Event dependency mapper
Your committee has a task list and needs to know which tasks are waiting on others.
…
The short answer
This mapper takes tasks, durations and predecessor IDs and shows a dependency graph, one valid order for the work, and which tasks are disconnected from the rest. It rejects cycles and tasks that depend on themselves.
The critical path is calculated only when every task has a duration. Without that, you see the ordered list and a clear note that it is not a critical path.
How to enter tasks
- Give each task a short unique ID such as A, B or C1.
- Write the task name and its duration in days. Leave the duration blank if you do not know it.
- In Predecessors, list the IDs that must finish before this task can start, separated by commas.
- Leave Predecessors blank for tasks that can start straight away.
Ordered sequence versus critical path
The ordered sequence is one valid way to run the tasks so that nothing starts before its predecessors. Several orders can be valid, so it does not tell you which tasks control the finish date.
The critical path is the chain of tasks with no slack. It needs every duration. When all durations are present the tool shows earliest start, earliest finish, slack and which tasks are critical.
Errors and flags
- A task that lists itself as a predecessor is rejected.
- A cycle, such as A waits for C, C waits for B, B waits for A, is rejected and the tasks involved are named.
- A predecessor ID that matches no task, or a repeated ID, is rejected.
- Disconnected tasks, with no predecessors and no successors, are listed so you can check whether a link is missing.
Limits
Durations are your estimates in days. The tool adds no buffer and does not know how long approvals or supplier work really take.
Use the work breakdown builder to define the tasks first, and the milestone back-planner to place them against the event date.
Worked example · Fictional example
A fictional six-task plan
Fictional tasks and durations, to show the outputs.
Six tasks: confirm date (2 days), book venue (5), open registration (3), finalise programme (10), print materials (2) and order name badges (1). Printing waits for registration and the programme, and name badges have no links at all.
The map shows name badges as disconnected, gives one valid order, and finds a critical path of confirm date, book venue, finalise programme and print materials, 19 days in total. Open registration has slack.
Use this yourself
Dependency worksheet
Fill in one row per task. Use the IDs of earlier tasks in the last column.
| ID | Task | Duration (days) | Waits for (IDs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | |||
| B | A | ||
| C | A | ||
| D | B, C |
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- There are fewer than a dozen tasks and the links are obvious to the team.
- Durations are known from previous events.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Suppliers, approvals and committee meetings overlap and nobody can say what is holding up what.
- A late decision has already moved other dates and the effect is unclear.
- Durations are unknown and need a reality check from someone who has run similar events.
Want the dependencies managed week by week?
An Event Blueprint includes a timeline with dependencies marked between workstreams, so a late decision shows its effect before it hits the event date. Bring your task list as it stands, with unknown durations left blank.
Questions organisers ask
Why is there no critical path?
At least one task has no duration. Add every duration and the critical path appears.
Is the ordered sequence the same as the critical path?
No. The sequence is one valid order. The critical path is the chain with no slack, and it is only shown when all durations exist.
Can I leave out tasks that do not depend on anything?
Keep them. They are shown as disconnected, which helps you spot a missing link.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.