Dependencies

Note that priority-based scheduling generally eliminates the need to create dependencies between tasks that are owned by the same person.  That's because in the absence of any delays or dependencies, the earliest start date of a task you own automatically equals the earliest finish of your previous task in the priority order.  So in LiquidPlanner, dependencies are most often created between tasks owned by different people. 

All dependencies in LiquidPlanner are finish-to-start dependencies.  To create a chain of dependent tasks, simply hold down the control or shift key to multi-select the tasks in question, then right click > chain items.  Another way to create or edit a dependency is via the task Edit Pane.  Open the edit pane for an individual task, then build your dependencies in the dependencies tab:   

Consider the simple example below.  In this first screenshot, Liz is scheduled to edit the site copy before Mary writes the site copy: 

Since that's impossible, we need to make the Edit site copy task dependent on the Write site copy task:

Dependencies can be created between containers of work as well.  For instance, between phases of a project:

The Dependency Icon

You can click on the green dependency icon to see the name of the predecessor or dependent task.  Click on the name of that task within the pop-up to jump to it in the plan:

A dependency is satisfied when the predecessor task is marked done.  When that happens, the icon on the dependent task will go gray and have a checkmark in it:

Dependency Status

You'll notice in the edit pane that a dependency will have a status of "good", unless there is a problem with that dependency.  Broken dependency statuses include:

On Inactive - one of the tasks in the dependency relationship is on hold. 

Circular - you have a circular dependency.  For example, let's say that a Phase 2 folder is dependent on a higher priority Phase 1 folder.  If you make a Phase 1 task dependent on a Phase 2 task, that's a circular dependency.