Auto-shifting dependency dates is now available on all projects!

Happy Wednesday everyone :slight_smile:

We recently launched this feature in Templates and I’m excited to share today that we’re starting to roll out auto-shifting dependency due dates to all projects so Asana will now automatically save you from manually updating any project schedules when conflicts arise!

With auto-shifting dependency dates, all your dependant tasks due date will be automatically adjusted as soon as the parent due date changes, saving you time to concentrate on what matters the most! You can learn more in this article from our Guide, and of course, should you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below!

Please note that this update is rolling out progressively, so don’t worry if you don’t see it just yet in your account, it will be available to everyone in the next couple of days.

As always, feel free to ask your questions below and make sure to file your feedback in the #productfeedback category!

Have a great day!

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Hi @Marie,

Just to clarify, this feature will only move dependent (or precedent) tasks if in moving their precedent (or dependent) tasks, the task dates come into conflict; that is, they overlap.

That behavior is spelled out in detail in the Guide article, but just wanted to clarify for those reading here quickly. :wink:

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This is great news! Thanks for the update.
One suggestion is to have an option for milestones to be either fixed or flexible.
Fixed milestone: Not automatically changed due to dependencies
Flexible: due date can be changed due to dependencies

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I am wondering if a similar process works for creating a work back schedule from a due date for a project. I work for an event production company whose deadlines are always set (the event) and working on creating a project management template for these events. Wondering if you can set a project due date (the event) and have all tasks in the template automatically assigned a due date based on working back from that project due date? I read the article and it didn’t seem to provide any clarity on this.

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Hi @Lianne_Jones and welcome to the forum!

There are multiple pieces to an answer to this question…

Let’s assume you’ve created the template, as you mention.

If in the template, you enter dates for all of your tasks such that they are spaced apart in the way you want, then when you create a new project from that template, you can enter a project end date, and Asana will adjust all of the project’s tasks based on the spacing in the template and the end date you enter. You can read more about that capability here:

Once the project is created, Asana gives you a certain ability to have tasks be adjusted when you make changes to other tasks. (This is the capability which was just introduced that Marie is announcing here.) Basically, to use it, you’ll set up a dependency structure between the tasks in your template (which means that structure will get replicated when you create new projects from that template).

With that set of dependencies in place, Asana will automatically adjust dependent or precedent tasks if you move other tasks and that creates a date conflict (that is, the tasks now overlap). You can read more about this feature here:

I know the above may sound a bit complicated, so please ask any follow-up questions you need to.

I’ll also just briefly mention two other relevant options, which involve my Flowsana integration - I don’t want to usurp this thread so if you have more questions about these, let’s discuss in a new thread in the Integrations forum area. First, if you’d prefer to have all dependent tasks shift when you adjust a precedent, rather than just those in conflict, Flowsana provides that capability; and second, if instead of setting specific calendar dates in your template, you prefer to build the template such that each task has a defined duration, and then when you create new projects from that template, task dates are set based on those durations, Flowsana also provides that capability.

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@Marie, Great feature! Last night I used it for a client proof of concept and now today it’s gone, then made a very brief appearance, then gone again! All this in my Asana Demo account for Certified Pros (and it’s not in other orgs I’m a member of yet). Any explanation of why it’s come and gone so quickly today? I actually had an eyewitness to corroborate on the phone. I know you’re still rolling it out but this was odd behavior. Thanks!

Larry

Hi @lpb and so sorry for the trouble here! I just looked into this and it appears that our team has identified a bug which required temporarily rolling back this new feature to allow us fixing this bug and ensure a smooth experience for all our users. Our team is already investigating and working on a fix for this bug, so we’re hoping to bring this feature back very soon! I’ll make sure to keep you posted on this thread as soon as I have an update. Thank you so much for your patience while we work on resolving this, and apologies for any inconvenience caused!

@Marie

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@Marie - Is there a ETA for the re-release for this feature.

Not just yet @terry.brooks , but I’m hoping to get an update very soon :pray:t3:

Hi @Marie. Will you be updating here to let us know when this has been re-released? I have a lot of stakeholders holding out for this particular function.

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Yes @Lorelei_Bunjes, I’ll make an announcement on this thread as soon as we’re ready to start roll out this feature again!

Hi everyone,

I’m happy to announce that this feature is available to all our customers again :tada:

Note that following some early feedback we received from customers, we’ve decided to limit this feature to the Timeline view, so you can clearly see what impact due-date auto-shifting is having when changing a due date creates a conflict in your project.

As always, feel free to post your questions below or to create #productfeedback threads to let us know what improvement could be made to this feature, we look forward to hearing from you!

Have a great Monday!

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Marie,

What do you exactly mean when you are saying that it is limited to timeline view only? Not sure I understand the full functionality and the limitations this way.

Thanks

Mate

Hi @Mate,

What it means is that in order to have conflicting dependent tasks automatically shifted in time, you need to change the date (due date, or start and due dates) of its dependency in the timeline view. If you change the date/dates of a dependency task in any other view - list, board, or calendar - then any conflicting dependent tasks will not be auto-shifted.

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@Marie Not sure if I missed in reading through here or if this is in a discussion somewhere else. But is it in the works that dependencies will adjust their date even if no overlap? Or an ability to lock the timeline link?

We work in production so if we move the due date of a shoot we need all subsequent tasks to move based on the time apart they are scheduled - not if they overlap.

Example: Photoshoot May 3 - Review Images May 10 - RD1 of Layouts May 24. Currently, if I move the Photoshoot to May 9 - the other dates don’t move but I would need them to move as we give the photographer 7 days from the time of the shoot.

Any suggestions on a workaround? This is just a small example. In most projects, there is a minimum of 10 tasks whose timelines are specifically based on when a previous task is completed. I appreciate any insight.

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Hi @Olive, this is not currently possible, and I don’t believe we’re currently working on this, but this is something you can achieve with Flowsana; have a look this other post from @Phil_Seeman!

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Thank you Marie. We did a trial run with Flowsana and unfortunately, it is not cost-effective given our team size, also, most of our project management needs are achieved through our Asana Business account. Right now I’m maintaining spreadsheets with formulas to calculate any timeline changes. I’ll keep a lookout for any updates to the Asana platform.