Connect the due dates of subtasks to the due date of their parent task

Hey there. I am trying to set up a project in Asana to function as a workflow for a blog calendar. I set up a task that represents all the actions that have to happen for a blogpost to be published. I then set up subtasks (12) for all those actions, set up the appropriate dates and set up the dependencies as they need to be.

My plan was to copy this Task for each blog post and adjust the date. However, when I change one date, the rest of the dependent dates do not adjust their time. Since I cannot shift subtasks’ due dates, this means I will have to change every due date manually (or drag them to be tasks, shift the dates and drag them back) and both those options seem very inefficient. I also noticed that, although I have dependencies set up, if I shift a due date of the earliest task in the set to be later than the last one, it does affect the other tasks at all.

So, in short, I’d like more information on how to utilize tasks and subtasks in this manner, or a similar work around within Asana. Thanks for your time!

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Hi @atboss,

At this time it is not possible to connect the due dates of subtasks to the due date of their parent task. There are a few workarounds and alternate solutions that I think will work for you, though.

I recommend that you consider converting your 12 subtasks to tasks. Tasks offer the flexibility to adjust due dates, move actions around, add custom fields, etc. I suggest you visit this thread on adjusting multiple due dates for tasks, which I think will provide a solution for you: How do I set Asana to automatically trigger due date creation upon completion of other tasks? - #2 by Alexis

We have lots of interesting discussions about tasks, due dates, and subtasks that might interest you. Here’s a start:
https://forum.asana.com/t/change-due-dates-of-multiple-tasks/5949/3

Please let us know if you have follow up questions :slight_smile:

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@atboss This is a great feature request - you might want to consider converting it to that section. I’ve often wished there were a way to do this.

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Agree! It seems counter-intuitive to not have this feature actually – its very common in most other project planning tools.

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@atboss let us know if you’d like us to make this a product feedback thread. Thanks!

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Yeah - seems like there’s enough consensus that this feature would be helpful. :slight_smile: So let’s move it over there.

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Done! :slight_smile:

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Maybe there is already a workaround for this, but is there a way to create a due date for a sub-task based on the due date of the parent task? As an example, the task (Close of escrow) is due 2/28/2018 and the sub-task (Remove buyer’s contingencies) is due 28 days before parent task due date? It would be even better (pit in the sky) if the due dates were dynamic and automatically adjusted based on the due date of the parent task. Things change and if a buyer moved their close of escrow date up to say 2/20/2018 it would be great to see what stress points needed extra attention to achieve the request.

It would be awesome for companies like ours that do very repetitive tasks to have this functionality built into the templates as well. So when you create a template project you set the initial due date for the parent task (Move-in for Approved Applicants) as 1/15/2018, the tenant’s requested move-in date, and it would automatically set the due date for the sub-task (confirm Tenant has set-up utilities) as due 3 days prior to the task due date, or 1/12/2018. Thanks for reading.

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I am not sure why exactly my feature request was merged with this post as it doesn’t seem to be apples to apples. Regardless if this is the proper place for this then so be it. The main target of my post would be dynamic sub-task due dates based on days until the parent task due date is due. Most tasks or projects have a due date they need to be completed by and everything else, at least in our organization, is based on how close we are to that due date. Any feedback would be appreciated.

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Neat idea! Your post is certainly in the same realm as the topic of this thread, so it fits well here. I think your suggestion is logical. Perhaps other users will find this suggestion helpful, too. Our product team is aware :slight_smile:

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Please get this feature built ASAP. It does not really make sense that a task can be dependent on another task, but that does not affect the due date of that task. This really kills the ability to use the asana for complex workflows.

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When you duplicate a task, there should be an option that allows you to choose a new due date for the duplicate and update the due dates of all subtasks relative to that new due date. So if my original task is due March 30th and it has a subtask due March 27th, I should be able to duplicate it, select a new overall due date of April 30th, and then the subtask will automatically receive a due date of April 27th.

This would really help my team. We use tasks and subtasks to track routine workflows that repeat every three weeks, and manually entering in new due dates for fifteen subtasks is a pain, especially when they should always have the same due date relative to the overall task due date.

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Yes I had a similar request.

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I am in shock that the response by Asana to what should be a basic feature is “neat idea”. This should be a foundational feature of project management. Go live is X date and we have all this stuff we need to do so calcuate backwards from the go live date X amount of days for each subtask. How was this not part of the original design of this program? Rinse, repeat (ak, copy amd set new due date). Subtasks also need to show up on the calendar view, or else what Please implement this ASAP.

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In the timeline view, when I use the drag & highlight feature to shift due dates, I would love for the subtask due dates to adjust as well. It’s a bit annoying to go back into each task and, one-by-one, update each individual subtask. I love this platform though! Thanks for allowing users to contribute to making this product even better! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Hi @shelby_goldstein :wave:t3: Welcome to the Asana Forum and thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us!

This request is actually popular in the Forum, and this is definitely something on our radar. While I don’t have a good update to share today, I’ll make sure to keep you posted on this thread as soon as I have an update! Since we already have an existing thread on this topic, I’ve gone ahead and merged your post with this existing thread to consolidate feedback on this topic!

If there is anything else I can help you with in the meantime, please let me know!

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Bumping this up again! Instead of due dates, on subtasks it would be great to have days before/after it’s parent task. If that makes sense…

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FYI my Flowsana integration provides a number of options for implementing date automation in tasks and subtasks (with more to come).

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Is there any update on this? The lack of working dependencies has forced us seriously consider migrating to Wrike. Having to update every single due date on every single project manually just isn’t feasible. It wastes an incredible amount of time and causes so much confusion.

Being able to shift the timeline and due dates based on dependencies is critical to project management-- otherwise it’s just a fancy To Do list…

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I would love to see this feature implemented as we are a school planning out our 2019-2020 year with weekly newsletters & other parent communication but having to edit 5 subtask dates for 35+ weekly tasks is a bit daunting.

At the very least could there be an option to manually input subtask due dates as opposed to using a date picker? Or how about being able to enter a formula such as {d-3} for 3 days prior to due date?

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