If you’ve ever worked with folks outside your immediate team—developers, designers, ops, legal, whoever—you know things can get messy fast. Miscommunication, duplicate work, endless status meetings: pain. This guide is for anyone wrangling projects across different functions, and it’s here to show you, step by step, how to use Mantiks to actually make cross-functional teamwork...well, work. No hype, just honest advice and real-world tactics.
Step 1: Set Up Projects That Make Sense (Not Just Pretty Boards)
Before you invite anyone, stop and think: what’s this project actually for? Mantiks lets you create projects with customizable fields and structures. Don’t get sucked into over-organizing with a million tags and colors. Start with the basics:
- Project name that’s clear, not clever. (“Q3 Website Launch,” not “Operation Thunderbolt”)
- A one-line goal. People rarely read more.
- Key deliverables. Keep it short: what’s “done” mean?
Pro tip: Resist the urge to build a project template for every scenario. Start simple, see what you really use, then tweak.
Step 2: Add the Right People Early—But Not Everyone
Mantiks makes it easy to invite team members, but more isn’t always better. Only add folks who actually need to contribute, not anyone who might vaguely care. This cuts down on noise and confusion.
- Assign roles up front. Who’s here to give input? Who’s shipping work? Who just needs to know the outcome?
- Set clear expectations. A quick message about what you need from each person saves headaches later.
What to skip: Don’t use “guest” access for people who need to do real work. It’ll just lead to permissions hell.
Step 3: Use Tasks and Comments—Not Endless Email
Tasks are the backbone. Break the project into realistic, bite-size pieces. Assign them directly—no “FYI” tasks. Mantiks’ comment threads keep discussions where the work happens; that beats scattered emails every time.
- One task per real action. Don’t create vague “Discuss X” tasks—make it clear what needs to happen.
- Use @mentions for decisions, not for everything. Otherwise, people tune out notifications.
- Keep comments focused. If something needs a meeting, say it, don’t write a novel in the comments.
Reality check: If you’re constantly clarifying what a task means, your task titles are probably too fuzzy. Tighten them up.
Step 4: Use Views and Filters to Avoid Information Overload
Cross-functional projects get out of hand because everyone wants to see something different. Mantiks has filters and custom views—use them, but don’t go wild. Pick a handful that actually help:
- By role: Engineers care about blockers; PMs care about deadlines.
- By status: “What’s stuck?” is more useful than “Everything assigned to Marketing.”
- By priority: Surface what’s urgent, not just what’s new.
What to ignore: Don’t spend an hour color-coding everything. It’s tempting, but it rarely helps. Set up a couple of defaults and move on.
Step 5: Centralize Docs, Don’t Scatter Them
Mantiks projects can attach files, link to docs, or embed key info. Use this, but keep it tidy:
- One source of truth per topic. Don’t have “Final Copy v6” and “Really Final Copy v7” floating around.
- Link out when it makes sense. If your team lives in Google Docs, just link straight to the doc—don’t try to paste everything into Mantiks.
- Keep important docs pinned or easy to find. Otherwise, people will ask you for the same link every week.
Pro tip: If a doc or asset is out of date, delete or archive it. Old info causes more problems than missing info.
Step 6: Automate the Boring Stuff (But Don’t Overdo It)
Mantiks has automation features—recurring tasks, reminders, simple workflows. Use them to kill off grunt work, but don’t try to automate everything.
- Set up reminders for deadlines that matter. Not every task needs a nudge.
- Use recurring tasks for regular check-ins or reviews.
- Automate assignments only if roles are stable. Otherwise, you’ll just fight the system.
Reality check: If you’re spending more time tweaking automation than doing the work, dial it back.
Step 7: Track Progress Without Turning Into a Micro-Manager
Everyone loves charts and dashboards until they become a second job. Mantiks gives you progress tracking, but use it to spot real problems, not to create busywork.
- Look for blockers or overdue tasks, not just who’s “behind.”
- Share status updates as needed, not on autopilot. A quick weekly summary usually beats a daily report.
- Encourage honest updates. If people fudge statuses to look good, you lose.
What to skip: Don’t force everyone to update every task daily. Trust people to do their jobs.
Step 8: Communicate Changes Clearly—And Only When Needed
Cross-functional teams get tripped up when plans change and nobody knows. Mantiks lets you @mention, comment, and broadcast updates, but be judicious.
- Announce only the changes that impact others’ work. Not every tweak needs a blast.
- Use project-wide announcements for big shifts.
- Always tag the people actually affected, not “All.”
Pro tip: If you’re sending more than one update a day, people will start ignoring them.
Step 9: Review, Retrospect, and Actually Adjust
When the project’s done (or even midway), take 30 minutes to actually talk about what worked and what didn’t. Mantiks lets you export data and comments—use that to look back.
- What slowed things down? Fix those next time.
- What features did nobody use? Drop or simplify them.
- What did people wish they had? Maybe add those.
Reality check: If your “retrospective” turns into a blame game, you’re missing the point. Focus on the process, not personalities.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Cross-functional projects are never friction-free, but tools like Mantiks can make things less painful—if you use them with a little discipline and a lot of common sense. Start simple. Don’t over-engineer your setup. Make changes as you learn what your team actually needs. The best system is the one people will actually use, not the flashiest or most complex.
Now, go wrangle those teams—and remember, less is usually more.