Spotlight #2 - Part 1: 5 Custom Features you shouldn't miss in Zoho Sprints

Spotlight #2 - Part 1: 5 Custom Features you shouldn't miss in Zoho Sprints

Welcome back to our next spotlight on ' Customization'.

The product's reach is determined by how well it is customized for the end user. When customization is the key element in a product's growth, a scrum project requires tailor-made features to deliver outcomes in iterations effectively. Here is the list of five custom features that will be covered in part 1 of this spotlight. 

Let's see how these custom features in Zoho Sprints can help Helen solve her business problems. 

 

Business background

Helen is the 'Technical Lead' of a software sector 'Yards'. Her team is developing a new e-shopping website. They handle work across different teams and as the work items pile up they require an organized way of handling things. Let's see how the custom features can help the team. 

Work Item Type and Priority

Case
Solution
Helen wants to add all the requirements in specific types. Instead of using the default work item types (Story, Task, and Bug), she can customize the types.       

Helen can use  CUSTOM WORK ITEM TYPE   and add new work items type. She can create all the categories in her website as the work item types: 

  • Electronics - Requirements related to gadgets are added to this type.  
  • Fashion  - Requirements related to men and women clothing are added to this type.  
  • Decors  - Requirements related to home decors are added to this type.   


This works similar for priority. She can access CUSTOM PRIORITY  and set new priorities for her team.  

Custom Layouts and Fields

Case
Solution
The default work item form has general fields for work items across domains. However, Helen would like to specify specific fields related to every department of her team. For example, she likes to have a specific layout for clothing related work items, shipping etc.  

Helen can create CUSTOM LAYOUTS and FIELDS  for every department. These layouts can be associated with specific projects and the work becomes organized.    

  • Shipping Layout - It has all the work item fields right from customer ordering the material to the shipping team working on the delivery.   

  • Decoration Layout - It has the custom fields related to user requests for interior and exterior decors.   

  • Textiles Layout - All the clothing related work items across categories (Men, Women, and Kids) are included in this layout.  

Each of these layouts are associated with the relevant projects and the work is made easy for Helen. 

Project Templates

Case
Solution  
Helen and her team have enrolled in a new project that is similar to the current project they are working on. They have a similar request from the customers for creating a new category for  'KIDS - CLOTHING '. How can they recreate all the items and sprints? 
The new project will have sections and layouts similar to the existing project.

  • Helen can create a TEMPLATE by importing all the work items and sprints. She can now associate it to the KIDS - CLOTHING project. This will break the hurdle of recreating the same set of work items multiple times. 
 

Custom Status on Scrum Board 

Case  
Solution  
Since, Helen handles work across different teams, she can track a clear progress of each stage in the sprint. Working with default three statuses: To do, In progress, and Done will work for projects with small goals. However, Helen works for deliverables across different domains. For example, she has to categorize the progress of the work items based on the users purchase order.   

Helen's constraint is resolved by creating  CUSTOM STATUS . She can create different statuses that are specific to her departments. This can help her in managing deliverables in an organized way across sprints. Every stage is added as a status. For instance, the initial work will be added to To Do and later moved on to any of the following status: 

  • Orders Placed 
  • Items packed in Dispatch warehouse 
  • Shipped  
  • Orders delivered 
  • Orders returned 
  • Redelivery  

Work Item Linking

Case   
Solution   
Helen has got a bulk order for 'Denim Jeans' and this work item is passed on to the warehouse team. Unfortunately, they found a bug in the delivered materials. Now, the warehouse team has to order a new box of materials from the company. The team calls Helen and asks the shipping team to hold back the order. How can she handle this situation?
The customer's order is now dependent on the issue. Only when the issue is resolved the team can ship the product. Helen can now use the WORK ITEM LINKING  feature and link work item with the issue.   
  • Work item A - Customer Order - Denim Jeans   
  • Work Item B - Bug in the material 
  • Work Item C - Redispatch materials to the company and place an order for the new box  
  • Work Item D - Ship the new material to the customers  

Helen can now set the  ‘Depends on’  link type for Item A and select all the depending items (B, C, and D).   


