Some work is one thing at the level you talk about it and five things at the level somebody does it.
What a subtask is
A task that belongs to another task. It carries everything an ordinary task does — its own assignee, due date, status, priority and hours.
The difference is that it sits under its parent instead of in the main list, so the project shows “Logo concepts” rather than five rows about logo concepts.
When to use one
| Use a subtask | Use a separate task |
|---|---|
| The parts are meaningless on their own. | Each part is a deliverable in itself. |
| One person owns the whole thing and is dividing it up. | Different people own different parts and report separately. |
| You would say it as one item in a meeting. | You would list them separately to the client. |
A worked example
On a brand refresh, “Logo concepts — round one” is one task in the plan. Underneath it:
- Moodboard — Arjun, 18 Sep
- Three directions drawn — Arjun, 22 Sep
- Internal review — Rohan, 24 Sep
- Pack for the client — Priya, 25 Sep
The client conversation is about one task. The internal work is four, each with a name and a date. Both are true, and neither gets in the way of the other.
Do not go deeper than that
Two levels is almost always enough. A plan broken three and four deep takes longer to maintain than the work takes to do, and the moment it falls out of date everybody stops trusting all of it — including the parts that were right.
What subtasks do to progress and hours
| Hours | Time can be logged against a subtask, and it rolls up. |
| Dates | Each has its own, so a parent due in a fortnight can have a part due tomorrow. |
| Assignees | Different people on different parts, under one owner. |
| Status | Its own. A parent is not finished because one part is. |
The test before you add one
Ask whether you would mention it in a client update. If yes, it is probably a task. If it is internal choreography, it is a subtask.
A client hears “logo concepts are with you”. They do not hear “the moodboard is done and the three directions are drawn”. The first is a task; the second is what is underneath it.
If you find yourself wanting a third level, the parent is usually really a milestone. Milestones group tasks; tasks group subtasks. Two levels each, and the plan stays readable.
Where to go next
Something missing or wrong here? Tell us. A question that needed asking usually means a page that needed writing.