Hello!
I’m looking to see if anyone has any knowledge or experience using formulas to trigger dependencies based on specific timelines.
For example I have a board with 5 groups, and most of the Tasks have basic dependencies where they are triggered from Waiting to Start to Ready to Start. Then there are some Tasks that need to be unblocked after a specific point of time after a task is marked complete.
So if Task A is marked complete Task B should be changed to Ready to start one week after the status of Task A is changed to complete.
I thought this could be completed with formulas but without specific dates (as I’m building this as a template) and formulas don’t really change statuses the same way the Dependency column does.
If anyone has any advice it’d be greatly appreciated!
It sounds like you’re trying to set up a workflow in where tasks are automatically unblocked based on a time delay after a preceding task is completed. While formulas are great for calculations, they don’t directly change statuses or trigger automations. However, you can achieve this functionality using automation recipes and possibly some creative use of date columns. Here’s how you can set it up:
Use a Date Column:
Add a date column to your board to track when Task A is marked as complete. This column will be used to calculate the delay for Task B.
Set Up Automation for Task A:
Create an automation that sets the date column to the current date when Task A’s status is changed to “Complete.”
Use the automation recipe: “When status changes to something, set date to current date.”
Calculate the Delay:
Add another date column to calculate the target start date for Task B. This column will automatically set the date to one week after the completion date of Task A.
Use the formula column to add 7 days to the completion date. While formulas can’t directly trigger status changes, they can help visualize the timeline.
Automate Task B’s Status Change:
Create an automation that changes Task B’s status to “Ready to Start” when the current date reaches the calculated start date.
Use the automation recipe: “When date arrives, change status to something.” Set this to trigger when the calculated start date for Task B arrives.
Template Setup:
Since you are building this as a template, ensure that these automations are set up in a way that they can be easily duplicated or adjusted for other similar workflows within your board.
Additional Tips:
Automation Recipes: Explore automation center for other recipes that might fit your needs. You might find combinations that suit your specific workflow requirements.
Testing: Before rolling out the template, test the automation with a few tasks to ensure it behaves as expected.
Documentation: Document the setup process within your team, so others can understand and replicate or modify it as needed.
By using a combination of date columns and automation recipes, hopefully you can effectively manage task dependencies with time delays, even without direct formula-triggered status
Thank you so much for answering this was incredibly helpful. I didn’t know you could use the date columns in this way. So I’ve been working in implementing this and have some follow up questions.
For the formula is it really true you can only use one formula for a whole board? I have multiple groups and multiple tasks that have different time dependencies/lag&lead times so only being able to input one formula for a whole board is making it hard to input this process you shared.
For example Task A here is the one that will trigger Task B after 7 Days
Task C through H are all dependent on Task I in different ways.
Task C and D need to be unblocked 2.5 weeks before I is complete.
Task E needs to be unblocked 3 weeks before I is complete.
Task F, G, H need to be unblocked 1 weeks before I is complete.
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I could set this up using the steps you described above but since every time I input a formula it applies everywhere in my board instead of just to the task I specifically.
Is there a way to set formulas to be task specific? Is there a way to create automations to be task specific like ““When the status for X Task in this group changes to this status after Y time then unblock it’s dependency.”
