Sub-tasks: every case, with an example

What happens to your task when it has sub-tasks depends on two things only: whether the sub-tasks are dependent, and whether one of them is still open when you hand your task in. This page goes through every case with an example. The rules themselves are in Sub-tasks & delegation: how work rolls up the tree.

The two questions

1. Are the sub-tasks dependent? On the task page, the right-hand panel shows Sub-tasks: Dependent or Independent. Dependent is the default: your task cannot finish while one of them is open. Click (make independent) next to it to change that.

2. Is a sub-task still open when you hand your task in? You hand your task in when you press Finish, press Wait for sub-tasks, or delegate with I hand it over. A sub-task is open until it is Done or Cancelled. A sub-task that is In review is still open: it is done only once its manager rates it (or after the 48-hour review window).

Case A: you hand your task in first (the usual way)

Example. Thabo has the task Quotation pack for the Montagu site. The drawing is Sipho's job, so Thabo presses Delegate, chooses Sipho and keeps I hand it over.

Thabo's task shows Waiting on sub-tasks at once. His time on it stops and he can start his next task.
Sipho starts the drawing, pauses it at lunch, clocks out, carries on. None of this touches Thabo's task.
Sipho presses Finish. Sipho's task goes to In review for Thabo, because Thabo delegated it. Thabo's task is still waiting: the drawing is not done until Thabo rates it.
Thabo rates it Meets Expectations. The drawing is Done, and Thabo's task closes by itself: Done, with the grade Meets Expectations (the average of its sub-tasks' grades).

What can change it:

A sub-task is cancelled. If at least one other sub-task is Done, your task still closes by itself when the last one closes. If every sub-task was cancelled, nothing was delivered, so your task goes to In review and your manager decides.
You add another sub-task while your task waits. It waits for that one too.
A sub-task sits in review. Your task keeps waiting. If you are that sub-task's manager, rate it; if nobody does, it is approved automatically after 48 hours and your task then closes.

Case B: the sub-tasks are done before you hand your task in

Example. Lerato is writing a site report. She adds a sub-task for Sipho: Check the cable sizes in the report. Sipho checks them and Lerato rates his sub-task the same afternoon, so it is Done. Lerato's report task is still In progress.

Nothing happens to Lerato's task when Sipho's is done: it was not waiting for anything.
When Lerato presses Finish, there is nothing left to wait for, so it is an ordinary finish: her task goes to In review for her own manager, who rates it like any other task. There is no roll-up.
Wait for sub-tasks is refused now: no open sub-task to wait for.

Want your task to close by itself when the sub-task is done? Hand it in before the sub-task is done: press Wait for sub-tasks (or delegate with I hand it over) while the sub-task is still open. That turns case B into case A.

Case C: some sub-tasks done, one still open

Example. Juan's task Build frame for container 12 has two sub-tasks: Weld frame (Done, rated Exceeds Expectations) and Paint frame (In progress). Juan presses Finish.

Juan's task goes to Waiting on sub-tasks. It waits only for Paint frame; the welding is already done.
When Paint frame is rated Meets Expectations, Juan's task closes by itself, Done, with the average of the two grades.

Case C is case A with part of the work already finished. Everything in case A applies.

Case D: independent sub-tasks

Example. Nomsa's weekly task Stock count report has a follow-up sub-task Re-count bin A3. The report is finished whether or not the re-count is, so she clicks (make independent).

When Nomsa presses Finish, her task goes to In review straight away, even though Re-count bin A3 is open.
The re-count carries on as its own task and closes on its own. Nomsa's task does not wait for it and is not closed by it.

Switching a task to independent while it is already waiting does not release it: it still closes when its last sub-task closes.

Delegating is the same thing

A delegated task is a sub-task, so the same cases apply:

I hand it over (the default) hands your task in at once: case A.
I keep working on my own part leaves your task as it is. When you press Finish later, it is case C if the delegated task is still open, and case B if it is already done.

Starting, pausing and clocking out

Every sub-task has its own clock. Starting, pausing, clocking out and clocking back in on a sub-task never changes the task above it. A task that is Waiting on sub-tasks counts no time at all. See Pausing a task and clocking out: what happens to your time.

When your task closes

A task that reaches Done, by itself or by a rating, also:

releases the tasks that wait for it (see Waiting tasks: one after another, and sent when people arrive);
closes the task above it, if that one is waiting for it, and so on up the tree;
closes its project milestone, if it is a task that completes the milestone;
resolves the software bug, if it is that bug's fix task.

Quick answers

My sub-task is done, but my task did not close. It was not waiting (case B). Press Finish; it goes to review like any task.

My task has been Waiting on sub-tasks for days. Open its Sub-tasks tab. One is still open, or still In review: rate it if you are its manager, or ask its person what is holding it up.

Can I get my task back after Wait for sub-tasks? No. Handing over cannot be undone, which is why the button asks first. If part of the job is still yours, choose I keep working on my own part when you delegate instead.

Where does the grade of a task that closed by itself come from? It is the average of the grades of its sub-tasks that are done. You do not rate it separately. See Task KPI and grading: how it works and the fairness rules.