Gantt Chart Start Date with Dependencies

Ross Novotny

I have a gantt chart that maps out a long process. I want row 1 to be a start date (and finish and duration). But I can't enter the start date there because there are dependencies to this start date. Rows 2-4 are sub tasks, meaning row 2 is "Phase 1", then rows 3 and 4 are subtasks of Phase 1. I can only enter a start date on row 4 because that is the first sub-task that rolls up to the start date in Row 1. It's not intuitive for the user to enter a start date on row 4 when row 1 looks like the overall project schedule. I tried entering 1SS in row 4 and it creates a circular dependancy. But if I take away the dependency on row 1 I lose all of the duration and finish date information. Anyone have wisdom on how to make this dependency/start date work like it should?

Andrée Starå

Hi @Ross Novotny

I hope you're well and safe!

I'd recommend using the first child row (row 4) as the starting row, only to set the start date, and then all the dependencies would update from there or add a row at the top and do the same.

Make sense?

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Ross Novotny

Hi @Andrée Starå , that is how it is currently set up (if I delete the circular reference). But that doesn't make a lot of sense from a UI perspective in my opinion. If am starting a new project timeline as a user, I want to enter a start date on line 1, not line 4 which is buried down below all the main headers of the project. That just doesn't really make sense to me.