I have a series of 4 tasks to complete (A, B, C, D), however their due dates depend on when the previous task in the series was completed. I will always know how many days are required in between each task, but I will not always know when the task will definitively be completed.
For example:
Task A is due on day X, but may be completed one day early or late (which is acceptable).
Task B is due 3 days after completion of Task A, and also may be completed one day early or late.
Task C is due 10 days after completion of Task B, and also may be completed one day early or late.
Task D is due 7 days after completion of Task C.
I would like to have it so that upon the completion event of Task A, the due date for task B activates, and the same thing with the completion of Task B, and so on until all four tasks are complete. I can set due dates manually, however this is time consuming if I have 30 sets of these tasks. I am willing to explore plugins for Asana, if they are required for this.
Hi @Alim_Kumykov ! Great question. Due date triggering isnât available at this time, but we have a solution that might work for you. It isnât dependency specific, but it will help you space things in a way you might find helpful.
Iâll break it down step by step, which I think will make it easiest to understand.
Create a project
Create tasks in the project in their anticipated order of completion
Assign due dates to each task, where the due dates are spaced by the number of days required to complete each task. Ex. âTask B is due 3 days after completion of Task A + Task C is due 10 days after completion of Task B + etc.â
Depending on when each task is completed, you can shift the due dates in one fell swoop, so the spacing stays the same:
** 1) Sort the project: Tasks by due date
** 2) Shift + click to select multiple tasks
** 3) Command + up arrow or down arrow to move the due dates for selected tasks back or forward
**â> This way, you can space tasks in your expected timeline and adjust the timeline for everything at once if tasks are completed early or late (rather than changing due dates for one task at a time).
Note that this system wonât work for subtasks, since youâre not currently able to sort by due date in subtasks. However, this should work like a charm with tasks in projects! Please let us know what you think.
Trigger: âtask being done in a certain projectâ
Action: âcreate taskâ for [custom assignee] on âtomorrowâ
will: after a task is checked off âcompletedâ in a user-specified project (within Zapier-asana integration), create a new task (in whatever project) assigned to [designated user] âtomorrowâ since asanaâs AI understands language like that
@Alexisâs suggestion is definitely the easiest, but requires a bit of manual effort each time. I think the only way to completely automate it would be with Zapier as @FATBOY said. It will be pretty complicated to set up, however, as thereâs going to need to be additional steps like searching for specific tasks. You also may not be able to see everything all at once using Zapier since tasks will only be created when previous tasks are completed.
@Alexis, are there any updates on automatic timeline adjustment features now that the task dependencies feature is available for premium memberships (both for tasks within a project and subtasks)? We often build complex timelines with detailed review steps into our projects, and an easy way to adjust timelines all the way down to the subtask level would be hugely beneficial. Thanks ahead!
Hi Kristina - we arenât able to offer a specific timeline at this time. If youâre interested in how we take action on product feedback from the community I recommend that you visit this post
Hi Alexis,
I have tried this on my PC but it seems to move the task up or down on the list but not the dates. Am I missing something? I was hoping the dates would change up or down.
Hey @Julia_Van_Der_Sommen, Svara reminds someone here that it has to be done while the project/list of tasks is sorted by âDue Dateâ rather than anything else.
