What is a task dependency?
Also called: dependency, task order
Last updated
A task dependency is a relationship between two tasks in which one cannot start, or cannot finish, until the other has. Dependencies set the order of work in a process, show which tasks can run at the same time, and determine how a delay in one task moves the dates of the tasks that follow it.
In more detail
The most common type is finish-to-start: task B starts when task A is finished, such as approving a purchase before placing the order. Project planning also uses start-to-start, finish-to-finish and, rarely, start-to-finish dependencies. In repeatable processes, most dependencies are simply “do this before that”.
Not every task order is a real dependency. Marking only the true ones lets people work in parallel where they can, instead of waiting for steps that do not affect them.
Example
In an onboarding process, the laptop cannot be set up until it arrives, and the accounts cannot be tested until the laptop is set up. Ordering the welcome pack does not depend on either, so the office manager can do it straight away.
Dependencies in CheckFlow
In CheckFlow a halt stops later tasks being completed until a task is done, and a due date can be counted from when the previous task, or a named task, was completed, so a late step moves the dates that follow it. Conditional logic adds tasks that depend on an answer.
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