We are consulting with an enterprise client who utilizes monday.com for project management. They currently have a comprehensive project template board that leverages dependencies.
Our client’s objective is as follows:
They want to use this existing board as a template.
When a new board is created from this template, they want to enter a single initial start date (for the first task/item), and upon entry:
All subsequent tasks/items should automatically populate their Start Date, End Date, and Timeline based on the predefined dependencies.
Could someone please help us with finding out the below?:
Whether this automation or functionality exists natively within the enterprise plan?
If so, what configuration or settings are needed to activate this automatic cascading effect?
Any known limitations or recommended workarounds if this exact functionality isn’t directly supported?
I’ve attached a screenshot for clarity on the board setup.
Hi Meghan! Welcome to the monday Community! I hope you’re doing well.
Dependencies can a bit tricky to set up initially. There is some manual work required on the front-end! First, I’d have your client confirm that:
They are utilizing the Timeline+Numeric column. (When clicking on the + icon to add new columns to the board, select “More columns” to open the Column Center to find this column.) This will ensure that the “Duration” and Timeline Columns are truly synced.
Your Dependency Column is set to “Strict” mode and synced to the relevant Timeline Column.
Your client re-enters dates in the Timeline Column. Due to the Timeline+Numeric column sync, “Duration” should autopopulate to showcase the timeframe for each task.
While these dates will not be relevant for every board that is created from the template board, they must remain entered on the template board to create that waterfall effect that your client is looking for with the dates! What’s important, here, is that “Duration” reflects the set timeframe for each task.
Once the new board is created from the template, your client will then update the date in “Timeline” for “Start the Roll Out,” and all of the other dates in the Timeline Column will update to reflect the timeframe already set in “Duration” AND the relationships set in the Dependency Column.
If users were looking to autopopulate dates for dependencies from scratch, these are the steps I’d recommend:
If a Timeline Column is being used to enter dates, utilize the Timeline+Numeric Column.
Sync the Timeline Column to the Dependency Column.
Set the Dependency Column to “Strict” mode.
Set the relationships between items in the Dependency Column.
Identify the duration/timeline for each task on the board.
Enter start/end date(s) in the Timeline Column based on the identified durations for each task.
From there, whether this is specific to one group or an entire board, the user can duplicate the group/board or create a template board to build from. The initial group/board where this dependency framework is set will serve as the foundation. They’ll update the initial or milestone task which will trigger the dates to autopopulate in the new group/board.
I hope you’re doing well.
