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So, I'm creating a complex task manager. I have a list of tasks, but certain tasks cannot be started until others have finished. However, the position of a task on the list does not necessarily specify the order in which it has to be completed; some tasks can be done in tandem by different people, while some rely on another person(s) to complete other task(s) first.

I would like to list the tasks an item is waiting on next to it, with a single word to describe what that list represents like this:

  1. Wash walls
  2. Paint walls
  3. Hang artwork (this task cannot be done until task 1 and task 2 are done)

Some shorter versions I've thought of are "pending: task 1 and task 2", "dependent: task 1 and task 2", "awaiting: task 1 and task 2", and "yielding: task 1 and task 2"

I don't think any of these words quite represent the situation properly, though I could be wrong.

Would you please suggest the correct single word to use in this situation?

CJT3
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    Have a look at Topological Sorting. Captures the entire scenario. – Nagarajan Shanmuganathan Apr 17 '16 at 08:52
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because I think you'll get better technical answers from [pm.SE] – NVZ Apr 17 '16 at 09:06
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    @NVZ how can it be off topic? I'm not looking for technical answers, just a single word description exactly as the tag suggests. – CJT3 Apr 17 '16 at 09:07
  • @CharlesJohnThompsonIII You need an informal term then? – NVZ Apr 17 '16 at 09:08
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    I just wanted you to have better answers, hence the vote to migrate. Don't be offended by it. Just wanted to help. – NVZ Apr 17 '16 at 09:10
  • You realize that the "perfect word" for a given situation hardly ever exists. You have been given several fairly decent suggestions. In particular, holding out for a "short" term (not even just single-word) which still accurately conveys your intent is simply asking too much. – Hot Licks Apr 17 '16 at 13:34
  • @HotLicks there exist many words for ridiculously contrived situations, though they tend to be atrociously long and, well, German. If a word doesn't exist for something in a language, it is either stolen from another language, created using root words, or just pull out of the air and used until it catches on. – CJT3 Apr 17 '16 at 16:41
  • @HotLicks what is really interesting about this SE is how reserved people are with their suggestions or even opinions... I'm not trying to fight, just find some sort of opinion on the words I've found myself or take suggestions for new words if they sound better. Reddit has actually been more useful and welcoming to this question, though I take it the problem with SE is that it's highly fragmented and not everyone sees all questions unless they go looking for them. – CJT3 Apr 17 '16 at 16:54
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    Possible duplicate of Is there a word meaning a problem that has to be solved in order to work on another problem? – Hellion Apr 18 '16 at 00:23
  • @CharlesJohnThompsonIII SE doesn't work like Reddit and other discussion forums. The tour page says, "This site is all about getting answers. It's not a discussion forum. There's no chit-chat". It adds, "Not all questions work well in our format. Avoid questions that are primarily opinion-based, or that are likely to generate discussion rather than answers". I recommend that you ask this at [pm.se]. – URB Apr 20 '16 at 19:58
  • I think the question is fine here. I've tried to give a broad answer that can cover different use cases. However, this type of language is used heavily in the project management world, which is why it might have been better to post it in that forum instead. The suggestion @NVZ might have gotten you a quicker response, and it could have been back-linked to this one. I certainly appreciate the opposition to hot potato shenanigans, though, when it comes to questions that border on discussion vs hard answers. – VoteCoffee Jun 03 '18 at 14:43
  • It occurs to me that the concept of "critical path" may be relevant here. – Hot Licks Jun 03 '18 at 14:55

4 Answers4

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This task is a pre-requisite of that task.

See here.

So:

Pre-requisites:

  • task a.
  • task b.
  • etc.
Brad
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  • Decent suggestion, not loving the length of it though. Something as short as "pending" would be ideal. – CJT3 Apr 17 '16 at 08:37
  • Okay. What about queued then? – Brad Apr 17 '16 at 08:41
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    One can alternately drop the hyphen to get prerequisite. I would. (Though I had never thought of it before: one could read that as though it were prere-quisite, if one looked at it funny.) – thb Apr 17 '16 at 09:05
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bottleneck

dictionary.com:

  1. a place or stage in a process at which progress is impeded.

Thus: "bottlenecks: task 1 and task 2"

ghostarbeiter
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  • it feels a bit clunky and unnatural in the example. How often do you hear the term "bottleneck" to describe a list? – CJT3 Apr 17 '16 at 08:50
  • @CharlesJohnThompsonIII, it doesn't describe the list. The pending tasks themselves are the bottlenecks. – ghostarbeiter Apr 17 '16 at 08:51
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First Task A, Then Task B.

Here are some options:

Language to describe the task directly:

Prerequisite:

  1. Task A is a prerequisite of Task B
  2. Task B has a prerequisite of Task A

Predecessor:

  1. Task A is a predecessor to Task B
  2. Task B is a successor of Task A

This language is from Project Management dependency relationships https://www.projectinsight.net/project-management-basics/task-dependencies

Language to describe the relationship:

Contingent Upon: Task B is contingent on Task A

Gating requirement: Task A gates Task B

Blocking Condition: Task A blocks Task B

Constraint: Task A constrains Task B

Requirement: Task B requires Task A

Dependency: Task B depends on Task A

VoteCoffee
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in obligatory order TFD

  1. required to be done, obtained, possessed, etc
lbf
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