Track progress with statuses

Keep users in the loop. Statuses show what's happening with their feedback, from "Open" all the way to "Complete".

When you change a status, subscribers get notified automatically. It's the easiest way to close the feedback loop without sending individual emails.

Default Statuses

Quackback comes with six statuses organized into three categories:

Active

Statuses for posts that need attention or are being worked on:

Status	What it means
Open	New feedback (default for new posts)
Under Review	Feedback being evaluated
Planned	Approved and scheduled
In Progress	Currently being worked on

Complete

For posts that have been successfully addressed:

Status	What it means
Complete	Released to users

Closed

For posts that won't be implemented:

Status	What it means
Closed	Won't be implemented

Completed and closed posts are deprioritized when suggesting similar posts to new users so old resolved items don't clog up the suggestions.

Create a status

Your workflow isn't one-size-fits-all. Create custom statuses like "In Design", "In Beta", or "Blocked".

Go to Admin → Settings → Statuses
Find the category you want to add a status to
Click "Add new status" at the bottom
Fill in the details:

Field	What it does
Name	Display name (e.g., "In Beta")
Slug	API identifier (auto-generated from name)
Color	Status badge color

Click Create status

Show on Roadmap

Use the toggle next to each status to control whether posts with that status appear on the public roadmap.

You must select exactly 3 statuses to show on the roadmap. The counter at the top shows how many are currently selected.

Most teams show: Planned → In Progress → Complete

Reorder statuses

The order affects dropdown menus and roadmap columns.

Go to Admin → Settings → Statuses
Drag statuses using the grip handle on the left
Click Save changes

Edit a status

Go to Admin → Settings → Statuses
Click the color dot to change the color
Use the toggle to change roadmap visibility
Click Save changes

All posts with this status will reflect the changes immediately.

Delete a status

Go to Admin → Settings → Statuses
Click the trash icon next to the status
Confirm deletion

You cannot delete the default status for new posts (marked with a lock icon). Each category must have at least one status.

Communicate status changes

When you update a status, add a comment so users know why. Here are templates you can use:

Moving to Planned:

"Great news! We've added this to our roadmap. Thanks for the suggestion. We'll keep you posted as we make progress."

Moving to In Progress:

"We're actively working on this now. Stay tuned for updates!"

Moving to Complete:

"This is now live! Thanks for suggesting it. Let us know how it works for you."

Moving to Closed:

"After reviewing, we've decided to go a different direction. [Brief reason]. We really appreciate you taking the time to share this idea."

Reverting to Open:

"We're putting this back under review. Priorities shifted, but we haven't forgotten about it."

Switching status back and forth? That's fine. Priorities change. Just add a quick comment explaining why so users don't get confused.

Example Workflows

Simple Workflow

Open → Under Review → Planned → In Progress → Complete
                ↓
              Closed

Detailed Workflow (with custom statuses)

Open → Under Review → Planned → In Design → In Development → In Beta → Complete
              ↓
            Closed

With Blocking States

Open → Under Review → Planned → In Progress → Blocked → In Progress → Complete
              ↓
            Closed

Best Practices

Keep It Simple

Start with the default statuses. Add custom ones only when you feel limited.

Too many statuses:

Confuse users trying to understand progress
Create maintenance overhead for your team
Make the roadmap harder to read

Use Clear Names

Use action-oriented names that describe the current state:

"In Progress" not "Development"
"Complete" not "Done"
"Open" not "New"

Roadmap Visibility

Only show meaningful statuses on the roadmap. Users don't need to see:

Internal review stages
Closed items
Duplicates

Notifications

When a post's status changes:

Subscribed users receive email notifications (if email is configured)
Integrations (Slack, etc.) are triggered if you've set up event mappings

Next Steps

Roadmap - Display status-based roadmaps
Inbox - Manage feedback and change statuses
Integrations - Get notified on status changes