A detailed walk-through on linking work items is published in our previous spotlight. Read more .      

That's how customization helps Helen and her team to organize and manage their project requirements. In the second part, we will discuss the next five custom features and how Helen uses them to manage her team.

PS: If you got any queries comment here or contact support@zohosprints.com  
  
Happy customizing!   



      • Sticky Posts

      • Ask the experts - Live Q and A on the latest releases from Jan-Apr 2019

        Hello all,   We are excited to kick-start the 'Ask the experts' community series for Zoho Sprints. This series is user-centric and we will focus more on the latest releases and queries that are frequently discussed in our customer support tickets. The first version will cover all the features released in the first quarter of 2019.    What's in the first half?   The first half of this year has been successful with some feature releases and enhancements. Take a look at the list below: Custom layouts

      • Focus Group #1 - Epics in Zoho Sprints

        Hello, everyone! As a part of our community learning series, we kick-start "Focus Groups" where you'll get a chance to have a look at a feature that's in its beta phase. "Epic" has been one of the most requested features of late. So, our first focus is on epics.  Our engineering team has developed a module for Epic in Zoho Sprints and the feature is in its testing phase now. We've planned to show a small demo to the folks who register with us through this post. You can also evaluate this feature

        • Recent Topics

        • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.24.0)

          Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v.1.24.0) is here with interesting features and thoughtful enhancements to redefine the way you plan and manage your calendar events. Here's a quick look at what's new. Create calendar events from emails. In addition

        • Need Easy Way to Update Item Prices in Bulk

          Hello Everyone, In Zoho Books, updating selling prices is taking too much time. Right now we have to either edit items one by one or do Excel export/import. It will be very useful if Zoho gives a simple option to: Select multiple items and update prices

        • Vendor Master Enhancements for Faster Purchase Entry

          I’d like to suggest a few features that will improve accuracy and speed during purchase voucher entry: Automated Item Tax Preference in Vendor Master Add an option to define item tax preference in the vendor master. Once set, this preference should automatically

        • Mass Mail Statistics - Number of unsent emails

          How do I find out which emails were not sent?

        • Button to add product to cart

          Is there a way to have a button on a page, that when clicked, will add Qty 1 of a product to the cart?

        • Est-il possible d'annuler l'envoi d'un mail automatique ?

          Bonjour, Lorsque je refuse un candidat, il reçois un mail dans les 24h pour l'informer que sa candidature n'est pas retenue. J'ai rejeté un candidat par erreur. Savez-vous s'il possible d'annuler l'envoi de ce mail ? Merci d'avance pour votre aide.

        • Is it possible to hide fields in a Subform?

          Since layout rules cannot be used with Subforms, is there another way, or is it even possible, to hide fields in a subform based on a picklist fields within said subform? For example, if the Service Provided is Internet, then I do not want to see the

        • New in Cadences: Option to Resume or Restart follow-ups when re-enrolling records into a Cadence, and specify custom un-enrollment criteria

          Managing follow-ups effectively involves understanding the appropriate timing for reaching out, as well as knowing when to take a break and resume later, or deciding if it's necessary to start the follow-up process anew. With two significant enhancements

        • embed a form in an email

          Hello, how to embed a form in an email that populates Zoho CRM cases? I would like to send emails to a selected audience offering something. In the same email the recipients - if interested - instead of replying to can fill in a Zoho CRM form that creates

        • Systematic SPF alignment issues with Zoho subdomains

          Analysis Period: August 19 - September 1, 2025 PROBLEM SUMMARY Multiple Zoho services are causing systematic SPF authentication failures in DMARC reports from major email providers (Google, Microsoft, Zoho). While emails are successfully delivered due

        • Unveiling Cadences: Redefining CRM interactions with automated sequential follow-ups

          Last modified on 01/04/2024: Cadences is now available for all Zoho CRM users in all data centres (DCs). Note that it was previously an early access feature, available only upon request, and was also known as Cadences Studio. As of April 1, 2024, it's

        • Zoho Bookings - Reserve with Google

          Does Zoho Bookings plan to to integrate with Reserve with Google?

