Cora PPM · End-User Enablement Guide
Inter-Project Predecessors
Learn how to link schedules across separate projects in your portfolio so a delay in one project automatically ripples through to the projects that depend on it.
On This Page
What is Inter-Project Predecessors?
Inside a single Cora PPM project, a predecessor link controls the order tasks happen in: one task cannot start or finish until another one does. Inter-Project Predecessors extends that same scheduling logic across project boundaries. A task, or an entire project, in one project can be linked as a predecessor or successor to a task, or an entire project, in a different project, even though the two are owned, resourced, and reported on separately.
It creates a live link between two schedules that are otherwise independent. When the predecessor's dates move, Cora PPM automatically recalculates the successor's schedule too, if the projects involved allow it.
Comparison | Predecessors | Inter-Project Predecessors |
|---|---|---|
Links a task to | Another task in the same project | A task or whole project in a different project |
Found on | Predecessors | Inter-Project Predecessors |
Recalculates | This project only | Both projects |
Extra option | Lag Justification | Link directly to a whole project, with no specific task |
Why Customers Use it
Large programs are almost never tracked as a single project. They get split into smaller projects by phase, discipline, supplier, site, or contract line for budgeting, ownership, and reporting reasons. But the underlying work is still sequential. Inter-Project Predecessors is how Cora PPM keeps that sequencing honest once the work has been split up.
Key Benefits
Automatic ripple effects. When a predecessor project slips, every project depending on it recalculates automatically. No one has to notice and manually push dates in a downstream project.
A true cross-portfolio critical path. Total Slack and Critical status are calculated across the linked projects together, not just within one project's own walls.
Traceable accountability. Every link is visible on both ends. The successor project can see exactly which project and task it is waiting on, and vice versa.
Governed, not open season. System and project-level permission settings decide who is allowed to create a cross-project commitment, so linking is not something any user can do to any project.
Common Use Cases by Project Type
The pattern is always the same: one project's milestone gates another project's start. What sits on either end of the link looks different by industry.
Manufacture-to-Order ?
Order Engineering and Production
A design sign-off task in a Product Engineering project is the predecessor to Start Fabrication in the customer order's build project.
A long-lead procurement project for a custom casting or alloy is linked as predecessor to Start Final Assembly. A vendor delay pushes the order's ship date automatically.
A shared tooling-build project is the common predecessor for every customer order that depends on that tooling.
Pharma ?
Trial, Transfer, and Submission
A clinical trial project's Database Lock milestone is the predecessor to Begin Dossier Compilation in a separate Regulatory Submission project.
A Tech Transfer project, moving a formulation from R&D to manufacturing, is linked as predecessor to the Commercial Manufacturing Scale-Up project.
A Site Validation/Qualification project is the predecessor to GMP Batch Production at that site. Production cannot start until validation is complete.
Capital Projects ?️
Design, Permits, and Construction
The Design and Engineering project's Issued for Construction milestone is the predecessor to the Construction project's mobilization task.
A Permitting / Environmental Approval project, often owned by a different team, is the predecessor to Site Works, so construction cannot start ahead of approval.
A Utility Relocation project is the predecessor to the Substation or Civil Works project sharing the same corridor.
GovCon ?️
Program and Contract Sequencing
A subcontractor's CLIN-level project task is linked as predecessor to the prime contractor's integration task, keeping cross-organization commitments visible on one schedule.
A Security Authorization (ATO) project is the predecessor to the Deployment / Go-Live project.
A Test and Evaluation project is the predecessor to the Production / Full-Rate project, reflecting a milestone-style gate across separately funded efforts.
Acronyms and Terms Used On This Page
Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
PPM | Project Portfolio Management — the discipline of managing a set of projects together, rather than one at a time. |
FS | Finish-to-Start — the successor cannot start until the predecessor finishes. The default and most common type. |
SS | Start-to-Start — the successor cannot start until the predecessor starts. |
FF | Finish-to-Finish — the successor cannot finish until the predecessor finishes. |
SF | Start-to-Finish — the successor cannot finish until the predecessor starts. Rare. |
MTO | Manufacture-to-Order — production only begins once a specific customer order is placed. |
GovCon | Government Contracting — industry shorthand for organizations delivering work under government contracts. |
CLIN | Contract Line Item Number — a distinct, separately priced line of work within a government contract, often tracked as its own project. |
ATO | Authority to Operate — formal approval that a system meets security requirements and may go live. |
GMP | Good Manufacturing Practice — regulatory quality standards for pharmaceutical manufacturing. |
How The Feature Works
What Can Be Linked
A link can run task-to-task, task-to-project, or project-to-task. Linking to a whole project, rather than one of its tasks, is useful when you care that the project reaches a certain point, not any one task inside it. Leave the task selector on link direct to project to do this.
Dependency Type
Choose how the two ends relate: FS, SS, FF, or SF, as defined in the glossary above. FF and SF cannot be used to link to a whole project or to a mother/summary task. Only FS or SS are allowed in those cases.
Lag and Elapsed
Enter Lag as a number of days between the two tasks. A positive number adds a delay, and a negative number pulls the successor earlier, which is called a lead. Check Elapsed to measure that lag in calendar days rather than working days.
Read-Only Fields in The Grid
Driving Task — whether this particular predecessor is the one actually controlling the successor's calculated dates. A task can have more than one predecessor, but only one drives it at a time.
Critical — whether the task sits on the critical path, meaning any delay here delays the finish date of the project it belongs to.
Total Slack — how many days the task could slip before it starts affecting its own project's finish date.
