How a task waits

A task can wait for something: another task, a document, an outside party's answer, an approval, or a date. The template records each of these as a “dependency” of the task. On a project, a wait is open from the moment someone asks for the thing, or from the moment the work starts, until the thing arrives. The task's card says what it is still waiting on.

A document, an answer or an approval goes through three points:

A wait for another task, or for a date, opens by itself and closes by itself. Nobody has to ask for it.

The other task can be in other work of the same engagement: a property's work can wait for a task of the engagement's own work, and the engagement's work for a task of each of its properties' work. In ProperTax, the go or no-go on the estimate waits for the estimate of every property. Such a task holds only while it is still to do and its work runs: work that is canceled, on a deleted, Closed or Dead property, or not started yet holds nothing. Work started before such a link was added keeps waiting as it did.

A person asks for something, marks it not needed or withdraws it once the task is under way: moved out of its first stage, or done. Before that, the task's card shows what it will need, as its checklist does. What arrives is recorded at any time: a document received, or an outside party's answer.

Asking, marking received, recording an answer and withdrawing are for the people on the task, others who hold its job role, or a manager of the project. Asking for an approval or a hard wait, withdrawing an approval or a hard wait, and receiving a PSA amendment stay with the people on the task or a manager. Anyone else is refused with “You cannot record this wait on this task. Ask the person on it or a manager of the project.”

The template sets how strong each wait is:

Here is one task with all three kinds of line. Demo Manager, a manager, is looking at it:

• A document or an answer that has not arrived does not stop you moving the task. The Blocked line tells you the work is not ready; it is your call.
• An approval does stop one move, as Workflow is set up at first. A task that waits on an approval cannot move into an ending that sits in Finished until it is approved. See Approvals, sign-offs and exceptions.
• A task cannot start, or move on, while a task it depends on is not done. Workflow is set up this way at first. A manager, or a person whose access says May override, can move it anyway and give the reason. One override is enough: after it, the task moves as usual and shows Started without its prerequisites. See Move a task to another stage.
• A wait counted from a date on the record follows that date. When the date moves, the wait moves with it. When the date is cleared, the wait ends. When a date appears on a task that has not started, its wait opens. A wait someone withdrew stays closed.
• A due date is not a wait. A wait for a date holds a task until a day; a due date says the day a task should be done by, and never holds anything. It shows on the task's card as Due and the date, or Past due and the date. See A task's due date.
• While the property or engagement of the work is deleted, its waits stay as they are: a date that comes does not close its wait, and a party that does not answer is not marked as not answering. Both happen a moment after the record is restored.