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How Just-in-Time Task Population Works

The Problem This Solves​

Imagine opening a brand new project and seeing 200+ tasks all at once - Pre-Construction, Mobilization, Construction, Demobilization, and Retainage all dumped on you on Day 1.

Overwhelming. And most of those tasks aren't relevant yet.

PSS Podio uses automatic task population: all tasks for all stages are created when you create a project. This means you'll have all tasks ready from the start, organized by stage.

How It Works: The Big Picture​

  1. You create a new Project
  2. The system automatically creates 5 Stages (but NO tasks yet)
  3. You're ready to start Pre-Construction work
  4. You change Current Stage Status to "Pre-Construction Active"
  5. 2-3 minutes later, all tasks for all stages appear (could be 100+ tasks total)
  6. Weeks later, you finish Pre-Con and change status to "Mobilization Active"
  7. 2-3 minutes later, Mobilization tasks appear
  8. Repeat for each stage as the project progresses

Step-by-Step: Activating a Stage and Populating Tasks​

Step 1: Open Your Project​

Go to Projects app → Click your project

Step 2: Change Current Stage Status​

  1. Find the Current Stage Status field

  2. Click the dropdown

  3. Select the stage you're moving to with "Active" suffix:

    • Pre-Construction Active
    • Mobilization Active
    • Construction Active
    • Demobilization Active
    • Retainage Active

  4. Click Save

Current Stage Status dropdown showing stage options

Step 3: Wait 2-3 Minutes​

This is critical: The automation takes time to run.

What's happening behind the scenes:

  1. GlobiFlow detects the status change
  2. It queries the Task Templates app for tasks matching:
    • The stage you activated (e.g., Pre-Construction)
    • Your project's Division (Concrete, Drywall, or Other)
  3. It creates each task one by one
  4. It creates subtasks and links them to parent tasks
  5. It sets Automation Status on the stage to track progress:
    • "1 - Pending Creation" → automation started
    • "2 - Creation Complete" → all tasks created
    • "3 - Linking Complete" → dependencies linked, done!

Don't panic if tasks don't appear instantly. Give it a few minutes.

Step 4: Verify Tasks Appeared​

  1. Scroll down to Linked Stages on your project
  2. Click into the stage you just activated (e.g., Pre-Construction)
  3. Look at Task Overview - you should see tasks listed
  4. Check Automation Status - should say "3 - Linking Complete"

Task detail page showing overview field

If tasks didn't appear, see troubleshooting-automations.md.

What Tasks Get Created?​

The tasks come from the Task Templates app, which is a master list of tasks for each stage and division.

Example: Pre-Construction Stage for Concrete Division​

46 tasks including:

  • Contract & LOI review
  • Permit applications and approvals
  • Submittals (forms, concrete mix, rebar)
  • RFIs (requests for information)
  • Safety setup (811 locates, SSSP, badging)
  • Scheduling and coordination
  • Document collection

Each task has:

  • Task Name
  • Suggested Responsible role (PM, OC, FOCS, Foreman)
  • Independent or Dependent status
  • Prerequisite task # (if dependent)
  • Type (Task, Recurring, Subtask)
  • Notes with instructions

Division Filtering​

Your project's Division field determines which task templates are used:

  • Concrete - full task set (primary PSS work)
  • Drywall - different specialized tasks
  • Other - generic fallback tasks

Example: A Concrete project gets "Submit formwork shop drawings" but a Drywall project gets "Submit drywall material specs" instead.

Task Assignment: Roles → People​

Task templates reference roles (e.g., "Project Manager", "Foreman"), not specific people.

When tasks are created, the automation tries to fill in the actual person based on your Project's fields:

  • Project Manager field → fills tasks assigned to "PM"
  • OC - Operations Coordinator field → fills tasks assigned to "OC"
  • FOCS - Field Operations Coordinator field → fills tasks assigned to "FOCS"
  • Foreman field → fills tasks assigned to "Foreman"

If those fields are blank on the project, tasks might be assigned to the role name instead of a person. You'll need to manually reassign them.

Best practice: Fill out PM, OC, FOCS, and Foreman fields before activating the first stage.

Project team member fields

Task Dependencies: Automatic Linking​

Some tasks can't start until others finish. The templates define these relationships.

