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Card Status Explained

Every card in Distil has a status that shows where it is in your workflow. Understanding these statuses is key to using Distil effectively.

The Four Statuses​

Needs Signal → Accepted → Ready → Pushed

Each status represents a gate in your evaluation process.

Needs Signal​

What it means: This feedback hasn't been evaluated yet.

Think of it as: Your inbox. Raw, unprocessed feedback.

What belongs here:

  • New feedback from any source
  • Ideas that need more research
  • Requests you're not sure about yet
  • Feedback that might be noise

What doesn't belong:

  • Things you've decided to build (those should be Accepted)
  • Obviously bad ideas (archive those instead)
  • Duplicates (merge them with existing cards)

How to process:

Review each card and ask:

  • Is this signal or noise?
  • Have we heard this before?
  • Does this align with our strategy?

Then either:

  • Accept if it's validated signal
  • Archive if it's clearly noise
  • Add signal notes and leave it here if you need more data

Pro tip: Set aside 30 minutes weekly to process this section. Don't let it pile up beyond 50-75 cards.

Accepted​

What it means: You've validated this feedback as worth building.

Think of it as: Your roadmap. These are your commitments.

What belongs here:

  • Feedback backed by clear patterns
  • Features aligned with strategy
  • Problems worth solving
  • Work you plan to do (eventually)

What doesn't belong:

  • Unvalidated hunches (keep those in Needs Signal)
  • Nice-to-haves without evidence (unless strategic)
  • Things you'll never actually build

Key insight: Accepting doesn't mean "build it tomorrow." It means "this is validated as worth doing."

What to do here:

  • Add implementation notes
  • Prioritize against other accepted work
  • Push to Jira/Linear when ready to assign to eng

With Governance Pack: Acceptance requires documented rationale. This creates accountability and prevents rubber-stamping.

Ready​

What it means: This card has been pushed to Jira or Linear for development.

Think of it as: In flight. Engineers are working on it (or will be soon).

What happens automatically:

  • Card status changes to Ready when you push to Jira/Linear
  • A link to the Jira/Linear issue is saved on the card
  • The Jira/Linear issue includes a backlink to the Distil card

What to do here:

  • Monitor progress in Jira/Linear (not in Distil)
  • Add updates if customers ask about status
  • Reference the card when communicating with stakeholders

The card stays in Distil as a record of what shipped and why. This creates an audit trail of decisions.

Pushed (Alternative View)​

Some teams treat "Ready" and "Pushed" as the same status. Both mean "sent to development tools."

The distinction:

  • Ready: Pushed and likely in development
  • Pushed: Completed and shipped

This is mostly semantic. The important part is that work has left Distil and moved to your development system.

Status Transitions​

Needs Signal → Accepted​

Action: Click "Accept" on a card.

Required: Acceptance rationale (with Governance Pack, this is enforced).

Meaning: You're committing that this is worth building based on evidence.

Accepted → Ready​

Action: Push to Jira or Linear.

Required: Jira or Linear must be connected and configured.

Meaning: You're handing this off to engineering.

Can You Go Backwards?​

Yes. Status changes aren't permanent.

Accepted → Needs Signal: Deprioritize something you no longer plan to build.

Ready → Accepted: If you accidentally push something, you can unlink it.

Special Cases​

Archived Cards​

Cards can be archived from any status. Archived cards don't appear in your roadmap but remain searchable.

When to archive:

  • Obvious noise ("Make the logo bigger")
  • Duplicates (after merging context into the original)
  • Outdated feedback (problem no longer exists)

Locked Cards (Governance Pack)​

With Governance Pack, accepted cards can be locked to prevent changes. This is useful for:

  • Audited environments
  • Cards representing legal or compliance commitments
  • High-stakes decisions that shouldn't be casually reversed

Status Indicators​

In the UI, status is shown by:

  • Card position in the roadmap view (Needs Signal section vs. Accepted section)
  • Status badge on the card detail view
  • Color coding (if enabled in your theme)

Common Questions​

Q: Can I skip straight from Needs Signal to Ready? A: Technically yes (by pushing to Jira/Linear), but this skips validation. Better to Accept first, then push.

Q: How long should cards stay in Needs Signal? A: As long as you need to gather signal. Some stay there for weeks as you watch for patterns.

Q: Should I accept everything I plan to build eventually? A: Only if "eventually" means "in the next 6-12 months." Don't accept things that might happen in 3 years.

Q: What if I'm not sure whether to accept? A: Leave it in Needs Signal and add a note explaining your uncertainty. Come back to it next week.

Next Steps​