Task dependency refers to the logical relationship between tasks (or activities) in a project. Inspire Planner supports the four (4) common types of dependencies in project management:
For a more detailed explanation of each dependency type and how to create task dependencies, please see Gantt LWC - Definining Task Relationships (Predecessors).
Predecessor refers to a task (or activity) that must begin or end before a successor (dependent) task can proceed. In Inspire Planner, you create task relationships by populating predecessors. When you populate the task predecessor(s), it automatically then populates the successor(s).
A successor is a task (or activity) that follows another activity - not in the chronological sense but according to their dependency on each other.
When a predecessor task is re-scheduled (for example - adjusting the predecessor task start or finish dates, or duration), Inspire Planner's scheduling engine will automatically recalculate successor tasks based on the dependency type and any lag/lead time defined between them.
There may be instances, however, when you need to re-schedule a predecessor task but don't necessarily want the successor task(s) to recalculate. Inspire Planner allows you to deactivate the dependency between tasks. This means that you are able to keep the task relationship, but any changes made to the predecessor task no longer impact the successor task.
You can deactivate the task dependency via the:
You can deactivate the dependency between tasks using the dependency lines connecting the task bars in the Gantt chart. Simply hover over the line and double-click on it.
A dialogue window will open, allowing you to edit the dependency. Set "Active" to FALSE and then click on Save.
This deactivates the dependency between the predecessor and successor task. The dependency line will turn into a dotted line instead of a solid line. This indicates that the predecessor task no longer impacts the successor task. Any changes you make to the predecessor task start date, finish date and duration will not reschedule the successor task.
Because the successor tasks no longer dependent on its predecessor's start or finish date, the scheduling engine will reschedule the successor task to the same date as the project start date. You can then manually reschedule it to start on a date of your choice.
If you would like to reactivate the dependency again, you can hover over the dotted line, double-click, and set "Active" back to TRUE. This means that any changes made to the predecessor task start date, finish date or duration, will impact the successor task. However, if the successor task has a constraint, it will not reschedule to a date that violates the constraint.
When you reschedule a task wherein it causes a successor task to violate its constraint, a constraint violation dialogue displays onscreen which allows you to choose how to proceed.
One of the options presented in the dialogue is to deactivate the dependency between the predecessor and successor task. Choosing this option will set "Active" to FALSE and deactivate the dependency.
The dependency line connecting the task bars in the Gantt chart will turn into a dotted line to signify that the dependency is no longer active.
Any changes you make to the predecessor task start date, finish date and duration will not reschedule the successor task.
If you would like to reactivate the dependency again, you can hover over the dotted line in the Gantt chart, double-click, and set "Active" back to TRUE. This means that any changes made to the predecessor task start date, finish date or duration, will impact the successor task. If the successor task has a constraint that is being violated, a constraint violation dialogue will display onscreen, and you will need to choose how you would like to proceed.
Please note:
If the task has multiple predecessors where one or all of them have been deactivated, and you edit the value in predecessor (for example, adding a new value or changing the predecessor type), then the task's deactivated predecessors are re-activated.