Task Links and Dependencies
Summary: Three relationship kinds: parent-child (the tree), dependencies (sequence in time on the Gantt), and links (relates to, duplicates, supersedes).
What it is
Tasks can relate in three different ways. Don't confuse them — they answer different questions.
- Parent-Child relations — the program / project / task / subtask family tree.
- Dependencies — the sequence of tasks in time.
- Links — informational relationships (duplicates, replacements, related work).
Parent-child relations
In the Outline (tree) view, parents contain children — like folders in a file system. Runcible creates these relations whenever you nest or move tasks inside a program, project, deliverable, story, or task.
Dependencies
Dependencies say that work on one task depends on another. You create them on the Gantt Chart. The Gantt uses dependencies; the Timeline view does not.
- Finish-to-Start — predecessor must finish before successor can start.
- Start-to-Finish — predecessor must start before successor can finish.
- Start-to-Start — predecessor must start before successor can start.
- Finish-to-Finish — predecessor must finish before successor can finish.
Why it matters: the Gantt tries to pull tasks sooner so they float together. On the Timeline view you place tasks manually; it will not move them for you.
Note: Dependencies may not appear in every illustration of the Gantt.
Links
Links relate information on one task to another. They are bidirectional — they appear on both tasks.
Relates To → / Is Related To ← (adds information)
- "This task relates to this other task — we probably want to work on them together, or refer to it."
Duplicates → / Is Duplicated By ← (identical information)
- "This task is a duplicate of another — we don't need to do both."
Supersedes → / Is Superseded By ← (replaces information)
- "This task supersedes (replaces) the other — we no longer need to work on the other one."