Tasks and milestones

In FlexiProject, schedule elements can be distinguished as tasks and milestones. Tasks are marked with a circle icon, and milestones with a rotated square icon.

Tasks come with attributes like name, description, owners, and departments, and due date. Among tasks, we also distinguish summary tasks (containing sub-tasks), which are additionally highlighted with bold font and an icon displaying a counter of their direct sub-tasks.

Adding Schedule Elements

Creating a Task

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Click the “New task” button available in the list and Gantt view, or the “+” button in the column in the Kanban view.
3. Enter the task name and confirm by clicking outside the name field or pressing Enter.
4. The entered task name appears in the Name column. Next to it, a circle icon is displayed.

Creating a Milestone

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Click the “New milestone” button available in the List and Gantt view.
3. Enter the name and confirm by clicking outside the name field or pressing Enter.
4. The entered name appears in the Name column. Next to it, a rotated square icon is displayed.

Task progress

Task progress is the percentage of task completion. Task progress can be changed in the task list by clicking the Progress field next to the selected task or by changing its status on the task icon. Progress can also be edited in the task panel. A task is completed when its progress is 100%.

Setting Task Progress in the Task List

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Go to the List view.
3. Click the progress bar of the task you want to update.
4. Enter the percentage value of the task progress.
5. Click outside the progress bar or press ENTER to save it.

Setting Task Progress in the Task Panel

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. In any view, click the task you want to update.
3. The task panel will open on the right side.
4. Click the progress field in the panel.
5. Enter the percentage progress of the task.
6. Click outside the field or press ENTER to save it.

Task Start and End Date

Task dates can be edited in the task list or in the task panel by clicking the Start, End, and Duration fields. If any of these properties change, the system will recalculate the remaining date parameters and the task duration. The start and end dates and the duration of the task depend on the number of working days in the project.

• If the end date is set earlier, the task will become shorter. If you set it later, the task will be extended. The start date does not change.
• If the task is shortened, its end date will be moved earlier. If you extend the task, the end date will move later. The start date does not change.

For more information, see the section: working days on the project.

Editing Task Start and End Dates in the Task List

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Go to the List view.
3. Click the Start/End field in the task list in the row of the selected task.
4. A calendar will open to select the date.
5. Select the date by clicking the corresponding day in the calendar.

Editing Task Duration in the Task List

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Go to the List view.
3. Select the task row and click the “Duration” field in it.
4. Enter how many working days it will take to complete the task.
5. Click outside the “Duration” field or press ENTER to save it.

Editing Task Start and End Dates in the Task Panel

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Click the task you want to change.
3. The task panel will open on the right side.
4. Click the Start/End field in the panel.
5. A calendar will open to select the date.
6. Click the day you want to set as the task’s start/end date.

Editing Task Duration in the Task Panel

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Click the task you want to change.
3. The task panel will open on the right side.
4. Click the “Duration” field in the panel.
5. Enter how many working days it will take to complete the task.
6. Click outside the “Duration” field or press ENTER to save it.

Easily select dates in the calendar from other months and years.

Managing Task Owners

Multiple owners and departments can be assigned to tasks. Assigning a task to a user will allow them to edit the task within the scope available to them. All tasks assigned to a user are visible in their profile, in the Tasks tab, under the My Tasks view.

Note on Departments: The “Owner” and “Department” fields are logically linked. Assigning an Owner automatically adds their Department to the task. Conversely, selecting a Department first filters the Owner list to show members of that team at the top. You can also assign a task exclusively to a Department without specifying a user

For more information, see the section: My Tasks List.

Managing Task Owners in the Task List

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.

2. Locate the task and click the Owner or Department field. (Enable the “Department” column in view settings if not visible ).

3. A list of users or departments will appear.

4. Click the user or department you want to assign.

5. After clicking, they will be assigned to the task. You can add more owners/departments in the same way.

Managing Task Owners in the Task Panel

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. The task panel will open on the right side.
3. Click the “Owner” field in this panel.
4. A list of users will be displayed.
5. Select the user you want to assign.
6. After clicking, they will be assigned to the task and will appear as an owner. You can add more owners in this way.

