Use milestones, subtasks, and dependencies
Mark checkpoints, break work into smaller tasks, and show which task must finish first.
Use a milestone for a key checkpoint, a subtask for one part of a larger result, and a dependency when one task must finish before another.
Each tool has one job.
Before you start
- Milestones and dependencies are team-side board tools.
- Both tasks in a dependency must be active and on the same account or Internal Project board.
- Clients can see only the safe blocked state and the related tasks they already have permission to see.
Add a milestone
A milestone is a flat checkpoint, such as “Client approved launch.” It stays at the top level of a board.
- Open the board's task creation menu.
- Choose the milestone kind.
- Add a title.
- Add no date or one target date.
- Save it.
A milestone cannot repeat, use a date range, become a subtask, or contain subtasks. To convert an existing task to a milestone, first remove its repeat rule and move or remove its child tasks. If it has a date range, choose the end as its single milestone date during conversion.
Changing a milestone back to a normal task keeps its due date.
Add subtasks
Open a normal task and use its Subtasks area to add smaller steps. A subtask stays on the same board and section as its parent. It can have its own title, assignee, dates, comments, files, and activity.
Live tasks can have nested subtasks. Keep the tree shallow so people can follow it. Task templates have a separate limit of five task levels and 500 total tasks in the template.
A row's subtask progress counts only its immediate children, not every task deeper in the tree.
Add a dependency
- Open a task.
- Open Dependencies.
- Choose whether this task is Blocked by or Blocking another task.
- Select an active task on the same board.
- Save the relationship.
Sydnee blocks self-links, duplicate or reversed pairs, cross-board links, and any relationship that would make a cycle.
An open task is blocked while any direct blocker is open. Complete every direct blocker before completing the task. Completing a blocker keeps the link but satisfies it. Reopening that blocker blocks any still-open dependent task again.
What happens when work moves or is removed
Archiving, deleting, or moving one linked task out of the board removes its dependency links. A repeating task's next occurrence starts without dependency links. Restoring an archived task does not recreate links that were removed.
Moving a whole section with dependencies asks for confirmation. If you continue, Sydnee removes dependency links touching tasks in that section before moving it.
What your client sees
Clients see Blocked on a visible task that has an open blocker. They do not receive the title of a blocker they cannot access. This generic state protects private task names while still explaining why the visible task cannot be completed.
Client visibility for a subtask also depends on every parent task. If one parent is hidden, the child stays hidden.
Fix a common problem
A task will not complete: open Dependencies and finish or remove every direct blocker.
A task is missing from the dependency picker: it may be archived, on another board, or outside your access.
Convert to milestone is unavailable: the task may be nested, repeating, use a range, or still have a non-deleted child. Archived children also block conversion.