Subtasks

Subtasks

Subtasks are a lightweight checklist inside a task: small steps that are carried out in sequence and need tracking, but are not significant enough to appear as individual items on the Whiteboard or as bars on the Gantt chart.

Select a task and the Subtasks section appears in the Data panel on the right. Click Add subtasks to add subtasks to a task or Edit subtasks to manage existing subtasks. On the Whiteboard, a badge on the task shows how many of its subtasks are not yet completed, so you can see remaining checklist work at a glance.

What each subtask has

• Name
• Work: its own effort, independent of the other subtasks.  This field is named Duration for consistency with Tasks.
• People: the resources assigned to that subtask
• Notes
• Complete toggle, with an optional timesheet entry to record when it was actually finished if that differs from the schedule
• Notify: send an email about the subtask (see Notifications below)

You can reorder subtasks with the arrows, duplicate one, or delete it.

How subtasks are scheduled

• Subtasks are always scheduled in series, one after another, in the order listed.
• When a task has subtasks, the subtasks define the task’s work: the task’s reported work, dates, and progress come from its subtasks rather than the task’s own effort.
• Subtasks do not have a percent complete. They are assumed small enough to be either planned or completed. If one finishes late or early, use the timesheet to record when it was really done.

When to use subtasks (and when not to)

Use subtasks when both of these are true:

• The steps happen one after another, in sequence.
• The steps are not important enough to show as individual items on the Whiteboard or as individual bars on the Gantt chart.

Do not use subtasks when:

• Steps can be done in parallel. Subtasks always run in series, so parallel work needs a group with tasks inside it to schedule correctly.
• A step deserves its own visibility, reporting, or dependencies. Make it a real task.

Notifications

Each subtask has a Notify button that opens a new email message:

• To is pre-filled with the email of the resource assigned to the subtask, and you can add other recipients from the drop-down.
• The subject is pre-filled with the task and subtask names, and you can write a formatted message before sending.
• Sent notifications are stored, and the Last notified time is shown against the subtask, so you always know who was told about a step, what they were told, and when.

This makes subtasks a simple way to hand off a step to the person responsible without leaving the plan.

Summary

💡 Tips

• Keep subtasks small: if you find yourself wanting a percent complete on one, it should probably be a real task.
• Use Notify for handoffs; Last notified doubles as a record of when each person was chased.
• The Whiteboard badge counts incomplete subtasks, so marking them completed as they are finished keeps your plan and schedule up to date.