Subtasks
It would be good if we are able to create a subtask to an existing task.

Thank you for the feedback!
As an update, we’d like to pursue improvements to the checklist functionality in Planner, but don’t have any near-term plans.
If you’d like to vote on task dependencies/linking/referencing, please head over here: https://planner.uservoice.com/forums/330525/suggestions/13976094
We will keep you updated when there are any changes. Keep the votes coming and comments coming!
Thanks,
The Planner Team
243 comments
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Amanda Reid commented
Ability to have sub tasks like the checklist but be able to assign subtasks to someone else. A feature that exists on Asana
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Lisa commented
In our organization we already use checklist-items as subtasks. For better workflows it would be helpful to add deadlines to a single checklist item and also to be able to create more that one checklist in a task. We are also sometimes struggling with the limitation on 20 items for a checklist.
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Chris Jordan commented
Its ok to have task within a bucket and the ability to add single point entries within that task, however not sure I can see the point of a task that I cannot split down into smaller tasks that can be assigned out and have notes and files attached. Something like Asana you can create sub tasks from subtasks.. highly handy when you are part way through a project and find that the single entry task you had is actually 5 tasks that can be assigned to different people, I don't want to have to create a whole new bucket just to assign 5 sub tasks that I can make notes one.
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Anders Windsor commented
This is a long overdue functions. The subtasks/lists should have the ability to be assigned to other members and have its own due dates.
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Melissa commented
Our ask is the ability to have a master task with a long timeline (a month or more), and subtasks tied to that main task, which can be assigned to different team members with their own due dates. So the master task could be a publication with a due date of the final publication date -- but sub tasks could be writing a draft, revisions, approvals, etc. each with their own due dates and assignees -- and more importantly, the notifications and reminders could be tied to those subtasks and not only for the final completion date of the entire project.
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Rick Prokosch commented
In comparing to LeanKit, I liked that each task had its own card. That way, as I'm an working on checklist item in planner for example, I could at least make comments that would show up under that checklist item. I find that a larger task/card in planner like "Update contract" will have checklist tasks like "confirm with legal" and "upload to corporate forms". I would like to be able to post comments specifically related to those checklist items so another team member can see that the checklist item is not done but then could see the comments/notes made as someone else has made progress on it.
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Pankaj deharia commented
My wish is to have the capability to add sub task inside an task, so that main task i can use that as a milestones.
My main task will behave as milestone of a project will have some start and end date.
Sub task will act as small task under that milestone task and that can have the start date and end date. that will give flexibility to manage/ visualize the timeline project.Thanks in advance
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Fumito Sakamoto commented
I am using bucket as project and using task cards as sub task.
there is problem when project complete. Now, I make project bucket copy in "completed project" and copy task cards one by one because our team need to review completed project records when we start new project and it is similar to completed project. I think that this problem will resolve if bucket and task cards can move to other plan. I will appreciate if this function is added to planner. -
Anonymous commented
Tasks can require a series of subtasks (like a checklist but able to be assigned to different accounts, and with due dates, even with dependencies between subtasks). EG: A proofing task: send proof, return proof approval/decline (with comments), edit, finalise. Asana has the sub-task idea working well ;)
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Peter commented
I created a uservoice entry in the To-Do section with a similar idea: https://todo.uservoice.com/forums/597175-feature-suggestions/suggestions/37643620-associate-to-do-tasks-with-planner-tasks
Except this makes it so that the To-Do tasks are the subtasks. This makes it so that you can associate flagged email, OneNote tasks and standard Outlook tasks with a parent Planner item. These associated tasks could show as links in the existing Checklist to the To-Do items.
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Anonymous commented
It would be useful to build out the check list functionality to mimic the task and act as a sub-task. Each task has a begin and end date and assign to field at a master level. The check list would be better suited as sub tasks or required steps each with the ability to have start/end dates and specific assignee necessary to be completed prior to the master task being completed. Think of it as the task is an epic and the check list are the user stories.
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Katie commented
This would be so helpful.
I'd also like to be able to have a subtask. Either that or making multiple start and finish dates.
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Anonymous commented
This is a great idea, another way to do this is to be able to re-assign task to another person, after the task has been completed. for instance a copywriter might complete the task, and then assign the task to graphics designer. On the reporting side, the completed task still remains on the copywriter side and a new task is on the graphic designer task. Further to this, the ability to track the task history as it moves from one person to the other
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Nic commented
The current checklist have no features. They are basically text with a checkbox in front of it.
Checklist items do not have due date, cannot be assigned to someone, and don't have comments either. -
AlexC commented
What about the super-simple tweak of allowing clickable URLs in checklist items & figuring out if that URL comes from task.office.com to dereference it & show the Task Title instead -- just like Trello ?
Really basic stuff.
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Anonymous commented
Really need header level information at the checklist/subtask level ASAP
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Robbie commented
This is essential to the type of work our team does. Without subtasks we haven't found a way to organize to the level we need. It seems as if this should be considered a basic function of a project tracker.
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Bryan commented
To Mike’s (Jira comments below) comments below, love his suggestions and I would love his suggestions implemented but added to it the ability to define effort / duration for each Project Card, Task Card and Sub-task card and to copy each to new buckets in existing Plan and to other Plans as well as the ability to archive Project, Task and Subtasks Cards, and buckets.
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Peter Bellis commented
Alternatively/additionally make the checkist functionality richer by allowing due dates to be added to checklist items that can also flag as due/overdue
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Mike commented
Jira provides loose model of what is needed:
https://confluence.atlassian.com/adminjiracloud/issue-types-844500742.html
For each Planner card, you can select what type of card it is. For example:
"Project" card is for large body of work that may depend on a number of "Task" cards.
"Task" card is a medium body of work that may depend on a number of "Subtask" cards.
"Subtask" card is the smallest body of work.Six critical aspects of this feature are, as follows:
1) The "Project" card, dependent "Task" cards, and dependent "Subtask" cards can each be assigned to different people.
2) Dependent "Task" cards are listed (and hot-linked) within the "Project" card; dependent "Subtask" cards are listed (and hot-linked) within the "Task" card.
3) Provide the ability to filter on each level (e.g., only see "Project" cards) to remove noise in the Bucket view.
4) Provide the ability to disassociate a "Task" card from a "Project" card and a "Subtask" card from a "Task" card. Allow those cards to be orphaned or to be re-associated with another card that is one level higher than it.
5) Allow each card type to easily be changed into another card type -- change a "Project" card to a "Task" card to a "Subtask" card (any combination).
6) Allow "Task" cards to be linked to a "Project" card in a different plan (for plans where a trust relationship has been agreed by both plan owners). Same for "Task" cards and "Subtask" cards.
Helpful: You could have a card that is higher than a "Project" card for very large projects (e.g., a "Program" card).
This is a complex feature and should be combined with this thread:
https://planner.uservoice.com/forums/330525/suggestions/13976094If you combine the votes of these threads, it is apparent just how critical this feature is to most organizations. Please implement this!!