Who's Allowed To Create a Link
Two settings gate this feature, both maintained outside this screen:
System setting — Inter-Project Dependencies: Disabled, or restricted to a Project Owner of both projects, a Portfolio Manager, or either.
Per-project setting — Inter-Project Dependencies: No, Yes (this project could have its schedule changed), or Yes but without rescheduling this project. The last option lets other projects link to this one without letting those links push this project's own dates.
Good To Know: If you cannot find or use the Inter-Project Predecessors tab, one of these two settings is most likely the reason. Check with your system administrator or the other project's owner before assuming something is broken.
What Happens When You Save a Link
Adding, editing, or deleting a link recalculates the schedule on both projects, and a confirmation message tells you whether your task's start date changed as a result. Depending on your system's notification settings, the other project's owner may also receive an email letting them know a dependency was added to one of their tasks.
Step-by-Step How-To
A. Add an Inter-Project Predecessor From The Gantt
Open the project's Gantt/schedule and select the task that should depend on work happening in another project.
Open the Task Manager panel for that task.
Click the Inter-Project Predecessors tab next to the plain "Predecessors" tab. The tab title shows a running count, such as Inter-Project Predecessors (3).
Click Add. The Add Predecessor form opens.
Under Selected Project, choose the other project the link should point to, then click Select Project.
Choose the Task in that project this one depends on, or leave the selector set to link directly to the whole project instead of a single task.
Set Type (FS / SS / FF / SF), Lag in days, and check Elapsed if the lag should be measured in calendar days.
Click Add. Cora PPM validates the link, saves it, recalculates both projects' schedules, and confirms whether your task's start date moved.
The new link now appears in the grid with its Type, Lag, Driving Task, Critical, and Total Slack values.
B. Edit or Remove a Link
In the Inter-Project Predecessors grid, click the row for the link you want to change. The form reopens as Modify Predecessor, prefilled.
Adjust Type, Lag, or Elapsed and click Update, or click Delete to remove the link entirely.
Both projects' schedules recalculate immediately, and a confirmation message reports any date change.
C. See Every Inter-Project Link For a Whole Project
Open Project Properties → Dependent Projects, visible to project owners and portfolio managers when inter-project linking is enabled.
Review the read-only grid: Task in this Project, Project, Task in other Project, Link Details, Project Start, Project Finish, and Project % Complete.
Click a row to open the Inter-Project Dependency popup, where you can update or delete that link without going back to the Gantt.
If a row shows "You have no access to this project," ask someone with access to that project to make the change.
D. Before You Start — Prerequisites
Check First: Confirm with your system administrator that Inter-Project Dependencies is enabled system-wide, and that both projects individually allow it in their own Project Configuration. If either is off, the Add/Update buttons will be blocked or the tab may not appear at all.
Messages You Might See
Message | What it Means |
|---|---|
"This link already exists." | That exact predecessor/successor pair is already linked. |
"You cannot link a task to itself." | The predecessor and successor cannot be the same task. |
"A link between a child and its parent is not allowed." | You picked a task and its own summary/mother task. |
"You cannot create this link as it would create a circular reference." | This link would make two or more projects depend on each other in a loop. |
"Cannot link to a mother task using FF or SF." | Use FS or SS instead when linking to a summary task or a whole project. |
"The task you are trying to link to no longer exists. Please refresh your project." | The target task was deleted since the page loaded. Refresh and try again. |
FAQ
Question | Answer |
|---|---|
What is the real difference between "Predecessors" and "Inter-Project Predecessors"? | "Predecessors" only links tasks within the same project. "Inter-Project Predecessors" links a task, or the whole project, to a task or project outside it, and recalculates both schedules when something changes. |
Can I link to an entire project instead of one specific task? | Yes. Leave the task selector set to link directly to the project. This is useful when you only care that the other project reaches a certain point, not which task gets there first. |
What does "Elapsed" actually change? | It switches how the Lag value is counted: in working days, when unchecked, or calendar days including weekends and holidays, when checked. |
Can I edit "Driving Task," "Critical," or "Total Slack" myself? | No. All three are calculated automatically by the scheduling engine based on the current links and dates. They are there to help you understand the schedule, not to set directly. |
Why cannot I use Finish-to-Finish or Start-to-Finish here? | FF and SF are not allowed when the link targets a whole project or a mother/summary task. Use Finish-to-Start or Start-to-Start instead. They are still available for task-to-task links. |
Will the other project's owner know I linked to one of their tasks? | Usually yes. An email notification can be sent to the other project's owner when a link is added, depending on your organization's notification settings. The link is always visible to them on their own project's "Dependent Projects" tab. |
Can I link to a project I do not have access to? | You can only pick from projects and tasks you have access to when creating a link. If a link already exists to a project you have since lost access to, it shows as "You have no access to this project" instead of the real name. |
If I delete a link, do the date changes it caused get undone? | Deleting a link triggers a fresh recalculation of both schedules. If nothing else is holding the task in place, its dates typically move back to where they would fall without that dependency. Another predecessor, or a manually scheduled task, can keep it where it is. |
Who is actually allowed to create or edit these links? | It depends on your system's Inter-Project Dependencies setting: nobody when disabled, project owners of both projects, portfolio managers, or either. Your administrator sets this. |
Is the Gantt the only place to manage these links? | No. You can also review and edit every inter-project link for a project in one place from Project Properties → Dependent Projects, without opening the Gantt at all. |
Cora PPM End-User Enablement Guide · Inter-Project Predecessors · Prepared 2026-09-15
Was this article helpful?
That’s Great!
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry! We couldn't be helpful
Thank you for your feedback
Feedback sent
We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article