Cloning Tasks

Cloning tasks allows you to speed up the creation of the project schedule. Cloning a task will create a second task with the same data. This way, if several similar tasks are to appear in the schedule, you only need to add one, then clone it and change only the selected attributes that differentiate the cloned tasks from the original.

When cloning a task, the following selected attributes are cloned:

• start/end dates and duration
• progress
• effort (work)
• owners
• relationships with other tasks
• description
• attachments

The following are not cloned:

• links to expenses and revenues
• links to risks
• links to products
• registered work time
• comments
• task history

Cloning a Task in the Task List

1. In the project, go to the Project Schedule tab.
2. Hover over the task you want to clone.
3. Click the three dots next to the task name.
4. From the menu, select the “Clone task” option.
5. A new task named “Original task – copy” will appear below the original task.

Cloning a Task in the Task Panel

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Select and click the name of the task you want to clone.
3. The task panel will open on the right side.
4. Click the three-dot symbol in the upper right corner of this panel.
5. A menu with the Clone option will appear.
6. Click the Clone option.
7. A new task, named after the original with the suffix “- Copy”, will appear below the original task in the list.

Task dependencies

Opening the Dependency Edit Window from the Task List

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Hover over the task where you want to add a dependency.
3. A three-dot symbol will appear after the task name.
4. Click the displayed three-dot symbol.
5. A menu with options will be displayed.
6. From the menu, select “Add dependency”.

Opening the Dependency Edit Window from the Task Panel

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Click the name of the task you want to link.
3. In the opened task panel, click the three-dot symbol in the upper right corner.
4. A menu with options will be displayed.
5. From the menu, select the “Add dependency” option.

Adding a Dependency to a Task in the Same Project

1. After clicking the Add dependency button, a window will open to select the source of the schedule element with which the dependency is to be created.
2. Select the “Select element from this project” option.
3. Click the “Next” button.
   
4. Click the “From” field.
5. In the new window, select the schedule element to create the dependency.
   
6. Click ‘Confirm’.
   Note: You can only select one schedule item at a time. To create a relationship with other items, repeat the process.
7. Click “Confirm”.
   Note: Only one schedule item can be selected at a time. To create a relationship with other elements, repeat this process.
8. In the “Relationship type” field, select the type of relationship.
9. Optionally, check the “Fixed delay” option and specify the number of days.
10. Click “Save”. The new relationship appears in the “Depends on” section in the task panel. If it is a hard relationship, two intertwined rings will appear next to it. On the schedule tab, tasks with relationships are marked with a symbol next to the start or end date. In the task that affects this task, analogous information will be displayed in the “Affects” section.

Adding a Dependency to a Task in Different Projects

1. After clicking the Add dependency button, a window will open to select the source of the schedule element with which the dependency is to be created.

1. Select the “Select element from another project” option.
2. Click the “Next” button.
3. The Edit Dependency window will open.
   
4. Select the project and schedule element with which you want to create the relationship.
   
5. Click “Confirm”.Note: Only one schedule item can be selected at a time. To create a relationship with other elements, repeat this process.
6. In the “Relationship type” field, select the relationship type.
7. Click “Save”. The new relationship appears in the “Depends on” section in the task panel. If it is a hard relationship, two intertwined rings will appear next to it. On the schedule tab, tasks with relationships are marked with a symbol next to the start or end date. In the task that affects this task, analogous information will be displayed in the “Affects” section.

Changing the Element Type

Changing the Element Type in the Task List

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Hover over the task/milestone you want to change.
3. A three-dot symbol will appear next to the name.
4. Click the three-dot symbol.
5. A list with options to choose from will appear.
6. Select “Transform into task” or “Transform into milestone” from the menu.
7. The type and icon of the schedule element will change.

Changing the Element Type from the Task Panel

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Click the name of the task/milestone you want to change.
3. The panel for the selected element will appear.
4. In the open panel, click the three dots in the upper right corner.
5. Select “Transform into task” or “Transform into milestone” from the menu.
6. The type and icon of the schedule element will change.

Task Attachments

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Click the name of the task/milestone to which you want to add an attachment.
3. The panel for the selected element will appear.
4. Click the paperclip symbol in the upper right corner of the panel.
5. A list of options will appear.
6. Select “Files” to attach a file or “Link” to attach a link.
   

