT STEPS
This is just a high-level overview of Kanban and Trello. To learn more, visit trello.com,
and especially the Trello Guide at trello.com/guide and the Trello Help at
help.trello.com.