What's a data model?

Before jumping into a new work management tool, we highly recommend you take some time to understand the tool's data model. The term "data model" (sometimes also called a data hierarchy) is a fancy way to refer to a system's structure. Particularly, how the information you enter can be stored, organized, accessed and managed.

ClickUp's data model is hierarchical and simple. Here's a visual representation of the model:

Let's break this down.

Workspace

A Workspace is an overarching central hub where all information is housed. A Workspace is like a central repository for all the initiatives, processes, workflows, or information an organization will enter into the system.

You can add multiple workspaces to one account and switch between them using the same username and password. Access your Workspaces at any time by clicking your profile account in the bottom left corner of your navigation bar.

Workspaces appear as circles on the left. In the screenshot above, our Workspace labeled DTECH is active. We set our Workspace to match the name of our organization, so that all work across teams can be tracked and managed in one place.

Important note about Workspaces: Premium plans can be purchased per Workspace. So, purchasing a plan on one will not transfer to another. If you want advanced features for multiple workspaces, you'll have to subscribe to a plan for each.

Spaces

Spaces are central work hubs within a Workspace that houses the project lists you and your team will collaborate on. Spaces are often named after departments or teams within an organization, enabling groups to keep all their work in one exclusive place.

In the following screenshot of our environment, Spaces represent our main initiatives, such as maintaining our website, creating content, launching marketing campaigns, and others.

One notable feature about Spaces is the ability to view all items across all lists within the Space in one view. In the screenshot above, we select the Content Hub Space, and set default views across the top tab, just like individual Lists. Furthermore, you can show all items across all Spaces by selecting the Everything tab. This has proven valuable when sorting and filtering tasks without entering into a Space or List individually.

Lists & Folders

Lists are the foundational component of the ClickUp data model, and are the only places you can enter data. Any project, process, workflow, or set of information you want to track and manage is built using a List.

The List view is the default view of any List you create, grouping your task items by the statuses you set up. You can add multiple views like Board, Calendar, Timeline, Gantt, and Box view to visualize your items in different ways.

In the screenshot above, we've organized our Content Hub Space into folders that represent the software categories we cover on our website. The Lists within each folder are used to track content creation for each individual tool of the respective category. You can use folders and lists to reflect any category or project you want. Keep in mind, folders are optional, and you can house your lists directly within a Space without placing them inside folders.

Tasks & Subtasks

While tasks and subtasks aren't included in the visual data model, they represent the specific action items within a list. You can create as many tasks as needed and set custom statuses to group your items. Subtasks exist within the parent task and can be displayed in the List view at-a-glance underneath their respective parent task.

Start building your model

Now that you know the ClickUp data model, it's time to begin transferring your projects and tasks in a way that works best for you and your team. Ask yourself questions like:

• What will our Spaces represent?
• Are folders needed to categorize Lists?
• Will Lists be used to manage projects and processes, track information, or a combination thereof?

If you're transferring your work from your current tool to ClickUp, we wrote another post just for you called Transferring projects & tasks: Working through data hierarchies that discusses important considerations about data models that should be explored and tested before initiating your transfer.

Thanks for learning about ClickUp! Browse more Cubetorials below to learn more about ClickUp or other tools.