Every work tool makes a choice. It either serves the people doing the work, or the people watching them.
Most B2B software chooses watchers. The sales pitch targets managers. The feature set prioritizes visibility. The pricing tiers unlock “admin controls” and “team analytics.” Workers get a tool shaped by someone else’s needs.
This isn’t conspiracy - it’s economics. Enterprise deals close at the manager level. Tools that help managers justify their purchases beat tools that quietly help workers ship.
But you don’t have to accept tools designed for surveillance.
The Surveillance Spectrum
Work tools fall on a spectrum from autonomy to oversight.
On the oversight end: activity tracking, time logging, presence indicators, detailed permission systems, mandatory fields, audit trails. On the autonomy end: minimal tracking, optional features, no presence indicators, simple interfaces, trust that workers know their jobs.
Neither extreme is universally correct. A distributed organization with regulatory compliance requirements genuinely needs audit trails. A team coordinating across time zones benefits from knowing who’s available when. Large-scale projects with external dependencies require formal tracking.
The problem isn’t oversight features existing - it’s their default presence in tools used by teams that don’t need them. A three-person startup using enterprise PM software gets surveillance designed for organizations with very different problems.
As many processes as needed. As few as possible. All the time.
Most popular planning tools cluster toward oversight because that’s what sells to procurement committees. They offer “visibility” as a universal benefit. But visibility that doesn’t enable better decisions is just surveillance.
How to Spot Oversight-First Tools
Look for these patterns when evaluating tools:
Activity tracking. Does the tool log when you’re active? Does it show “last seen” timestamps? This isn’t coordination - it’s surveillance dressed as collaboration.
Mandatory fields. Does every task require you to estimate time, assign categories, set priorities, and fill in descriptions? Mandatory fields serve reporting, not execution.
Permission hierarchies. Are there detailed role-based controls about who can see what? Complex permissions suggest the tool expects distrust between team members.
Dashboard prominence. Does the interface lead with charts, graphs, and metrics? Dashboards serve watchers. Workers need task lists.
Manager-focused marketing. Does the landing page show screenshots of analytics rather than task completion? Marketing reveals priorities.
Kanman fails all these tests deliberately. No activity tracking. No mandatory fields beyond a project name. No permission hierarchies. No dashboards. The marketing shows the task interface because that’s what matters.
Why Autonomy Matters
Autonomy isn’t just a nice feeling. It directly affects productivity.
Research consistently shows that autonomy improves work quality, creativity, and satisfaction. When people control how they work, they work better. When they feel monitored, they perform for the monitor instead of for outcomes.
Oversight-heavy tools create a specific failure mode: workers optimize for appearing busy rather than being effective. If the tool tracks activity, workers stay active. If it demands time estimates, workers pad estimates. If it shows presence, workers stay logged in.
None of this produces better work. It produces better metrics - which managers then mistake for better work.
Tools that respect autonomy skip this theater. They assume you’re competent. They trust you to manage your own time, set your own priorities, and work at your own pace.
What Autonomy-First Tools Look Like
Kanman shows your projects and lets you order them by dragging. That’s the interface.
There’s no activity log. The tool doesn’t know when you last used it and doesn’t care. Your work patterns are private.
There’s no manager dashboard. Teams can share projects, but everyone sees the same view. No special observer mode for bosses.
There’s no gamification. No streaks, badges, or points pressuring you to perform. Rest is invisible to the app because it’s not the app’s business.
There are no AI suggestions. The tool doesn’t tell you what to work on next. You’re the expert on your own work.
This isn’t minimal because we’re lazy. It’s minimal because surveillance features don’t help workers ship.
Choosing Your Stack
Before adopting any work tool, ask who it was designed for.
Read the pricing page. Are premium features about reporting and analytics, or about getting work done? “Admin controls” and “team insights” suggest manager-first design.
Read the feature list. Count how many features serve workers versus watchers. An imbalance reveals priorities.
Try the onboarding. Does it start with your work, or with setting up permissions and integrations? Worker-first tools get you productive quickly.
Check the defaults. Are notifications on or off? Are fields optional or mandatory? Defaults reveal assumptions about users.
Tools that side with doers treat oversight features as opt-in rather than default. They trust workers to coordinate without surveillance. They measure success by outcomes, not activity.
The Bottoms-Up Choice
Enterprise procurement usually happens top-down. Someone in leadership picks a tool, and workers adapt.
But individual makers can still choose their personal tools. A designer can use their preferred sketch app. A developer can pick their terminal. A writer can choose their editor.
Kanman positions itself for this choice. Individual pricing means workers can buy it themselves. No enterprise sales process means no procurement gatekeepers. The tool exists because some people want to manage their work without surveillance - and they can choose it without asking permission.
This matters. When workers pick their own tools, they pick ones that respect them. When tools must win worker adoption to survive, they design for worker needs.
That’s the autonomy side of the spectrum. That’s where Kanman lives.
Tired of tools that treat you like a metric? Respects your autonomy with no activity tracking, no manager dashboards, and no gamification. Kanman - annual workspace subscriptions. €4 / month for individuals, €10 per seat / month.
Marco Kerwitz
Founder of kanman.de