Create, Edit, and Organize Activities (like work packages or tasks)
In EMDESK, you can plan and manage your project work using the Workplan. This is where you add activities (like work packages or tasks) and events (like milestones and deliverables). These items can be structured flexibly—for example, as Work Packages > Tasks > Subtasks—to match your project needs.
If you have already developed your project schedule outside the EMDESK app, you can import your project data into the Workplan.
⚠️ Note:
- Before building your Workplan, review your workspace’s level labels and ID convention under the Customisation settings.
- To add or modify activities or events, ensure that:
- At least one project exists (see Create a new project").
- You have Manage rights to Workplan, project or parent activity (see Roles, access levels, and access rights).
- The current plan version is in Edit mode (see Manage workspace plan versions").
In this article:
Creating a New Activity
- Go to Workplan from the Home menu.
- Open the action menu of the project or any parent item (work packages or task) and select Add Sub-Activity. This opens the New Activity sidebar.
- In the sidebar, you can set the following for the new activity:
- Name: Click the placeholder and enter a name.
- Assignees (optional): Select team members responsible for the activity.
- ID: An ID is generated automatically. You can:
- Customize the ID format under Customisation settings
- Manually override the default by clicking the Edit icon and entering your preferred ID
- Description (optional): Add a description.
- Objectives (optional): Add an objective.
- Predecessors (optional): Select other activities, or events that must be completed before this activity can begin.
- Lead. Participant (optional): Assign the participant responsible for the activity. You can add up to 3 lead participants.
- Further Participants (optional): Add additional participants involved in the activity.
- Activity Type: Select the appropriate type from the dropdown. These types are defined by the workspace template (modifiable under Customisation settings).
- Start: Select a start month for the activity, with M01 aligning with the project's start date.
- Duration: Set the activity duration in months.
💡 Good to know: When you add sub-activities to an activity, its duration automatically updates to span from the start of the earliest sub-activity to the end of the latest one.
- Tags (optional): Categorise the activity by adding tags
- Enable Update Reporting: Toggle this on/off to activate status reporting for this activity.
💡 Tip: To insert the activity at a specific location, click the Move to icon in the sidebar path and select a position.
Changing position (except to last) will update the ID of the moved activity and any following items.
If no position is specified, the new activity will be added to the end of the project's activity list.
- Click Save Activity to add it to your Workplan.
Editing and updating activities
Click the activity or its Edit icon to open the sidebar.
In the sidebar, update any the fields as needed:
- Name: Update the name of the activity.
- Select assignees: Click the plus icon and update assignees for the activity.
- ID: An ID is generated automatically. You can:
- Customize the ID format under Customisation settings
- Manually override the default by clicking the Edit icon and entering your preferred ID
- Description: Edit the description
- Objectives: Edit the objectives
- Predecessors (optional): Select other activities, or events that must be completed before this activity can begin.
- Lead. Participant (optional): Assign the participant responsible for the activity. You can add up to 3 lead participants.
- Further Participants (optional): Add additional participants involved in the activity.
- Activity Type: Select the appropriate type from the dropdown. These types are defined by the workspace template (modifiable under Customisation settings).
- Start: Select a start month for the activity, with M01 aligning with the project's start date.
- Duration: Set the activity duration in months.
💡 Good to know: When you add sub-activities to an activity, its duration automatically updates to span from the start of the earliest sub-activity to the end of the latest one.
- Tags (optional): Categorise the activity by adding tags
- Enable Update Reporting: Toggle this on/off to activate status reporting for this activity.
Click Save Activity to apply your changes.
Moving activities to another position
To move an activity to another position or under another project or activity, click the "Move to" icon in the path indicator at the top of the sidebar and choose the new position by clicking the respective line:
💡 Good to know:
- If you move an activity under a different project or task, and it starts earlier or ends later than its new parent, the parent will automatically adjust its timeline to match.
- If you move an activity to a new position (not at the very end), the system will automatically update its ID — as well as the IDs of any following tasks and sub-tasks — to keep everything in the right order.