is there a way in Trello free version to start a project with high level tasks?

[FLL 3000]

Hi,

I'm starting a new project. I would like to define high level tasks such as:

• Problem analysis
• solution search
• detail the solution
• build prototype

I would like to add due dates to each of them, then break each task into smaller tasks and maybe even these smaller tasks into activities.

is there a way to do it? if so, what are the high level tasks mapped to? cards?

is there a way to create a card as a child of another card?

I refer to the free version.

Chen

[Nils Geylen]

Well, I'm not sure it's going to be straightforward.

My first idea was the classic horizontal timeline axis: lists for prep, working on it, test, finalise, done. And then move your four tasks as cards incrementally to the right. But I felt you're gonna run out of deeper hierarchies soon. If your tasks are cards, your subtasks checklists, then were do activities go?

So, then I thought: turn your four tasks into "phases" with a list for each. Lists can't have due dates, okay, but as a hack you could maybe give each list a "List Due" card with a due date, and there are even PowerUps that let you pin cards to the top.

Cards can have due dates on any plan, so make those the subtasks, and activities become checklists with due dates as well...

But a bigger issue turns out, is both Free and even Standard don't get "Advanced Checklists" where each checklist item can have a due date. I mean, that seems to be crucial here. 

So going back, even assuming a timeline, each high level task being a card in stage one (Prep) and gets a due date that changes as you move along, then your subtasks are gonna be in a checklist (but no due dates :cry:) and I wouldn't know where to put activities, other than in "related card attachments" (a kind of parent/child) but that isn't in Free either--although you can add a card as an attachment in any plan. 

Question there is where to put those activity cards so they don't clog up your lists... 

I suppose some PowerUps are available, but on a Free plan again, there's a per-board limit to those as well. 

Finally, there's labels you could get creative with, and which you can easily filter on, but that kinda depends on the project. Those could maybe distinguish between progress status, or task class, such as top, sub, activity...

I would definitely start experimenting without investing too much time in accuracy; just see what happens. Trello is pretty flexible, and since it's your project you'll quickly get a feel of what is vital to you, or what you can live with as a workaround, even in the free plan.

I'm sure next someone's gonna chime in who didn't overthink this and maybe solve this.

Cheers and good luck!