Blockers & Dependencies

Mark tasks as blocked, identify the blocking person, and let Tickr redirect nudges to unblock work.

Blockers let you flag that a task is stuck and optionally identify who's responsible for unblocking it. When a blocker is set, Tickr shifts its nudge energy from the assignee to the person who can resolve the issue.

Adding a blocker

There are three ways to add a blocker:

Via task card button

Click Blocker on any task card. A modal opens with:

Field	Required	Description
Blocked By	No	Slack user picker — select the person who's blocking
Reason	Yes	Describe what's preventing progress

Via @mention

@Tickr the API task is blocked by @dave — waiting on the new endpoint spec

@Tickr mark the deployment task as blocked — need access credentials from infra team

Via slash command

/tickr update 01KH9DN3 blocked

This sets the status to blocked but doesn't specify a blocker person or reason. For a more useful blocker, use the task card button or @mention.

What happens when you add a blocker

Status changes

The task status changes to blocked (🔴). The task card and board canvas update immediately.

Blocker reason is recorded

The reason is stored on the task and visible on the task card, board, and App Home dashboard.

Nudges redirect

If a specific person is tagged as the blocker:

They receive a notification in the channel
Future nudges go to them, not the task assignee
The nudge says: "@dave, you're blocking this!"

💡 Always tag the blocking person

Including a specific @mention redirects nudges to the right person. Without it, nobody gets nudged for the blocked task — it just sits there.

Resolving a blocker

When the issue is resolved, update the task status back to in_progress or open:

/tickr update 01KH9DN3 in_progress Credentials received, resuming work

Or via @mention:

@Tickr the API task is unblocked — endpoint is ready

Tickr immediately:

Moves the task back to the new status
Resumes nudging the original assignee
Posts an update in the channel

Blockers on the board

Blocked tasks appear in a dedicated BLOCKED section on the board and Canvas, colored red for visibility. Each blocked task shows:

The task title and assignee
Who's blocking it (if specified)
The blocker reason
How long it's been blocked

Blockers in reports

The AI Reports feature specifically tracks blockers:

Highlights — shows blockers that were resolved during the period
Lowlights — shows unresolved blockers still preventing progress
Standup — lists each person's blocked tasks with the reason