Slack is building a work management tool designed to allow users to track team projects directly from the collaboration app. 

The "lists" feature, announced Wednesday ahead of parent company Salesforce's Dreamforce event next week, provides functions similar to the likes of Asana and Trello, with the ability to create, assign, and manage individual tasks as part of a larger project.

This can be done via a spreadsheet or kanban-style board layout view, with record cards containing information on related tasks, as well as information about status, due date, and which team member is responsible.

It's also possible to attach files and documents, such as Slack's Canvas, that relate to the project or task. 

The tool will broaden the functionality Slack's app, which is mostly focused on unstructured data, namely the conversations posted in channels and direct messages. Lists provides a way to track and manage the structured data that workers encounter as part of team projects, said Ali Rayl, senior vice president of product management at Slack, whether that's tracking approvals and requests or managing a project launch. 

"Work often needs structured data: everybody uses spreadsheets for a reason," said Rayl. "We realized that there's an opportunity to bring this more structured data concept into the product. What we can do is wrap our conversational interface around it, so it's great for all kinds of work that's more structured, more discreet, and more trackable."

Users can discuss the progress of projects in the Lists tool; the discussions appear similar to threads in the main app, where an "@mention" can draw the attention of a coworkers. Conversations are kept with the List record, but can be shared into a channel if needed.

Lists will be available in private preview this winter to select customers, a spokesperson said, ahead of a planned launch next year. Pricing information will be announced closer to general availability.

The feature is part of a larger revamp of Slack's app, including the addition of canvas documents, a dedicated view for sales staff, an overhaul of the user interface, and the development of generative AI tools (which will also be available in a closed pilot this winter, with no scheduled release date). 

Software products "need to grow with their user base," said Wayne Kurtzman, research vice president at IDC, and "Slack's new features, paired with their ability to integrate to a wide variety of applications, are an example of meeting those needs."

The ability to integrate with third-party applications has long been a strength of Slack's, and while this approach isn't likely to change, building functionality directly into its own software has benefits, too.

"Embedding native capabilities for some functionalities can help reduce or eliminate friction in employees' day-to-day workflows; this is the case for basic project management tools for status tracking," said Ra