        • How to add Zoho demo site page designs to my Zoho Sites website

          Hi, I would like to add the design from the following demo URLs into my current Zoho website. I have already created two new pages on my site, named “Menu2” and “Menu3.” For the “Menu2” page, I want to use the design from this demo: https://naturestjuice-demo.zohosites.com/menu

        • Digest Août - Un résumé de ce qui s'est passé le mois dernier sur Community

          Bonjour chère communauté ! Voici le résumé tant attendu de tout ce qui a marqué Zoho le mois dernier : contenus utiles, échanges inspirants et moments forts. 🎉 Découvrez Zoho Backstage 3.0 : une version repensée pour offrir encore plus de flexibilité,

        • Zoho Books - Include Payment Terms as a Custom View filter

          It would be great if you could created a custom view based on Payment Terms. This would be really handy for seeing a list of customers who have credit terms. A workaround is not required. I could do something with a creditor checkbox, but it would be

        • Global Sets for Multi-Select pick lists

          When is this feature coming to Zoho CRM? It would be very useful now we have got used to having it for the normal pick lists.

        • Text snippet

          There is a nice feature in Zoho Desk called Text Snippet. It allows you to insert a bit of text anywhere in a reply that you are typing. That would be nice to have that option in Zoho CRM as well when we compose an email. Moderation Update: We agree that

        • Kaizen #206 - Answering your Questions | Displaying Related Purchase Orders from Zoho Books in CRM Deals using Queries

          Hello everyone! We're back with another post in the Kaizen series. We're grateful for the feedback we received from all of you! One of the questions we received was "I would like to see the list of Purchase Orders in Zoho Books for a Deal in CRM." We

        • Add Analytics function for Title case (capitalising each word in a string)

          At present, you can only capitalise each word in a string in Analytics during data import. It would be really useful to be able to do this with a formula column, but there is no Title Case function.

        • How to conditionally embed an own internal widget with parameters in an html snippet?

          Hello everyone, I'm trying to create a dynamic view in a page using an HTML snippet. The goal is to display different content based on a URL parameter (input.step). I have successfully managed to conditionally display different forms using the following

        • Introducing AI-powered Assessments & Zoho's native LLM, Zia

          We’ve shipped a cleaner, faster way to create assessments in Zoho Recruit. 🚀 Instead of manually building question banks or copying old templates, you can now generate ready-to-use assessments in just a few clicks, all tailored to the role you’re hiring

        • Sync more than one Workdrive

          Hello Please I'm facing some difficulties since some days. In my company we have many zoho accounts in different organisations. And I have to find a way to sync all these Workdrives. I spend many hours to search it on zoho Workdrive but no solution. Could someone help me ? Any idea how I can achieve it ? Thanks in advance. Regards

        • Cannot update Recurring_Activity on Tasks – RRULE not accepted

          Hello, I am trying to update Tasks in Zoho CRM to make them recurring yearly, but I cannot find the correct recurrence pattern or way to update the Recurring_Activity field via API or Deluge. I have tried: Sending a string like "RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1"

        • Zoho writer unable to merge documents to PDF with basic fonts in Hebrew or fonts from my computer

          I created several forms that will be merged into PDF files through Zoho Writer and I am unable to receive the PDF in the basic fonts of the Hebrew language or in the fonts I have on my computer. The writer exports to PDF an exchange font that looks very

        • Unable to enable tax checkboxes

          Hi Zoho Commerce Support, I'm writing to report an issue I'm having with the tax settings in my Zoho Commerce store. I've created several tax rates under Settings > Taxes, but all of them appear with the checkbox disabled. When I try to enable a checkbox,

        • Zoho Projects app update: Voice notes for Tasks and Bugs module

          Hello everyone! In the latest version(v3.9.37) of the Zoho Projects Android app update, we have introduced voice notes for the Tasks and Bugs module. The voice notes can be added as an attachment or can be transcribed into text. Recording and attaching

