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Create task dependencies to define the order in which tasks should be completed.

Quick reference

Add Task Dependencies

Add dependencies to tasks in a project. 

When to use

We add task dependencies whenever the start of a task depends on the completion of another task. 

Instructions

What are Task Dependencies?

There will always be certain tasks in a project plan that rely on other tasks to finish before that task can begin. For example, the task 'Paint Walls' cannot begin until the task 'Purchase Paint' has been completed. We can make 'Purchase Paint' (the dependent) a dependency of 'Paint Walls' (the successor). 

When we make a task a dependency we are effectively linking the tasks together. The start date of the successor tasks depends on the finish date of the dependent task. 

Create Task Dependencies

We can create task dependencies in several ways. 

Link tasks in the Task Details Pane
  • Select task. 
  • Click the 'i' icon to open the task details pane. 
  • Scroll to the Depends on section. 
  • Click Add dependency. 

Project will present a list of suggested tasks to add. We can select one of those tasks or search for a specific task using the task name or task id number. 

  • Select task no
  • Close the task details pane. 
  • Click on Timeline view. 

Scroll to the linked tasks. Notice that the tasks are now linked by a line.

Link Tasks in Timeline View

We can also add dependencies and link tasks together directly from Timeline view. 

  • Hover the mouse over a task. 
  • Drag the larger circle icon to the task you want to link to. 
Link Tasks in Grid View

We can also add dependencies and link tasks in Grid view. To do this, we need to ensure we have the Depends on column added to our view. 

  • Click Add column. 
  • Select Depends on. 
  • Scroll to the task to be linked. 
  • Type the task number to link to in the Depends on column.

Hints & tips

  • A task can have more than one dependency. 
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  • 00:04 Task dependencies help us define when a task starts,
  • 00:08 based on the finish date of a previous task.
  • 00:12 And you'll find this throughout your project, that there will be certain
  • 00:17 tasks that really cannot start until another task has completed.
  • 00:21 It might be the task before it, or
  • 00:23 it might be a task that's further back in the project.
  • 00:26 And this is what we call task dependencies.
  • 00:29 So let's take a look at a quick example.
  • 00:32 Now, if I scroll down to this section on Demolition, and
  • 00:35 take a look at these tasks.
  • 00:37 Now, if we take task 20 as an example, Demolition of wall and cabinets.
  • 00:42 Now, the kitchen fitter is going to do that.
  • 00:44 So I can't start this particular task until we've booked the kitchen fitter.
  • 00:49 Otherwise, there's going to be nobody to do this.
  • 00:52 So, effectively, task number 20 relies on the completion of
  • 00:57 task number 19, it depends on its completion.
  • 01:00 So I can add in a task dependency that says,
  • 01:04 task 20 doesn't start until task 19 is complete.
  • 01:08 And there are a few different ways that we can add in task dependencies.
  • 01:12 So let's take a look at the first method,
  • 01:15 which is to add the dependency in Grid view.
  • 01:17 So we're currently in Grid view.
  • 01:19 And if you recall, a bit earlier on when we were customizing our columns,
  • 01:24 I added in a column called Depends on.
  • 01:26 So in order to be able to create dependencies in Grid view,
  • 01:30 you need to make sure that you have this column toggled on.
  • 01:33 And it is one of the default columns, so
  • 01:35 you can just simply select it to add that column.
  • 01:37 So if we go down to task number 20,
  • 01:39 I'm going to say that this depends on task number 19.
  • 01:42 Now, I can either just type in 19, and it's going to find it.
  • 01:47 Or if I simply just click in this cell,
  • 01:49 it's going to suggest some tasks that I might want to link to.
  • 01:54 So it's bringing up a few that it thinks are possibly related to this task, and
  • 01:58 one of them is task number 19.
  • 01:59 So I can simply select it.
  • 02:01 And it's worth noting that you can add multiple task dependencies to any
  • 02:05 one task.
  • 02:06 So now that we have that dependency added,
  • 02:09 let's take a look at this reflected in Timeline view.
  • 02:13 If we jump across to Timeline, I'm going to scroll down to task number 20.
  • 02:19 I'm going to go to the correct date.
  • 02:22 So let's go to January the 2nd, and
  • 02:25 what we should find now is that these two tasks are linked in Timeline view.
  • 02:30 And you can see that, yes, they are.
  • 02:32 We have a line just here linking these two tasks.
  • 02:36 And you can see that between task 19 and
  • 02:38 task number 20, we have a bit of a lag just here.
  • 02:42 And that lag is really due to the fact that when we book the kitchen fitter,
  • 02:46 he's probably not going to be able to start demolishing the walls the next day.
  • 02:50 There's going to be a few days in between, which is absolutely fine.
  • 02:53 The only thing to really notice here, is this link just there.
  • 02:57 And this brings me on to my second method, adding task dependencies.
  • 03:02 We can link them together when we're working in Timeline view.
  • 03:05 So let's scroll down to Electrical, and the same deal here.
  • 03:09 We can't start rewiring the kitchen until we've booked the electrician.
  • 03:13 So task 27 relies on task 26 completing.
  • 03:18 So if we take a look at task number 27, which is this task just here,
  • 03:23 I can link this to the previous task by hovering my mouse over this circle,
  • 03:28 dragging and linking it to the previous task.
  • 03:31 So now we have a dependency just there.
  • 03:34 If we jump back to Grid view, and scroll down to Electrical,
  • 03:39 we should find that in the Depends on column, that has now also been updated.
  • 03:44 So task 27 relies on task 26.
  • 03:48 And the final way that we can add task dependencies is by doing it from
  • 03:52 the Task Details pane.
  • 03:54 So let's scroll down to the Painting section.
  • 03:56 We can't start scraping down the walls until we've booked the painter.
  • 04:01 So task 31 depends on task 30 completing.
  • 04:04 So I'm going to go in and open up Scrape Down Walls.
  • 04:08 And if we scroll all the way down to the bottom,
  • 04:11 you can see we have a Depends on section where we can add a task dependency.
  • 04:16 So I'm going to say, Add dependency.
  • 04:18 And, once again,
  • 04:20 this is where we can type in the task ID number to link the task together.
  • 04:24 So I need to link it to task number 30, which is Book Painter.
  • 04:29 Once again, when we close this pane down,
  • 04:33 we should find that the Depends on column updates with that task ID number.
  • 04:38 And if we jump across to Timeline view, I can see that this task,
  • 04:42 Scrape Down Walls, now has a line connecting it to Book Painter.
  • 04:47 And it doesn't matter if you start changing the durations of these specific
  • 04:51 tasks, they're going to remain linked together.
  • 04:54 So I could adjust this, and it's still going to remain linked to the other task.
  • 05:00 So that's how you can add task dependencies into your schedule.

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