How to Link and Unlink Tasks in Microsoft Project 2016

Synopsis: In Microsoft Project 2016, a dependency reflects the fact that some things happening depend on other things happening. The simplest type is where one task cannot start until another task finishes. However, there can be complex dependencies too. In this Microsoft Project 2016 tutorial, you will learn the process of linking and unlinking tasks

Whatever type of Microsoft Project you are working on, there will be instances when a task would largely depend on another task, or a particular task would depend on many other tasks. This is called dependency. In project pro, a dependency reflects the fact that some things happening depend on other things happening. The simplest type is where one task cannot start until another task finishes. However, there can be complex dependencies too.

Linking Tasks in Microsoft Project 2016

To create task dependencies in MS Project 2016, select one task and, while holding the Ctrl key down, select a second task so that both tasks are chosen. Next, on the Task tab, in the Schedule group, click on the chain link button to link the tasks. By doing this, task 2 can’t start until task 1 has finished.

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Once the tasks have been linked, take a look at the Gantt Chart on the right of the main window. You should be able to see an arrow indicating the dependency that shows task 1 must finish before task 2 can start.

Lag vs. Lead

Let’s say you are working on a wedding project, and the two tasks that you want to link are “select wedding dress” and “select and order bridesmaid dresses.” If you had decided in this case that after the wedding dress was selected and being ordered, you would then start looking at, selecting, and ordering the bridesmaid dresses, but you need to leave a gap of, say, five days for some reason, that would represent a lag of five days. What that means is after selecting the wedding dress, there is a five-day gap before you start selecting and ordering bridesmaid dresses.

On the other hand, a negative lag is called a lead. In the example below, “FS” basically says it is a finish-to-start dependency, but then it also says minus five days (FS-5 days). This code tells you that task 9 has a finish-to-start relationship with task 6, which means that task 6 must finish before task 9 starts, but there is a five-day lead. In effect, task 9 can start five days before task 6 finishes. This means that you can get started on selecting and ordering bridesmaid dresses five days before you finish selecting the wedding dress.

Unlinking Tasks in Microsoft Project 2016

Suppose you have mistakenly linked tasks, is there a way to undo it? The answer is yes. To undo a dependency, select the tasks and then click the icon that shows a broken chain. This will effectively unlink tasks on the project.

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Simon Calder

Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA. He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!