Example from Pre-Construction:

  • Task 12: "Prepare SSSP" (Independent)
  • Task 13: "Submit SSSP to Safety Director" (Dependent on Task 12)
  • Task 14: "Receive SSSP Approval" (Dependent on Task 13)

When tasks are created:

  1. All tasks are created first (Independent and Dependent)
  2. Independent tasks are set to Status = In Progress
  3. Dependent tasks are set to Status = Pending
  4. A second automation runs and links dependencies
  5. Each dependent task's Dependencies field is populated with the prerequisite task(s)

After linking completes:

  • The stage's Automation Status changes to "3 - Linking Complete"
  • The dependency chains are fully set up
  • As prerequisite tasks are completed, dependent tasks will automatically unlock

See dependencies.md for full details on how this works.

Subtasks: Automatic Creation​

Some tasks have subtasks (smaller pieces of work).

Example:

  • Main task: "Complete site utility connections"
  • Subtasks:
    • "Call utility company for schedule"
    • "Coordinate site access for utility crew"
    • "Walk crew through site"
    • "Inspect connections"

When the main task is created from a template, the automation:

  1. Creates the main task
  2. Looks up Subtask Templates linked to that task template
  3. Creates each subtask
  4. Links subtasks to the parent task via Linked Parent Task field
  5. Sets Type = Subtask on each

You'll see subtasks as linked items on the parent task.

Timing: Why 2-3 Minutes?​

GlobiFlow automations aren't instant. Here's why:

  1. Trigger detection - GlobiFlow polls for changes (doesn't listen in real-time)
  2. Batch processing - If creating 46 tasks, it does them one at a time with small delays
  3. Dependency linking - A second automation runs after task creation completes
  4. Podio API limits - Automations can't overwhelm the system

Normal timing:

  • Simple stage (10 tasks): ~1 minute
  • Complex stage (46 tasks): ~2-3 minutes
  • If it's been >5 minutes and nothing appeared, something's wrong (see troubleshooting-automations.md)

Don't refresh the page constantly - just wait a few minutes, then check.

Recurring Tasks: Weekly Regeneration​

Some tasks have Type = Recurring (e.g., weekly safety meetings, daily reports).

When created from templates, they work like regular tasks BUT:

  • When you mark them Complete, the system automatically creates a fresh copy
  • This happens on a schedule (usually weekly, Monday mornings) [NEEDS VERIFICATION]
  • Only happens for active stages (e.g., Construction Active)

You don't have to manually recreate recurring tasks - they regenerate automatically.

What If I Activate the Wrong Stage?​

Example: You accidentally changed to "Mobilization Active" when you meant to stay in Pre-Construction.

To fix:

  1. Change Current Stage Status back to the correct stage (e.g., "Pre-Construction Active")
  2. The Mobilization tasks will remain (they don't auto-delete)
  3. You can manually delete the Mobilization tasks, or just ignore them (they won't show in Pre-Con's Task Overview)

[NEEDS VERIFICATION: Do tasks auto-delete if you change the stage back? Or do they stay?]

Best practice: Double-check the stage name before saving.

Can I Manually Create Tasks Too?​

Yes! Just-in-time population handles the standard workflow, but you can always manually create tasks for:

  • One-off items unique to this job
  • Client-specific requests
  • Additional subtasks
  • Custom tracking

See creating-tasks.md for how to do this.

Summary: Task Population Flow​

You activate stage
    ↓
GlobiFlow detects change
    ↓
Queries Task Templates (stage + division)
    ↓
Creates tasks (2-3 minutes)
    ↓
Sets Automation Status = "2 - Creation Complete"
    ↓
Second automation links dependencies
    ↓
Sets Automation Status = "3 - Linking Complete"
    ↓
Tasks appear in Task Overview ✅

Key Takeaways​

✅ All tasks are created automatically when the project is created ✅ Wait 2-3 minutes for task population to complete ✅ Check Automation Status to verify it worked ("3 - Linking Complete") ✅ Fill out PM/OC/FOCS/Foreman fields before activating stages so tasks are assigned correctly ✅ Division matters - Concrete, Drywall, and Other get different task templates ✅ Dependencies are auto-linked - Dependent tasks start as Pending and unlock when prerequisites complete ✅ Subtasks are auto-created from templates when parent tasks are created ✅ Recurring tasks regenerate automatically after completion

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