Attachment as a file:

1. Select and confirm the file choice.
2. The file will appear in the task panel and can be downloaded or deleted.

Attachment as a Link:

1. Enter the URL and the name of the link.
2. Click “Add”.
3. The link will appear in the task panel and can be opened or deleted.

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Milestones

A milestone is a critical event in the project that helps track progress and evaluate the effectiveness of actions. It is associated with specific outcomes, such as the completion of a project phase or the delivery of a key component. In the FlexiProject system, a milestone is symbolized by a rotated square icon. An achieved milestone is marked as a filled square. Unlike tasks, milestones only have an end date, can only be completed or not completed (0% or 100% progress), and do not have the ability to assign effort (work).

Adding a Milestone

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Go to the List or Gantt view.
3. Click the arrow next to the “New task” option.
4. Select the “New milestone” option.
   
5. A field to enter the name will appear in the task list.
6. Enter the milestone name, press “Enter” or click outside the field.
7. The new milestone will appear in the “Name” column.

Editing Milestones

Changing the end date of a milestone, assigning it to users, cloning, and attaching files are done in the same way as for tasks. A detailed description of these operations can be found in the sections:

• Task Start and End Date
• Managing Task Owners
• Cloning Tasks
• Task Attachments
• Task Dependencies
• Changing the Element Type

Find out how to edit the date: Set task dates
Find out how to assign owners: Assigning tasks to users
Find out how to clone schedule items: Cloning tasks
Find out how to attach attachments to tasks: Attaching attachments to tasks
See also: Defining dependencies on a schedule element
See also: Changing the type of schedule item

Summary Tasks and Their Owners

A task that has sub-tasks is treated in the system as a Summary Task. You can assign an owner to it in the same way as to a standard task, directly in the “Owner” column in the schedule.

Summary Task Owner Permissions: The owner of a summary task automatically receives permissions to edit all of its sub-tasks, which significantly simplifies the management of the entire block of work. These permissions are definable at the system roles and permissions level.

Summary Task Panel: The summary task panel includes a “Sub-tasks” section, which contains a list of all direct sub-tasks. From this level, you can:

• Browse the list of sub-tasks.
• Go to edit individual sub-tasks by clicking on their names.
• Project administrators can add new sub-tasks using the + Add sub-task button.

Important features of summary tasks:

• Effort: A summary task has independent effort. Its effort is displayed in the task panel. However, the schedule list displays the sum of its effort and its sub-tasks’ effort, with the summary task’s own effort in parentheses.
• Task Completion: Completing a summary task automatically completes all of its sub-tasks. Before confirming the operation, the system will display a confirmation message with a list of sub-tasks that will also be closed.
• Summary tasks and their owners are visible and included in all system modules, such as Reports, Resources, User Task List, or during data import/export.

Dates in a Summary Task

• The dates and duration of the parent task are determined by its sub-tasks.
• The start date of the parent task is the earliest start date among its sub-tasks.
• The end date of the parent task is the latest end date among its sub-tasks.
• The duration of the parent task is the number of working days between its start and end date.
• Only the start date of the parent task can be edited. If you change it, all sub-tasks will be shifted by the same number of working days.

Progress and Status in a Summary Task

• The progress percentage of the parent task comes from the progress values of its sub-tasks. It is a weighted average of the progress of its sub-tasks, weighted by their total duration.
• The progress value of the parent task can be set to completed or not completed.
• If the parent task’s status is changed to completed, the status of all its sub-tasks will be changed to completed, and their progress will be 100%.
• If the parent task’s status is changed to not completed, the status of all sub-tasks will be changed to not completed, and their progress will be 0%.
• The parent task will be automatically set to completed when all its sub-tasks are marked as completed (their progress is 100%).

Cloning a Summary Task

1. In the project, go to the Schedule tab.
2. Find the summary task you want to clone and hover over its row.
3. A three-dot symbol will appear next to the name.
4. Click the three-dot symbol.
5. A menu with options will expand.
6. Point to the “Clone task” option.
7. Additional options will appear.
8. Select “Clone task with sub-tasks”.
9. A new summary task, named after the original task with the suffix “- Copy”, will appear below the original task in the task list.