Task dependencies are a great way to help keep tasks off of your to do list until it is time to do that specific task. A great example here is if you're responsible for reviewing something on a job. You can't complete the review until the preparation (and other tasks) are completed, so why does it show up as due if it's not ready for you to work on? That's where dependencies come in! You can make a task dependent on the task in front of it being completed so that it won't generate a due date or show up on your to do list until it's actually time for you to do this task. This article will review dependencies, their behaviors and how to set them up in your jobs or templates.
Before creating task dependencies, there are 4 powers of task dependencies to keep in mind.
1. They shift non-specific due dates
a. You can choose how many days after a previous task you’d like the next task to be due or set it to be due immediately after the task in front of it is marked as complete.
2. You cannot complete tasks out of order because they are now dependent on tasks before them
a. You will get a message saying you cannot mark them complete until the task before it is complete if you do try this!
3. You cannot move tasks around once you have a dependency set because the tasks are now chained together (one is dependent on the previous task, therefore you cannot rearrange them)
4. It curates your view of your work because you will only see the tasks that are currently ready for you to work on
a. Only Task 1 will show up in your task tab on this list because it is the only task that is ready for work, etc
To create a task dependency, click on any template or job you wish to add dependencies to
1. Scroll down to your tasks list
2. Click on the drop-down arrow on the right-hand side of the corresponding task you want to create task dependency for
3. Select Create dependency
4. Enter a number to indicate days after first task completed to prompt for second task
a. If you select Immediately after previous task, then the second task will be due right after the first task is marked off/completed by a team member
b. If you select X day(s) after previous task, then the second task will be due the number of days specified when you set up the task dependency after the first task is marked off/completed by a team member
i. Example: If you enter 3 days, then the second task will be due 3 days after the first task is marked off/completed by a team member
ii. Example: Task 1 is completed (not due) on January 15th by a team member and Task 2 is due three days after Task 1 is marked off so Task 2 will now have a due date of January 18th
15. Hit Create dependency again
::Note:: You currently cannot mass set up task dependencies nor can you mass remove task dependencies.
Related Articles: Why Can't I Rearrange Tasks?