Creating Task Dependencies

Creating task dependencies involves establishing relationships between tasks to define the order in which they should be completed. It ensures that certain tasks can only start or finish once related tasks have been completed, helping to manage workflow, optimize scheduling, and ensure project activities are coordinated effectively.

Setting a Dependency on a Single Task

1. From your task list, click on the name of the task to which you want to add a dependency. A dialogue box appears.
2. Navigate to the Dependencies tab.
3. Click Add Dependency.
4. Under Type, select whether you want the task to be a successor or predecessor from the drop-down menu.
5. In the next drop-down, choose either Start-to-Finish or Finish-to-Start to select the type of task relationship. These relationships describe how the timing of one task depends on another within a project schedule. Options include: 

   
   

   Start-to-Finish (SF): The successor task cannot finish until the predecessor task starts.

   Finish-to-Start (FS): The successor task cannot start until the predecessor task finishes.
   Start-to-Start (SS): The successor task cannot start until the predecessor task starts.
   Finish-to-Finish (FF): The successor task cannot finish until the predecessor task finishes.

6. Choose a task that you want to link as a dependency. A linked task in a dependency is a task that is connected to another task through a specific relationship, which determines how their start and finish times are related. 

7. Lag refers to a delay or gap of time added between connected tasks in a dependency. It

   is the delay or waiting period between connected tasks, and it can be expressed using different time units such as days (d), months (m), weeks (w), or hours (h). 

   For example:

   • 5d means a lag of 5 days between tasks.
   • 2w indicates a 2-week delay.
   • 3h represents a lag of 3 hours.
   • 1m signifies a one-month delay.

8. Click Save.

Once you created the dependency, you can visualize it in the Gantt chart. When you move a task that has a dependency, the task it is connect to also adjusts in the timeline.