.Tasks on your map can come from a variety of sources: you can enter them manually, add them from an Outlook Query or by using a SharePoint map part, or import them from Project. Tasks have defined Task Info such as Start Date and Due Date. Workdays available for tasks are defined by the Task Info calendar.
The Task Management options are used in concert with the map's Task Info to allow you to automatically calculate and update task information on the map.
To indicate branches where task information is automatically calculated, you mark topics as roll-up topics. To create dependencies between these tasks you add relationships, and you can specify a dependency type. Workdays used in calculations are derived from the Map Calendar.
Calculated task info is shown with special markers. You can choose to display at-risk and past-due tasks on Task Management branches with special fill colors.
In this topic
When you mark a topic as a roll-up topic, task info for the entire topic branch is calculated from the task info you've entered. Start date, Due date, Duration (if used) and Progress (if used) are calculated for all parent topics of tasks up to and including the roll-up topic. (Resources are not used, but are retained when entered.) The calculated task info is shown with special markers.
Select a topic that has at least one subtopic.
In the Task Info pane, Task Management options, click Roll-up task info to here.
Roll-up topics display a special
icon .
(Optional) Enter task info for the roll-up topic's subtopics.
Calculated task info is shown with special markers. You cannot edit this calculated task info, but you can add and edit other task info that has not been calculated (for example, Resources).
Initial task info |
Calculated task
info |
When task info is calculated:
All task durations are converted to days.
All tasks with only a Start date are automatically assigned a Due date that equals the Start date and a Duration of 1 day.
Progress info is not required.
Progress can only be set for tasks with Duration > 0.
Duration is not required. (You can eliminate the duration for a task by setting it to 0.)
Task information on topics hidden by a filter are included in the calculation.
You can choose to use a specific topic fill color for at-risk and past-due tasks using the Task Management options in the Task Info pane.
Select and choose colors in the Show at-risk as and Show past-due as options.
Tasks are considered at-risk if their current progress indicates that they may not be completed by their Due date. Specifically, if the period between the Start date and Due date is more than 75% elapsed, but the Progress is less than 75%., the task is marked as at-risk.
Tasks are past-due if they are less than 100% complete and their Due date is today or earlier.
At-risk task |
Past-due task |
You indicate a dependency between tasks by linking the topics with a special type of relationship. You can choose the type of dependency using the Task Management options.
The dependency is defined using the order that you click on the tasks. While you create the relationship, think "This task (topic 1) determines that task (topic 2)", and click the tasks in that order. Topic 1 is the determining task. Topic 2 is the dependent task.
Select the determining task (the task that another task depends on), and assign a Start Date, Due Date, and Duration.
Select the determining task, press CTRL, and then select one or more tasks. (If you select more than two tasks, multiple dependencies will be created in the order that you selected the tasks).
Click a dependency type
The dependency type is indicated by an icon on the relationship line.
Select the first task, press CTRL, and click on one or more Gantt bars for tasks in succession. (If you select more than two tasks, multiple dependencies will be created in the order that you selected the tasks).
Right-click and then click Dependencies.
Click a dependency type.
The dependency type is indicated by an icon on the relationship line.
For the purposes of explanation, we refer to the first topic selected (the determining task) as Task 1 and the second topic selected (the dependent task) as Task 2. The Start and Due dates for Task 2 (the dependent task) are adjusted according to its dependency on Task 1.
Dependency type |
Meaning |
Adjustments on update* |
|
Task 2 Start date cannot be earlier than Task 1 Due date |
The Task 2 Start date is adjusted to be after the Task 1 Due date. |
|
Task 2 Due date cannot be later than Task 1 Start date |
The Task 2 Due date is adjusted to fall before the Task 1 Start date. |
|
Task 2 Start date cannot be later than Task 1 Start date |
The Task 2 Start date is adjusted to be at or before the Task 1 Start date. |
|
Task 2 Due date cannot be earlier than Task 1 Due date |
The Task 2 Due date is adjusted to be at or after the Task 1 Due date. |
* Only if necessary to abide by the dependency condition.
You can change the dependency type by selecting the dependency line, and then selecting a new dependency type in the Task Info pane.
You can also move the end of a dependency to a different topic by selecting the dependency and dragging the red handle to a new topic. |
 |
You can change the style of the dependency line in the same way that you format a relationship. Double-click the line to see the formatting options.
Calculations include only days marked as workdays (and not holidays) on the Calendar.
The original Start and Due dates for topics along a rollup branch are lost when their Task Info is calculated
Progress is only calculated from sub-tasks that have progress assigned. Sub-tasks without Progress values are ignored during the calculation.
Task info on Milestones is ignored.
Tasks that occur anywhere along a roll-up branch must have both Start Date, Due date, and Duration. (If only one date is assigned, the other is automatically assigned, and the duration is set to 1 day).
Roll-up is not supported for callout topics and boundaries
You can edit the Task Info for the dependent (second) task in a dependency, but you will not be allowed to choose dates that do not abide by the dependency.
When the Task Info for a topic is read-only (grayed) the task may only be the determining (independent) task in a dependency:
Tasks that are in roll-up branches, and whose Task Info is calculated
Tasks linked to SharePoint tasks
Read-only tasks linked to Outlook tasks
Dependencies are not allowed that cause circular dependencies. A circular dependency exists when one topic influences the Start or Due date of the other topic in the dependency.
A dependency will be deleted when it violates the rules for allowed dependencies.
Finish-to-Start
Start-to-Finish
Start-to-Start
Finish-to-Finish