Task Workflow Rules Should Work With Project Templates

I posted this on a previous thread a few weeks ago, so I'm re-adding it as a top-level topic. I know I'm not alone in wanting this feature.

Basically, right now the new task workflow rules feature doesn't actually work with tasks generated using a Project Template. In my testing they work perfect for tasks manually added to a project, but if you create a project from a template, the workflow rules don't apply to any tasks generated by the template.

This seems like a pretty major shortcoming of this feature. I had specifically asked about something like the task workflow rules during my pre-sales process while auditioning the software last year and have been holding off on fully launching Projects with my team until it was implemented. I was thrilled to see the new feature was finally added, but then extremely disappointed to see that it wouldn't at all work with my intended workflow.

It seems to me that people using a feature like this are also likely to be people trying to automate things with templates, so this seems like a pretty major shortcoming.

My intent here is not at all to admonish the development team - I know software development is tough and it's hard to please everyone. That said, it really seems like this feature is only half working if you can't use it with templates. I'd really appreciate an official response, as I'm sure would the other community members here who have expressed interest in the same feature.

The text below was a message I posted in response to the announcement of the new Task Workflow Rules feature:

(Original thread here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/default-task-owner )

Thanks for this. This is exactly what I've been waiting for. I seem to be running into a major issue, however. Unless I'm doing something wrong (I hope so) it looks like workflows aren't being applied to projects newly created from a template.

My intended use of this feature was to automate the assignment of most tasks in a new project to the project owner. In our specific use-case I have created a layout and template to use for new sales orders, which automatically creates all the tasks necessary to complete production and finalize the order.

I've set up a new workflow rule to do this and have assigned it to the correct "Sales Order" layout I had previously created, but when I create a new project using that layout and template the workflow rules are not triggered. I've made sure that "Creation" is set for the "Executed On" option.

In my testing I've determined that the workflow applies with no issues for new tasks that I manually create using the layout in question, but it refuses to apply for tasks generated during the initial creation of the project.

I've provided two screenshots to show how I have everything set up. As per the workflow rules, the "unassigned" tasks should be set to the project owner. (The red boxes are just where I've censored employees and project names for privacy reasons.)

I appreciate any input you can provide - hopefully I'm just missing a setting as this is a pretty crucial feature that I've been waiting for to launch this production system using Projects.

Zoho Desk Resources

Desk Community Learning Series
Digest
Functions
Meetups
Kbase
Resources
Glossary
Desk Marketplace
MVP Corner
Word of the Day

Topic Participants
Matthew
Monica P
Josiah Young
ryan
Scholfield

Sticky Posts
Announcement: Few goodies in Zoho BugTracker
Over the last few months we have introduced several features, in Zoho BugTracker, that would enhance your experience. Screen-grabber Color codes for SLA (Service Level Agreement) Affected Milestones and Release Milestones Reorder Bug Fields You can read through Zoho BugTracker Quarterly Tweaks Digest for more information about these features. Prasanna
Announcing the New Zoho BugTracker
We were frequently asked to have bug tracking as a separate, stand-alone product, decoupled from the rest of Zoho Projects - and to make it even more affordable. So we launched Zoho BugTracker a week before, a standalone product that helps teams fix bugs fast. Here's a quick summary of what's new in this release: : Give a structure to how bugs are handled by defining custom workflows Configure severity for the bugs to indicate how much the bug disrupts users from doing their jobs Build a library
[Projects 2.0] Import MPP/MPX files into Zoho Projects
Hi, Checkout the post about importing MPP/MPX files into Zoho Projects . Prasanna Zoho Projects.