Task Timelines
Route: /org/project/timelines · Permission: View and Open Task Time Lines
Module: task_timeline · Menu: View Task Timeline in Menu listing
1. What the timeline is
A Gantt chart of the project: every task as a bar from its start date to its due date, grouped under milestones and categories, with dependency arrows between them.
It is also the only screen in Orbit Ops that audits your schedule. Three classes of problem are detected and counted continuously:
| Problem | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Boundary conflicts | A subtask starts before, or ends after, its parent |
| Dependency issues | A task starts before the predecessor it is waiting for |
| Phase overruns | A task falls outside its milestone's dates |
| Timelines | Calendar | Kanban | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positions by | Start → due | Due date only | Status |
| Shows duration | Yes | No | No |
| Shows dependencies | Yes | No | No |
| Validates the schedule | Yes | No | No |
The timeline needs both ends. Tasks with only a due date are on the calendar but not here.
2. How the timeline is assembled
The hierarchy is milestone → category → task → subtask — so both milestones and categories shape the chart.
3. Reading the chart — step by step
Step 1 · Choose a scale
Four, written to the URL as ?scale=:
| Scale | Columns |
|---|---|
week | One per week, widest columns |
month | One per month — the default |
quarter | One per quarter |
year | One per year, narrowest |
Step 2 · Check Timeline Health
When any problem exists, a health indicator appears. Hovering shows Timeline Health:
| Row | Colour |
|---|---|
| Boundary Conflicts | Red |
| Dependency Issues | Amber |
| Phase Overruns | Orange |
It is computed from the real dates on every task, so a project with zeros is genuinely internally consistent. Any other number is a list of things somebody has to decide about.
Step 3 · Find a task
The search box searches and jumps — "Search & hit Enter…". No match reports
No matching task found.
Step 4 · Adjust density
Font size can be increased and decreased — "Increase Font Size" / "Decrease Font Size" — and
full screen gives the chart the whole viewport. A detailed layout is available at ?view=detailed.
Step 5 · On a phone
The mobile layout replaces the chart with a horizontal milestone strip and task cards, flagging those with problems. Empty: No tasks scheduled.
4. Field reference — how each problem is detected
Boundary conflicts
For each parent, the earliest start and latest due of its subtasks are compared with the parent's own dates. A conflict is raised when:
- a subtask starts before the parent starts, or the parent has no start date at all; or
- a subtask ends after the parent ends, or the parent has no due date at all.
The check treats a missing parent date as a violation, not as "unconstrained". A parent with scheduled subtasks and no dates of its own therefore shows red.
Give parents dates that span their children, or expect a permanent count.
Dependency issues
For each task with a start date, every predecessor is checked. A task that starts before its predecessor's due date is flagged.
Both the single Predecessor field and multiple predecessors are read.
Phase overruns
A task falling outside the dates of its milestone.
5. The admin contract
| Prerequisite | Without it |
|---|---|
| View and Open Task Time Lines | Access Denied |
| View Task Timeline in Menu listing | No sidebar entry |
| A selected project | No Project Selected |
| Start dates on tasks | No bars |
| Milestones with dates | No phase rows and no overrun detection |
| Predecessors set | No arrows and no dependency detection |
The create drawer requires a title, type, category and estimate — not a start date. A team that skips it gets an empty timeline, and nothing warns them.
6. Downstream
The timeline reads; it does not write. Fixing a flagged problem means changing dates in the list, table or detail panel.
7. Don't confuse this with…
| Screen | Route | Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Task Timelines (this page) | /org/project/timelines | Task bars, dependencies, schedule health |
| Project Timelines/Milestones | /org/projects/:id | Where milestones are created |
| Task calendar | ?view=calendar | Due dates only, plus holidays and leave |
| Milestone tabs | The task board | A filter, not a chart |
This chart groups by milestone but cannot create or edit one. That happens on Project Details → Timelines/Milestones.
8. Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| The chart is empty | No task has a start date |
| A task has no bar | It is missing a start or due date |
| Boundary conflicts on tasks that look fine | The parent has no dates of its own |
| A dependency arrow is missing | No predecessor is set |
| Phase overruns everywhere | The milestone's dates are narrower than its tasks |
| Search finds nothing | No matching task found — it matches titles |
| Access Denied | Missing View and Open Task Time Lines |
| Bars are too small to read | Switch to week scale, or increase the font size |
Related
- Creating a task — where start date, milestone and predecessor are set
- Task detail — where dependencies are managed