Deciding when the old project workspace can be archived

Archive the old workspace once active updates have moved and people can retrieve the history they need. Record the decision after cutover; an importer completion message is not permission to archive. An unresolved record may require continued access to part of the old system.

Check four conditions

Active work has one home. Project leads have accepted the new location, contributors know where to update tasks, and changes made around cutover have been reconciled. If people still update both places, the current answer is unclear.

Exceptions have a resolution. Missing comments, files, decisions, user matches and dependencies have either been repaired or assigned an agreed alternate location. A link to an old attachment is insufficient if the account holding it will close.

Retrieval works for the intended reader. Ask someone who did not run the migration to find a completed deliverable, the decision behind it and a related file with their intended access. Record each location and its access owner.

Retention and access are agreed. Identify which projects may be archived, who can reopen them and how former staff or external collaborators will be handled. The organisation's responsible records staff must determine its requirements; a vendor archive button does not settle them.

Check what the product's archive action does

Before using monday.com's archive action, confirm what it covers, what happens to related data and who is responsible for retrieval. Treat the archive action as separate from retention policy.

In Trello, closing a board hides it without deleting it. A board admin can reopen it. Trello also documents a route for Premium Workspace admins to reopen a Workspace board they are not a member of.

Confirm that the named retrieval owner can find and reopen the particular board. These are product operations, not retention policies.

Archive actions in Trello vs monday.com

Record the decision

Keep a short record of the projects covered, cutover and archive dates, evidence location, remaining exceptions, retrieval owner and reopening route. Tell contributors where active work now lives and how to find historical material.

Defer archiving any project whose unresolved exception affects active work. If only historical material remains, archive once its agreed retrieval path has been checked. Revisit the decision if a later request reveals a missing record or inaccessible file. Deletion and account cancellation are separate decisions.