Easy DX Made Simple with Slack Templates

Hello, this is Hashi.
I tried out the new "template feature" recently added to Slack, so I'm sharing my impressions and some ideas for how to use it. Slack has always been, for me, mainly about sharing messages and files, so my honest first reaction was, "Templates? What's that?"
However, once I actually tried it, I found it far more promising than I expected, so if you're interested, please take a look.

What Are Slack Templates?

Slack's new feature suddenly appeared the other day.
First, let's take a moment to summarize what "Slack templates" actually are.

The official site describes them as "an initial setup that combines Canvas, lists, and workflows into a single channel to help you work efficiently". That alone is still a bit hard to grasp, but roughly speaking, it's a way to easily set up the foundation for project and task management. When starting a new project, you can set up everything at once, such as to-do lists, notes for sharing information, and workflows for tracking progress.

For anyone who used to customize channels from scratch, this feature should save a lot of time.

My Honest Impressions of Using Slack Templates

When I first touched them, I was half-convinced they might be "a bit underwhelming for work use," but once I actually started using them, I was able to pick up and use the templates intuitively.
The official templates come in many varieties, such as the "Project Starter Kit" and the "Feedback Tracker," all designed with team use in mind.

Simply choose a template and make a few small customizations, and it's ready to use right away, which makes it perfect for anyone who just wants to give it a try.
Slack is more of a communication tool, so I was surprised to see them expanding into management features like these.
To be honest, many of the features overlap with Backlog, Notion, and Asana, but since everything can be done within Slack, I think Slack users will find it very handy.

My Personal Recommendations

Here are the features I found particularly useful after trying them out.

Key Benefits of Slack Templates

1. Canvas
   lets you organize project plans, meeting minutes, and wiki-style information right inside Slack and share them with your team. Real-time editing keeps everyone up to date with the latest information.
2. Lists
   make it easy to track task progress. You can set due dates and assign owners, so I'm using it as a to-do list for our projects. Being able to do everything within Slack is also a major advantage.
3. Workflows
   automate routine tasks. For teams with a lot of repetitive work, this should significantly improve efficiency.

You can also create your own Slack templates

Slack provides official templates, but you can also create and register your own customized ones.
By registering templates tailored to each team, you can complete initial setup simply by selecting a Slack template when starting a new project. Once you get used to it, your work will move along much more smoothly.

Benefits of Slack Templates

• Solves the problem of message fields getting buried under comments, making it harder to find the relevant thread.
• Manage projects by task and see the overall progress at a glance.
• For projects that don't require advanced management tools like Backlog, list-based management is more than sufficient.
• Assignees can be changed easily, making management very straightforward.

Drawbacks of Slack Templates

• Notifications are only received if you view the list (simply joining a channel does not trigger notifications).
• Notifications are easy to miss.
• Because comments are managed within threads, the channel in the sidebar does not become active even when new comments are posted.
• New comments update within the thread, but the channel itself does not become active, so there is a high risk of missing them.
• As threads accumulate, projects can get buried and become less visible.

Try out the leave request form yourself!

This article introduces how to create a leave request workflow using Slack's "Leave Request Form" template.
You may be wondering, "The template sounds useful, but how do I actually use it?"

Don't worry, it's really easy! I'll walk you through each step carefully, so let's get started together!

Step 1: Add a template to the channel

We'll start by adding a template to your existing Slack channel.
Let's set it up by following the steps below!

1. Go to the channel

Once you open the channel, you'll see a row of tabs at the top of the screen. Click the "+" icon on the right side of the tabs.

2. Select a template

From the menu that appears, select "Try a template," then click "See more templates." A modal (pop-up window) will open. Select "Show all templates," and the hidden templates will be displayed in a list!

3. Select "Leave request process"

From the list, select "Show all templates."

From the list, select "Leave request process."

A demo screen is displayed on the right, so you can check what the template includes.
This template contains the following four items:

• Canvas: Contains details on the "Request steps"

• List: Tracks progress in the "Leave Request Tracker"

• Workflow:
  • "Leave Request Form"
  • "Item Status Notification"

A really handy setup that combines Canvas, List, and Workflow!

4. Add template to channel

Click "Next" to proceed to the confirmation screen. Finally, click the "Add to Channel" button, and the template will be applied to your channel.

This takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute!

5. Check the completion message
   

   Once the template is added to your channel, Slack will send you a message. Click this link to get started!

Step 2: Launch the leave request form

Next, let's try out the "Leave Request Form" in action! There are two ways to do this:

This time, let's start a workflow from Canvas!

1. Select a workflow in Canvas

   Click the "Leave Request Form" workflow in Canvas.

2. Select a channel

   When you start the workflow, a screen appears where you select the channel to send the request to. For this example, we select "pj-slack_template_demo".

3. Enter request details

   A form will open. Fill in the required information:

   • Request type (e.g., paid leave, sick leave)
   • Start and end dates
   • Name of approver
   • Notes (add additional information if needed)

   Supplementary descriptions appear in the dropdown menus, so they're easy to understand!

4. Submit form

   Once you've filled in the required information, click "Submit." Your leave request will then move forward in the approval flow.

Step 3: Approval Process Flow

When you submit the form, a message like the following is posted to the channel:

「担当者」さん、こんにちは。
「申請者」さんが新しい休暇の <https://liberogic.slack.com/lists/＊＊＊＊＊/> を提出しました。以下を確認してください。

Click the link in this message to approve the request.

Everything is completed within Slack, so there's no need to use email or another tool!

Step 4: Track Progress with a List

Submitted items are automatically saved to a list.
When approvers update the status, whether an item is "Approved" or "Pending" is shared with the whole team.

Everyone can see at a glance who is taking time off and when. It also helps start conversations and makes it easier to arrange coverage during someone's absence!

Summary: Streamline Your Work with Slack Templates!

The Time Off Request Form introduced here is a powerful template that combines Canvas, lists, and workflows.
It's easy to set up, and its biggest appeal is that everything is completed within Slack. We highly recommend trying it with your team!

That said, it currently lacks features such as list archiving and isn't as feature-rich as issue tracking tools like Backlog or Asana. Still, I think it's best to start with small, useful features like this Time Off Request Form, and build and improve from there as you use it!