Intro to Intake
Video Placeholder Duration: 4-6 minutes Topics covered: What is intake, enabling intake, creating intake items, triage workflow, managing requests
What is Intake?
Intake is a Plane feature that allows external users (Guests) to submit work requests for your team to review. It's like a triage inbox where requests wait to be evaluated before entering your project workflow.
Use Intake for:
- Bug reports from customers
- Feature requests from stakeholders
- Support tickets from clients
- Service requests from internal teams
- Any work that needs team review before acceptance
The Intake Workflow
1. Request Submission
Guests submit work items through the Intake section. These items don't immediately enter your project workflow — they go to a special Triage state.
2. Triage Review
Admins and Members review incoming requests:
- Evaluate the request's validity
- Check for duplicates
- Assess priority and scope
3. Decision
Take action on each request:
- Accept — Move to project workflow
- Decline — Reject the request
- Snooze — Postpone review
- Mark as Duplicate — Link to existing work
Enabling Intake
Intake must be manually enabled for each project:
- Go to Project Settings
- Navigate to Features
- Toggle Intake on
Once enabled, the Intake section appears in your project sidebar.
The Triage State
Intake items enter a special Triage state that's separate from your project's regular workflow states:
Triage items:
- Are visible only in the Intake section
- Don't appear in regular work item views
- Don't affect project metrics until accepted
Creating Intake Items
As a Guest
- Access the project's Intake section (if you have Guest access)
- Click Add Work Item
- Fill in the details:
- Title and description
- Priority
- Labels
- Due date (optional)
- Submit the request
Properties Available in Intake
- Priority
- Assignees (for triage purposes)
- Labels
- Due date
Managing Intake Requests
Viewing Requests
- Navigate to the Intake section in your project
- See all pending requests in Triage state
- Click any request to see full details
Taking Action
Accept
Move the request into your project workflow:
- Click Accept
- Optionally adjust properties (state, assignee, labels)
- The item moves to your specified state (typically Backlog or Todo)
Decline
Reject requests that aren't relevant:
- Click Decline
- Optionally add a reason
- The item moves to Cancelled state
Snooze
Postpone review until later:
- Click Snooze
- Select a date to resurface the request
- The item will reappear for review on that date
Mark as Duplicate
Flag items that match existing work:
- Click Mark as Duplicate
- Search for the existing work item
- Link them together
Intake Best Practices
Establish a Triage Process
- Who reviews? — Assign team members to triage duty
- How often? — Set a schedule (daily, weekly)
- Response time — Set expectations for how quickly requests are reviewed
Clear Communication
- When declining, explain why
- When accepting, set realistic expectations
- Keep requesters informed of progress
Use Labels
Apply labels during triage to:
- Categorize request types
- Indicate urgency
- Track source (customer, internal, etc.)
Intake vs Direct Work Item Creation
| Aspect | Intake | Direct Creation |
|---|---|---|
| Who can create | Guests, Members, Admins | Members, Admins |
| Initial state | Triage | Default project state |
| Requires review | Yes | No |
| Appears in views | Only in Intake section | All project views |
| Best for | External requests | Internal work |
Example Intake Workflow
Key Takeaways
- Intake collects external requests in a Triage state
- Enable Intake in Project Settings → Features
- Requests wait in Triage until reviewed
- Four actions: Accept, Decline, Snooze, Mark as Duplicate
- Accepted items move into your regular project workflow
- Use Intake for any work that needs team review before commitment
Next Steps
Work items can be viewed in many different ways. Learn about the various Layouts available in Plane.
Next Lesson: Intro to Layouts