Once a follow-up task is created automatically link the new task to the original

I love the follow-up task feature! One simple change I’d like to see…

Once a follow-up task is created automatically link the new task to the original. Currently the original is linked in the new but not the other way around. Just clean. I do it manually and that is fine but would be nice.

Thanks you all,
Daniel

1 Like

When you Create follow-up Task it is often that you need someone else’s action so you can continue.

So why not automatically set (or prompt) to make the current task dependent on the followed-up?

image

3 Likes

I would like to suggest that task created by the “Create follow-up task” feature were created as a sub-task.

It seems a little odd that a totally isolated task is created, with just the URL of the parent task. It would help if, by standard, it was at least in the same project.

Best regards!

1 Like

I don’t know if you’ll like this idea or not, but I created a personal project called “Follow-up” that I add all my follow-up tasks to. I wrote it up awhile ago with more details here:

The reason I’m not sold on the idea of follow-up tasks being subtasks is the implication that subtasks are subitems that are required for the parent tasks to be considered complete. Admittedly this is my viewpoint and people are free to use sub-tasks however they like, but I still feel like that’s an argument for why Asana wouldn’t automatically make them a subtask and it would actually cause issues for the way I use them. Is it difficult to make them subtasks after the fact? I might be able to offer advice for that as well.

1 Like

Hi Ryan,

Your argument makes total sense. In my case, I use a lot of follow mainly in tasks regarding clients, so it’s good to have them as sub-tasks so it’s easier to track them later. However, I understand it’s not something that should by applied to every case.

1 Like

Here is another alternative "Create follow-up Task" should link as dependent task

When you Create follow-up Task it is often that you need someone else’s action so you can continue.

So why not automatically set (or prompt) to make the current task dependent on the followed-up?

image

2 Likes

Great idea @Juan_Diego! It would be helpful to show that the tasks is blocked, waiting for action regarding another person

1 Like

Yes - it is odd to have to choose the Project that the follow-up tasks belongs to. Wouldn’t it always be the Project to which the task belongs?

1 Like

I really like Follow-up tasks, very unique feature of Asana. However, I feel like it’s “half-done” as it doesn’t have the great aspects of a similar feature, “Create Project from Task” in terms of handling of the two respective entities once this action is completed.

It would be great if you had some reference in the originating task, which may not necessarily wind up closed if you are using complex workflows, as to the fact that it generated a follow-on task. And the follow-up task gets just a token reference back to the original by putting a link in the description.

When you create a Project from a Task, there is a great header on the “creating” task, and in the Project the notation in the description is much more substantial.

I feel like it wouldn’t be a ton of work - this could be done maybe in the API but I don’t have those kind of resources - to just add this little bit of behavior around this activity.

Thanks guys and hoping for progress on this!

2 Likes

Hi, I would also like to add that I seen now you can do this in Conversations, great!: But, only when they are in the inbox?

This would seem to at least partially satisfy this request:

So I’d like to request that in addition to the general improvements, this also be improved so you can do this from any area where a Conversation is. And like we are talking about above, have some reference to the conversation. Now, when Asana simply “dumps” a link from the Conversation into the new task’s description, there is no context as to whether it was a Conversation or Task that originated this new Follow-Up Task.

Thanks!

+1 , would be so useful.
Task: “Work out what to do about the flargle”
Follow-on task: “Spargle the flargle”

Clearly the “Work out what to do” task needs a link to the “Spargle” task to give a good record.

+1

Like what Jim says. For us, we have a main task for a customer meeting (this pushes data to another reporting tool that we use to track customer actions/time), we then use follow on tasks to track the tasks coming out of that meeting.
We don’t want sub tasks as such, but follow on tasks that at least are mentioned in the parent task.

1 Like

At the very least, follow up tasks should show in the description of the original task. I know I created a follow up task but have no idea where it is, since I’ve renamed it.

The tasks are related, so this seems intuitive.