Is it possible to assign a task to multiple people?

I am running a project where certain tasks are the responsibility of small project teams.

As the teams are flat in hierarchy I would like to assign tasks in my smartsheet to multiple (generally only 2 or 3) people, such that they receive reminders, update requests, notifications etc and can update the sheet.

Is this possible?

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Comments

ChuckRebew

Like can be done in MS Project? That would be nice!

Matthew Moran

This is pretty common for us. Would definitely be helpful.

Jeremy Michels

You do not need to have the assigned to do this task.

If you use notifications and alerts you can set the people or team that are notified. This will take care of alot of the issues that you have as fas as multilple people.

Travis

In regards to update requests, notifications, and updating the sheet - they don’t need to be assigned to the task to utilize this functionality. Reminders can also be sent to any users shared to the sheet (even if they are not assigned to a task) but having them assigned to the task makes it easier. Assigning multiple users to a task for use with reminders can be done by adding additional Contact List columns to your sheet (one for each user assigned to a task). When setting up your reminders, you will need to set up a separate reminder for each Contact List column.

ChuckRebew

That's great that alerts, notifications, and update requests are independent of who is assigned to a row in Smartsheet. But, what about Resource Management?... Assigning multiple resources to a task with assignees having different allocation %.

Like this...

http://ntrajkovski.com/2011/11/15/assigning-resources-to-the-tasks-step-by-step-part-1/

Travis

One workaround that other customers use that will work with resource management is to list the same task on multiple rows and assign each one to a different person. You might consider indenting all of the rows underneath a parent header row for the task for organizational purposes.

jbraun875

I'm so glad I found this string! I'm with Chuck Rebew (nice 'fro btw) - I need the ability to assign a single row to a group of people (with or without varying levels of hours worked...). I can see the explosion of rows on the plan (mentioned by Travis) arduous to maintain. This is particularly important for Resource Manager.

I have a plan with test cycles that involves 25 people and demands 50% allocation from each of these team members for the timeframe(s) stipulated. That list of 25 people may change throughout the course of the project, and may be different for test cycle 1 vs test cycle 2.

I would recommend the functionality from MS Project shared by Chuck above be baked into SmartSheet Resource Manager as a much needed enhancement request.

Thanks for your input!

Nick Dodt

This enhancement is very much needed. I've been looking seriously at Smartsheet for my company as an MS Project alternative.

The lack of this feature alone is enough to stop us from transitioning. Please implement ASAP.

Morten Fahlvik

Agree.

Shartsheet is unfortunately not an option for me/us if it is not possible to assign the same task to several people. The workaround with copying the same task is not an option as th sheet will be packed with rows.

I will however give it a try and indent the different people.

Joseph A Catania III

This should be an easy feature to add in. Is this something that is in the pipeline? If so, when can we expect to see this? Little limitations like this are what can hold this product back. I personally hate MS Project 2013, it's too confusing for the majority of the users in my organization. I want Smartsheet to work. Please update us on this basic and easy to add feature.

Thanks

Travis

Joseph, this functionality is not on our near term roadmap but it is something we are considering for future development. I’ll add your vote for it!

Here is a list of the items currently in development: http://www.smartsheet.com/product-roadmap

MA La Barre

Totally agree. We'd need that feature too in order to make the transition. The rest of your solution works so fluidly. It's sad this feature isn't available..

Sara Lenz

I also agree that we need this feature, please add my company to the list of requestors for this feature.

Travis

MA and Sara, I will add both your votes for this!

sharone Levinson

Travis, this is not an option for us. We will keep using SmartSheet, until we find a different platform- sepcifically for this function. Too bad, because I really like everything else this platform offers. But, managing human resources is an integral part of succesful project management. It's not something we can live without in the long-term.