Slack Lists: Collect and triage requests

When you receive a request in Slack and have to manage it in another tool, tracking the task can feel tedious and information can go missing. With Slack Lists, you can simplify the collection process, quickly triage submissions and discuss requests where everyone who needs to see them can – right in Slack!

Collect requests in a form

Let’s say you’ve created a channel that your teammates use to request assistance from your IT help desk. Instead of manually adding submissions to a spreadsheet, create a List to collect and track requests, and avoid the need to switch between programs.

Tip: Slack Lists are also useful for managing creative requests, gathering feedback from cross-functional teams and storing a backlog of ideas.

Create a new List

Start a List from scratch or use one of our templates (the Help requests template is an excellent option).

1. From your desktop, hover over   More, then select   Lists.
2. In the top right-hand corner, click on   New, then select   List.
3. If you like, select the Help Requests template from the column on the left, then click Use Template.

Customise your List

Customise the List for information that you’d like to include. In the Help requests template, Request, Category and Priority are added for you, but you can add, edit or delete fields as needed.

Add a field

Edit a field

Delete a field

1. From the List, click on the   plus icon at the end of the top row.
2. Enter a name for the field and choose a field type. Select additional options if prompted.
3. Click on Save.

1. Click a field in the top row of the List, then select   Edit field.
2. Edit the name of the field, and select a Field type to change the format of the data.
3. Click on Save.

1. Click a field in the top row of the List, then select   Delete field.
2. Confirm to delete the field.

Add a form automation

Simplify the request collection process with an automated form.

1. From a List, click on Forms in the top-right corner, then click Set up a form or Add a form.
2. Review your form questions, click the   eye icon to exclude fields that shouldn’t appear on the form, then click Publish Workflow.
3. To edit your form, click   Open in Workflow Builder. Otherwise, click   Share Form or Done.

When a member submits the form, a new item will be added to the List, and the field data will be filled in with the responses from the form.

Tip: You can turn any message into a List item! From a conversation, hover over a message and click the   three dots icon, then select Add to List.

Quickly triage submissions

Now that you’ve set up a form to collect and automatically add requests to a List, you can triage submissions by assigning priorities and teammates. Then, organise the List in the way that you need by sorting and filtering it.

Assign priorities and teammates

As submissions come in, set their priority and assign them to teammates so that it’s clear who’s responsible for handling each request.

1. If you started with the Help requests List template, an Assignee field was created for you, so skip to step 4. If not, click on the   plus icon at the end of the top row of a List to create a new field.
2. Add a name for the field, then select   People from the Field type drop-down menu.
3. Choose if you’d like to allow multiple selections and whether you’d like names to show in the List, then click Save.
4. Click the   people field on an item, then search for and select a member.

Sort and filter

Organise requests in your List in the way that you need, such as sorted by assignee and filtered by priority.

1. From a List, click on the   filters icon .
2. Under Edit view, choose how you’d like to sort, filter, hide and group the items in the List. You can also choose between table or board layout.
3. To come back to the way you've organised the List, click on Save view, then Save changes or Save as new view.
4. To switch between your saved views, click   All items. 

Discuss items without losing context

Asking follow-up questions or collaborating with teammates happens in a List, so context stays in one place. Manage who has access to the List by sharing it with the right people, and discuss specific tasks in an item’s message thread.

Share your List

Share the List with specific people who need to see it. You can also share Lists in channels.

1. From a List, click Share in the top right-hand corner.
2. From the General tab, select if everyone in your workspace should have Restricted, Can view or Can edit access, then click Save.
3. From the Channels or People tabs, add the names of people or channels who can collaborate on the List, then click Share. The List will be sent as a message to the people or channels that you specified.

Tip: To see who a List has been shared with, click Share in the top-right corner of a List, then navigate between the Channels and People tabs.

Create a message thread

Whenever you need to have a focused discussion about a request, such as to ask a follow-up question, create a message thread in a List.

1. From the List, hover over an item, then click   Add comment to start a thread or   View comment to continue a thread.
2. Type your message, then press   Send.

Note: You can read and reply to message threads about List items in the same place as your other threads by clicking   Threads in your sidebar.

More ways to use Lists