Hey everyone! I’m trying to figure out how to make my task management system smarter. What I want is for the subtasks to update their progress automatically when their status changes. Like when a subtask starts, it should show 50% done, and when it’s finished, it goes to 100%.
I thought about using a number field for this. But the tricky part is getting all these subtask progresses to show up as an average on the main task.
I’ve heard Zapier and Make can do cool stuff like this, but I’m not sure how to set it up. Has anyone done something similar? Any tips or tricks would be super helpful!
Oh, and if there’s a better way to do this that I haven’t thought of, I’m all ears. Thanks in advance for any help!
Having worked with task management systems extensively, I can share a solution that might suit your needs. Consider using Airtable for this setup. It allows you to create a linked record field between your main tasks and subtasks tables. You can then use Airtable’s built-in automations to update subtask progress based on status changes.
For the main task progress, you can utilize Airtable’s rollup fields to automatically calculate the average progress of all linked subtasks. This approach eliminates the need for external tools like Zapier or Make, keeping everything within one system.
The key advantage here is real-time updates without manual intervention. Plus, Airtable’s flexibility allows for easy customization if you need to adjust the system later on. It’s been a game-changer for my team’s productivity tracking.
hey, i’ve used make for somethin similar. it’s pretty good for this kinda stuff. you can set up a scenario that watches for status changes in subtasks, then updates the progress field automatically. for the main task average, you could use a formula to calculate it based on subtask progress. it’s not too hard to setup once you get the hang of it
I’ve actually implemented something similar in my project management workflow. Instead of using a number field, I created a custom status field for subtasks with options like ‘Not Started’, ‘In Progress’, and ‘Completed’. Each status was assigned a percentage value (0%, 50%, 100% respectively).
For the main task progress calculation, I used Zapier to set up a workflow that triggers whenever a subtask status changes. It fetches all subtasks, calculates the average progress based on their statuses, and updates the main task’s progress field.
One caveat: this approach assumes equal weight for all subtasks. If you need weighted averages, you might need a more complex setup involving custom fields for task importance.
This method has saved my team countless hours on manual updates and provides real-time progress visibility. Hope this helps you streamline your process too!