        • Search Records returning different values than actually present

          Hey! I have this following line in my deluge script: accountSearch = zoho.crm.searchRecords("Accounts","(RS_Enroll_ID:equals:" + rsid + ")",1,200,{"cvid":864868001088693817}); info "Account search size: " + accountSearch.size(); listOfAccounts = zoho.crm.searchRecords("Accounts","(RS_Enroll_ID:equals:"

        • Making digital signatures accessible to all: Introducing accessibility controls in Zoho Sign

          Hi there! At Zoho Sign, we are committed to building an inclusive digital experience for all our users. As part of our ongoing efforts to align with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), we’re updating the application with support that will go

        • Super Admin Access to All Courses and Spaces in Zoho Learn

          Dear Zoho Learn Team, We hope this message finds you well. We are using Zoho Learn extensively for internal and agent training. While managing our courses and spaces, we encountered a significant limitation regarding admin access and course management.

        • Updating Subform Record from other Form

          Just wanted to ask how to properly approach this. I have 2 forms and would like to trigger an auto update on the subform once record submitted. block below only updates 1 row for each recordRow in input.AV_System { AssetRecord = Site_Asset_Services[SOR_No

        • Print checks for owner's draw

          Hi.  Can I use Zoho check printing for draws to Owner's Equity?  This may be a specific case of the missing Pay expenses via Check feature.  If it's not available, are there plans to add this feature?

        • Introducing Profile Summary: Faster Candidate Insights with Zia

          We’re excited to launch Profile Summary, a powerful new feature in Zoho Recruit that transforms how you review candidate profiles. What used to take minutes of resume scanning can now be assessed in seconds—thanks to Zia. A Quick Example Say you’re hiring

        • [New Release 2024] Create and embed custom capabilities across CRM with Kiosk Studio, our latest no-code tool

          [Update | New series] We've started publishing a series of posts on Kiosk Studio. It's called Kiosk Studio Sessions and you can check out the first one here! [Update | 15 Oct} Session #2 is live! This one will look at how to create a kiosk for your call

        • Revenue Management: #10 Common Mistakes while Recognizing Revenue

          We are at the end of the series on Revenue Management, covering how different businesses recognise revenue. Even with clear standards like ASC 606 and IFRS 15 in practice, businesses often struggle with the nuances of revenue recognition. Especially growing

        • Zoho Projects MCP Feedback

          I've started using the MCP connector with Zoho Projects, and the features that exist really do work quite well - I feel this is going to be a major update to the Zoho Ecosystem. In projects a major missing feature is the ability to manage, (especially

        • Windows Desktop App - request to add minimization/startup options

          Support Team, Can you submit the following request to your development team? Here is what would be optimal in my opinion from UX perspective: 1) In the "Application Menu", add a menu item to Exit the app, as well as an alt-key shortcut for these menus

        • integarting attachments from crm to creator

          when i tried to integrate pdf attachments from crm to creator via deluge i am getting this error {"code":2945,"description":"UPLOAD_RULE_NOT_CONFIGURED"} the code i used is attachments = zoho.crm.getRelatedRecords("Attachments","Sales_Orders",203489100020279XXX8);

        • Product details removed during update from other system

          We maintain our product details in an other system. These details are synchronized with Zoho at the end of each day, through an API. This has worked perfectly sofar. But last Monday, all product codes and some other product data have been wiped during

        • Search Option

          🚫 Current Limitation: As of now (September 2025), Zoho FSM lacks a global search functionality, which makes it difficult to quickly: Find specific Work Orders by number or keyword Search for customer records or contact info Locate assets, jobs, or service

        • Mobile Chat Window - Full Screen

          Hello, The mobile chat window takes up the full screen, which is highly confusing for most customers! Using a desktop machine, I see the same happens when reducing the browser width to 800px or below. This suggests that it responsive web design, causing the switch to full screen. Can we fix this very annoying behaviour ourselves using a custom css file? If so, can you please let me know how? Thanks

        • Next Page