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Peter Romão

As said in the title.

I just defined a task to be blocked by another and I was expecting to not being able to mark it as done until the blocking task has been completed.

Well, it appears that it can.

Does this make any sense? The Help AI's response to this is kind of unacceptable.

It says:

There are a few reasons why a blocked task in Odoo might be marked as done even if the tasks blocking it are not yet finished:
  • Kanban Stage Independence: Odoo's task statuses ("Done," "Canceled," etc.) are separate from the Kanban stage a task is in. You can mark a task as "Done" regardless of its current stage.
  • Reopening Tasks: A task can be reopened by changing its status, even after it's been marked as "Done" or "Canceled".
  • Manual Override: Users might have the ability to manually override dependencies or task statuses, depending on their permissions and how the project is configured. This could be done intentionally (e.g., if the blocking task is no longer relevant) or unintentionally.
However, it's important to consider the following:
  • Task Dependencies: Odoo Project allows you to establish relationships between tasks to determine the order in which they are executed. Task dependencies ensure that certain tasks begin only after the preceding tasks are completed.
  • Work Order Dependencies: Odoo Manufacturing features a work order dependencies setting. Enabling this setting allows for operations on a Bill of Materials (BoM) to be blocked by other operations that should occur first.
  • Waiting Status: Successor tasks are assigned the Waiting status and cannot be moved to In Progress until their predecessor task(s) are marked as Approved, Cancelled, or Done.

So as will all AI's we must accept inaccuracies and think instead of just following blindly.

So this begs the question how can we limit a user+s capability to mark a blocked task as done while the tasks it depends on are not finished?project


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Peter Romão
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Thank you for the time taken to answer and I agree with the flexibility. It is what makes me like the project tool in Odoo. Your closing argument is the clincher!

I just put another post around this issue which has to do with the notification in a collaborative environment.

I’d appreciate it if you or anyone could give their two cents.

https://www.odoo.com/forum/help-1/how-does-a-blocked-task-owner-receives-notification-or-e-mail-that-the-blocking-task-is-finished-274514

Cheers

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Ray Carnes (ray)
Best Answer

We always defer to the User to decide if they are "blocked" and unable to proceed. Does it mean they can't start or does it mean they can't finish?  Perhaps it is the first, perhaps the second, perhaps BOTH!

This is a more flexible design than assuming we always have to stop them from doing what they probably already know how to manage better, since things evolve over time and it is impossible to program an algorithm with every current and future edge case handled in a better way than the people who do the work.

Blocking when unnecessary can be very frustrating for everyone involved - delays are costly and bottlenecks can arise if the "manager" who can unblock Users is unavailable or can't process sufficient Tasks in a timely manner.

Consider some of the alternative definitions of blocked that may apply: 

Partial dependency – The first task is not entirely dependent on the second task but work on the second task needs to reach some level of completion first.

Potential Resource Block – The first task is waiting on a shared resource (e.g., a machine, person, or approval) that is currently being used in the second task, but a smart User may find an alternative (or arrange to share).

Partial Process Block – The first task needs to be delayed due to an internal process, such as waiting for documentation or feedback based on the second task, but other work related to the first task can be started (or finished) and perhaps only part of the second task needs to be completed before the first one can be finished.

Potential Workflow Hold – The first task is on hold due to company policies or external constraints related to the second task, not the second task's completion, and there could easily be exceptions so the block is more of a "heads up".

Verification Block – The first task is awaiting validation, quality checks, or reviews defined on the second task before proceeding, some of which may not prevent work from starting of being finished.

Users are smart enough to know what blocked means, we don't recommend second guessing them.

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