Task dependencies
- Skip Ahead to
- Mark tasks as dependent on
- Draw dependencies on your Timeline
- Multiple dependencies
- Auto-shifting dates for dependent tasks
- Turning off auto-shifting dates
With task dependencies, you can mark a task as waiting on another task.
Teams with collaborative workflows can easily see what tasks they’re waiting on from others, and know when to get started on their portion of work.
When the first task is completedcompleted To mark a task with a checkmark to indicate that it is done. Read more , it will notify the assigneeassignee The person responsible for the task or subtask. Asana allows one assignee per task or subtask. Read more of the next task that they can start on their task.
Mark tasks as dependent on
To mark a task as dependent on:
- Click the three dot icon from the right paneright pane The right pane holds the details of a task or Conversation. Read more
- In the drop down menu that appears, click Mark as Dependent on…
Next:
- Begin typing the name of the task you wish to be the precedent task
- Select the task in the typeahead that appears
The dependent task will have a banner in its right paneright pane The right pane holds the details of a task or Conversation. Read more indicating it is waiting on another task.
The indication banner will only appear in the dependent task’s right pane.
Drawing dependencies on your Timeline
You can set dependencies directly on your Timeline by clicking the connector icon that appears when hovering over a task and then dragging to another task.
To draw dependencies on your Timeline:
- Click on the connector icon when hovering over a task.
- Drag the connector over to the task you wish to mark as Dependent On.
Multiple dependencies
A single task can be dependent on multiple tasks and multiple tasks can be dependent on a single task.
If a single task is dependent on multiple tasks, each precedent task will appear in the dependent task’s right pane.
To remove a dependency, hover over an existing indication banner and click the X symbol that appears.
Notifications
The assigneeassignee The person responsible for the task or subtask. Asana allows one assignee per task or subtask. Read more of the dependent task will receive notifications for the following actions:
- The precedent task is marked completecomplete To mark a task with a checkmark to indicate that it is done. Read more
- The precedent task has its due datedue date The date that a task or subtask is due. Read more changed or removed
If a task is dependent on multiple tasks, you will only receive one notification when all precedent tasks have been completed.
Auto-shifting dates for dependent tasks
Dates for precedent and dependent tasks can automatically be updated if a change occurs that results in an overlap in the dates of any of the tasks. This can be done from timeline view can be turned off. This feature automatically skips weekends.
For auto-shifting to work it is necessary that:
- A task has been marked as dependent to another
- The precedent and dependent tasks have due dates set. It can also work if tasks have start dates set along with a due date
- The change in any of the tasks causes an overlap in the dates
- The date change has been made on Timeline. If the update on a task is made from My Tasks, Inbox, or any other project view that is not Timeline (like List, Board or Calendar), the affected tasks won’t be automatically updated.
- Tasks are marked as not complete. Changes in dates will not have an impact on completed tasks
This functionality does not apply to subtasks by default. You can mark subtasks as dependent on the parent task if you want to use auto-shifting for subtasks.
How auto-shifting dates work
You can use auto-shifting while updating dates from your project Timeline.
Auto-shifting dates will work for precedent and dependent tasks:
- A change on a precedent task’s date will update the date of dependent task when it causes an overlap.
- A change on a dependent task’s date will update the date of precedent task when it causes an overlap.
Any change to start date as a result of the auto-shifting dependency dates feature also changes the due date of that same task (and vice-versa).
The auto-shifting dependency dates feature automatically skips weekends. In addition, it works for changes that move the dates back or forward:
- When a date is pushed forward in the future, a precedent task can move dependent tasks forward as well. However, if the date of a dependent tasks is postponed, it will not affect the precedent tasks.
- When a date is pushed back in the past, a dependent task can push a precedent task back as well. However, if the date of a precedent task is moved back, it will not affect the dependent tasks.
Tasks can be marked as dependent of tasks that are themselves depending on other tasks, as well. Auto-shifting dates will also work for tasks under those dependency chains. In addition, milestones and subtasks will be updated too if they are part of a dependency chain.
Examples of auto-shifting in action
Example of a precedent task moved forward
A precedent task has a due date of July 20th. It has two depending tasks: the first one has a due date of July 21st, while the second one has a due date for July 24th.
If the precedent task is updated to July 22nd, the first dependent task will be updated to July 23rd. The second depending task won’t be updated, since there is no overlap with July 24th.
Example of a precedent task moved back
A precedent task has a due date of July 20th. It has two depending tasks: the first one has a due date of July 21st, while the second one has a due date for July 24th.
If the precedent task is updated to July 13th, none of the dependent tasks will be updated, since there is no overlap with their due dates (July 21st and July 24th).
Example of a dependent task moved back
A precedent task has a start date of July 20th and a due date for July 21st. It has two depending tasks: the first one has a due date of July 21st, while the second one has a due date for July 24th.
If the first dependent task due date is moved to July 13th, the precedent task will be updated to start on July 9th and have a due date of July 10th (in this example, July 11th and July 12th fall on a weekend). The second depending task won’t be updated, since there is no overlap with July 24th.
Turning off auto-shifting dates
Date shifting is set for Premium Asana teams and Organizations by default. If you wish to prevent dates from being automatically updated, you can turn it off for specific projects:
- Click on the three-dot icon in your project header to display a menu
- Click on the Resolve dependency conflicts option to toggle off date shifting for your project
