Ability to add and manage nested sub-tasks (multiple levels)

English Forum Product Feedback
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It would be really helpful to be able to manage more complicated work breakdown structures that require nested sub-tasks within nested sub-tasks. While Asana allows you to add nested sub-tasks they don’t appear in of the main views (list, timeline, gantt) unless you open the detail task view. This becomes very difficult to manage on larger technology projects where work needs to be broken down beyond 2 levels.

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They do allow you to do it, for flexibility reasons, but from experience this is rarely a good idea. There are various ways to not nest subtasks.

You might benefit from my explanation here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm9Zo10MTc0

Your product feedback is valid though :+1:

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Hi Bastien. Appreciate the response. I watched your video and while I like the idea for something like managing a multitude of properties, I don’t think it holds up well when for technology projects in a client facing environment. My main goal is to breakdown work and manage dependencies in a way where when timelines are missed, we can easily reschedule the work and know what work needs to shift to address the delays. I don’t see how that can be done with the approach shared.

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If you define dependencies between tasks, and use the date shifting date update in tasks, it should work.

Nesting subtasks is not a problem in its own, it is just harder to create dependencies between tasks when everything is hidden in subtasks…

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ABSOLUTELY!! This is one of the biggest limitations of Asana for project management work. Here’s an enhancement request:

  1. Enable all subtask levels (to the limit of 7 levels) to be displayed in List, Board, Gantt, and Timeline Views.
  2. Invoke using a button or menu item: “Display Sub Tasks”. Then you pick how many levels you want displayed (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, All).
  3. Sub task levels have indention to make the relationship clear with or without WBS #'s.
  4. Sub Task Display can be saved when you Save View.

Along with that, it would be very helpful to have a standard %Complete field that is calculated at the Section level. This progress to be displayed in the bars on the Timeline and Gantt views.

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Agree. That’s why I like the Gantt with it’s Buffer Management.

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I would also welcome this feature.

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Hi @Bastien_Siebman , please could you show an example of you would do this?

I have the following hierarchy:

Parent - Milestone
Child - Milestone Subtask called “Deliverable”
Grandchild - Subtask called “Activity”

Ideally I would like a fourth layer below Activity.

I am using the Parent and Child levels to report on progress to our client.

The Grandchild (and any levels below) are for internal planning and coordination only.

I want to be able to show the Parent and Child levels on a Gantt view.

I also want to be able to show the Grandchild (and any levels below) on the Board view.

I want there to be a link between each level of the hierarchy.

Separately, what is the “Date Shifting” update? Where can I find this please?

Best wishes,

James

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My too, its an essential one