Sub-Tasks/Record Relationships
Tom Harvey
This is about record relationships. Sub-tasks could be standard app records (solving the current sub-tasks problem of not having all the same features/capabilities), and making it a "sub-task" would just be one type of relationship option. Tons of options for other relationship types... dependencies, blocking (record A has to be completed before record B can proceed), and you could automate things like "when all sub-tasks are resolved." Then the sub-task nesting, drill-downs, etc. would be view options.
Canny AI
Merged in a post:
Sub tasks with durations and dependencies that roll up to the parent
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Riley Novich
This is a broad use case I am struggling to find a solution for, if there is an existing answer please let me know. I want to be able to have sub tasks or deliverables on my action items, with the parent item completion and duration being derived from the child tasks. Bonus points if the child items can have their own dependencies amongst themselves, which then flow up to the parent as well.
This is a big and abstract ask so I'll give an example.
Task A, 5 hour duration, blocking task B
Task B, contains sub tasks, blocking task C
Task B1, 1 hr duration, blocking B2
Task B2, 2 hr duration, blocking B3
Task B3, 1 hr duration
Task C, 2 hr duration
I want Task B in the above example to automatically calculate a duration of 4hrs. Would also be amazing if each sub task status being completed would update the parent percent complete field, in this case marking Task B1 complete would change Task B to be 25% complete.
Methods I have tried that did not work well:
- Checkbox Field - This has date and owner fields, but cannot have duration or dependencies. Suitable for reminders or short steps, but not useful for larger or complicated progress tracking.
- Sub Items - You can add duration and status to sub items, but you cannot set dependencies. I would be willing to forgo sub dependencies (since you can assume all sub tasks are blocking the parent task) but there is no linked duration or due dates. While you can do a rollup to get remaining duration for sub tasks you cannot dynamically update the duration field, and the formula field is unable to be formatted as a duration so a manual sum of child durations does not work either.
- Linked Record - I can make a separate table for sub tasks and link them all back to the parent, but it lacks the dynamic duration of the previous point as well as no way to link dependency at all between tables. I tried saying Task B is waiting for B1 etc, but I could not find a way to get the dependencies to link. The main tasks will only link to main tasks, and sub tasks will only link to sub tasks.
- Task Category - This is what I might end up going with even though I hate it. Basically, the entire table would be sub tasks with a single select used to group them by parent task. So I would have Task A1 with parent Task A, Task B1 Task B2 and B3 with parent Task B, etc. This way you can at least filter and group by the parent, but it is so clunky and requires manually linking the first and last sub task with the correct sub task of leading/following parent task. In this case, B3 needs to be set to be blocking C1, but if you add B4 then you have to go update the dependencies manually.
I hope this text wall makes sense, and if anyone has a good solution to this please let me know!
M
Mike Jungers
Hi Riley,
Your request is similar to a table I built for my contracting company. Like you, I was not able to find a suitable workflow using subitems or checklists, so I wound up using a method similar to your #4 option. I had not tried to "rollup" task start and end dates from subtasks, so that took a bit of T&E.
The net result is that formulas will get you almost all the way there, and automation(s) will take care of the rest. The sample table I built to work out the kinks uses seven formulas (all hidden), and the only manual inputs are to subtask-level fields: status, due date start and end, estimated hours, and entries in the time tracking log. Three automations update the task-level Due Date (start and end dates), status, and percentage of completion based on estimated hours versus actual hours at the subtask level. This could probably go down one automation with some more thought. Just wanted to let you know what is possible after a lot of YouTube videos and practice.
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Riley Novich
Mike Jungers wow good work figuring that all out! I wanted to see if you'd be willing to share that as a template, but a quick Google makes me think that feature doesn't exist yet either. Unfortunately I don't really have the resources to spend a ton of effort to figure this out, so I guess I'm sticking with my separate workflows for now :(
Jon Darbyshire
Hiya Riley Novich, thanks for this post! I have a few more questions for you:
- What specific outcomes or benefits are you hoping to achieve with the ability to have sub tasks with durations and dependencies?
- Are there any specific tools or systems you currently use that partially meet your needs, and what features do they lack?
- How important is the ability to dynamically update the parent task's duration and completion status based on sub task progress to your workflow?
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Riley Novich
Hi Jon Darbyshire
- I am attempting to streamline my workflow by having my project management and task management sync together, rather than updating items individually. The main roadblock is that I am following a specific task management tip (shout out to Layla from ProcessDriven) to have all tasks be small enough to be completed in one work session. I have a project that will take several months, but as tasks approach I want to be able to list out more specifically which steps can be done in each sitting.
For an example, if I was renovating a house, I would want my project management level action to be "paint interior walls" but the task management portion should have "tape and tarp living room", "primer main bedroom", etc. I don't want a thousand tiny tasks overwhelming the PM view, but I do want them on my to do list.
- I have used MS Project and ToDoist previously. Project, as I'm sure you know, is clunky and frustrating to use. ToDoist is sleek and I quite like it, but it does not have any dependency capabilities at all. I absolutely adore the ToDoist AI input though, where you can say "I have this task every other Thursday at 2pm" and it automatically sets a recurring event for you.
- Updating the parent based on the sub task is the primary point of this exercise. I know I can manually update the parent as I complete sub tasks, but at that point I'm still maintaining two different systems. And if I'm still using two silos of information, why should I bother transferring either into SmartSuite at all?
I hope this helps!
Nate Montgomery @ SmartSuite
Merged in a post:
Converting Sub-Tasks to a Record
A
Abdullah Al Attas
Context: In the middle of a task, we need to add more details to several subtasks.
Issue: The current way only supports simple subtask names, making it hard to include detailed information without creating a new task record manually.
Jon Darbyshire
Thank you for posting, Abdullah Al Attas! I have a few more questions for you:
- Can you provide an example of the type of detailed information you would like to include in the subtasks?
- How frequently do you find yourself needing to add more details to subtasks?
- What is the impact on your workflow when you have to create a new task record manually to include detailed information?
A
Alison White
I believe this should be rolled up into the dependencies planned feature request.
One thing I think that HIVE does very well (there aren't a great deal of things it does and can't wait to make the leap to SmartSuite as it is heads and shoulders above anything else seen/used), is its tasks and sub tasks and dependencies (and I don't think the Gantt chart development necessarily needs to be developed 1st) .
In SmartSuite the subtasks are hidden from view and sit "inside" a task and have very limiting functionality. Whereas with HIVE the subtasks are shown nested in the grid view as shown in the image. You click on each subtask and set a "if "receive data file" (subtask) is complete, unblock "load data file" subtask ready to be worked on. It sends a notification to the person assigned to the next subtask in the work list to tell them that item is now ready to work on. It is the most important feature of all of our requirements. Even though all of our tasks have dates, we only use these as a guide and basically do anything in our workflow that is ready and available to work on and I currently can't find an easy way to solve this.
We have 250 tracking studies where our standard set of "fieldwork period" tasks recur on a monthly/quarterly or annual basis at varying days/dates/times/frequencies across projects. When you set the dates for each subtask they are relational to each other and when you set the overarching "fieldwork" period to recur on a monthly basis (on say the 6th of every month in this case), the future recurrences of all the sub actions follow on inline from the previous months dates. It is very user friendly and really simple to set up. There may currently be a very long winded way with formulas and automations to achieve what we are trying to, however I haven't found any solution yet.