How to share one task with a client or consultant without giving them your whole project
When you need one answer from someone outside the team, share that one task with them: they accept it, see only that card, and you both see when it's done. A practical guide for architects, designers, and engineers.
Arkscape4 min readTo share a single task with a client or consultant without adding them to your project, put the task on a card, add them to that card only, and let them accept it. In Arkscape, open the card on your Ark, choose Add people, and type their email address: they see that one card and its discussion, never the rest of your work, and sharing it costs nothing extra on any plan.
This guide covers when that is the right move, how to set it up, and how to write a shared card that gets answered.
The problem with one-off questions
Most projects run on a long tail of small questions for people who aren't on the team. The structural engineer needs to confirm a beam size at an opening. The client has to approve a stone sample before the order goes in. The lighting designer owes you a revised fixture schedule.
Each of these is a task with a date and an owner, but the usual options treat it badly:
- Invite them to the whole project. They get every card, every thread, and every file, most of which isn't theirs to see, for the sake of one answer.
- Keep it in email. The question goes out, the answer comes back in a thread, and the task on your own list never learns it's done. A week later nobody is sure whether it was confirmed.
What you want is the task itself, shared with exactly the person who owes the answer, with a clear yes from them that they've taken it on.
How to share one task
- Create the card on your Ark. Give it a title that states the answer you need, a due date, and the details in the notes.
- Open the card's menu and choose Add people. Search for a coworker or someone you work with, or type the email address of anyone else.
- Add a note (optional, up to 500 characters) and send the invite.
If they already use Arkscape, the invitation reaches them right away. If they don't, they get an email titled with your name and the card's title, and an Open the card button. They create a free account with that address, open the card, and choose Accept or Decline. Nothing is accepted on their behalf.
Once they accept, the card is on their Ark too. It's the same card in two places, so when they tick off a checklist item or change the date, you see it on yours.
Keep the conversation on the card
Every shared card has its own discussion, visible only to the people on it. Ask your follow-up there instead of in a new email thread, and the answer stays next to the task it belongs to. When the card is done, either of you can complete it, and the History shows who did what and when.
Write a shared card that gets answered
A shared card is a request to someone with their own deadlines. A few habits make it easy to say yes:
- Ask one thing per card. "Confirm the beam size at the level 2 opening" gets answered. "Structure questions" sits.
- Put the answer you need in the title, so it reads as a question with an end.
- Give it a real due date, tied to what it blocks: "needed before the steel order on the 24th".
- Put the references in the notes: the drawing number, the detail, the sample code. Add a location if it matters.
- Use a checklist for multi-part answers, such as size, connection detail, and fire rating. Each item can be ticked as it's resolved.
When to use a group instead
A shared card is for one piece of work with a few people. It holds up to 10 people besides you, and an email invitation keeps its place for 7 days. When the collaboration grows into a project of its own, with many tasks, files, and a board everyone works from, create a project group instead. The group gets its own Arkboard, discussions, files, and a Reports tab.
Quick answers
Will they see my other projects? No. They see the card you shared and its discussion, nothing else on your Ark.
Do they need to pay? No. Shared cards work on every plan, including Free, and the person you invite can join with a free account.
Can they change the card? Once they accept, they can edit its notes, dates, and location, complete it, and post in its discussion. Only you add or remove people, delete it, or move it.
What if my firm limits outside sharing? Organization admins can keep shared cards to coworkers. If yours has, you can add coworkers only.
Can a shared card repeat? Yes. For a check-in that comes back every week, set the card to repeat, and the people on it carry over without being asked again.