Delegate tasks and issues

Last update: February 12, 2025

CREATED FOR:

  • User

You can temporarily delegate the work you are assigned to while you are out of the office.

You can delegate task and issue assignments, or you can delegate approvals. This article describes how to delegate task and issue assignments.

For general information about delegating work, see Delegate work overview.

Access requirements

Expand to view access requirements for the functionality in this article.
IMPORTANT

  • The users that you select as delegates receive the same permissions as your permissions on the tasks and issues you delegate to them.

  • The permissions must work within their access levels, and sometimes their access levels might be lower than yours.

    For example, if a user has only View access to tasks in their access level and you have Manage permissions on the tasks you delegate to them, they receive Manage permissions to the tasks you delegate to them. However, they will not be able to perform the same actions as you on the delegated tasks. To be able to update tasks in your absence,they must request Edit access to Tasks from the system administrator.

    For information on how a system administrator can modify your access level, see Create or modify custom access levels.

  • For items that are assigned after the delegation already started, it can take up to one hour after the item was assigned for Workfront to share the newly-assigned items with the delegate.

You must have the following access to perform the steps in this article:

Adobe Workfront planAny
Adobe Workfront license*

New: Contributor or higher

Or

Current: Review or higher

NOTE
Although you can be assigned to work when you have a Request license, you cannot delegate your work to others. Workfront does not recommend assigning work to Review, Request, or Contributor users.
Access level configurationsEdit access to Tasks and Issues
Object permissionsView or higher permissions to the tasks or issues that you are assigned to

*For more information, see Access requirements in Workfront documentation.

Prerequisites

Before you can perform the activities described in this article, you must ensure the following:

  • Your Workfront or group administrator enabled the Allow users to delegate their tasks & issues setting in the Tasks & Issues Preferences section in the Setup area of your Workfront instance.

    For more information, see Configure system-wide task and issue preferences.

Delegate tasks and issues to another user

Before delegating work to others, we recommend that you reach out to them and inform them that they will be designated as delegates on your work items. Ask for their verbal approval before delegating work to ensure they have the time necessary to complete the work while you are out of the office.

For general information about delegating tasks and issues, see Delegate tasks and issues overview.

To delegate your tasks and issues to others:

  1. Go to the Home area.

  2. Ensure you have the My Work, My Tasks, or My Issues widgets added to your Home.

    For information, see Add, edit, or remove widgets in Home

  3. Click Delegate in the upper-left corner of the My Work, My Tasks, or My Issues widgets.

    Delegate button

  4. Update the following:

    • Delegate your tasks and issues to: Start typing the name of a user that you want your tasks and issues to be delegated to, then select it when it displays in the list. You can only select one user.

      The user that you select as a delegate receives the same permissions as your permissions on the tasks and issues you delegate to them.

    • Start date: Select a date from the calendar when the delegation of your work items should start.

      TIP
      The Start date cannot be in the past.

    • No end date: Select this option if you do not want to specify the end-date for your delegation.

    • End date: Select a date from the calendar when the delegation should stop.

      TIP
      If you leave the End date field empty, and the No end date option is not selected, the delegation is set only for the current day.

      Delegate box expanded

  5. Click Save.

    The following things happen:

    • Your work is delegated to the specified user. Any incomplete tasks or issues that have dates within the time frame you selected (including newly assigned ones, after the delegation was enabled) are delegated.

      TIP
      Completed work items that have dates within the time frame of the delegation are not delegated.

    • You receive a message at the bottom of the screen to confirm that you have enabled the delegation of your work to another user. The name of the delegate user displays in the confirmation message.

    • An indication that your tasks and issues are delegated to other users displays in most areas where you can see assignments in Workfront. For more information about what areas do not include delegates’ names, see Delegate work overview.

    • The Delegate button in the Home area changes to Edit delegation to indicate that there is a delegation in place.

      Edit delegation button

    • If your event notifications and your personal notifications are enabled, you also receive an email confirmation of your delegation.

    • The user you selected as your delegate receives an email about the delegation, if their event notifications are enabled.

      For information about enabling personal email notifications, see Modify your own email notifications.

Edit or stop delegation

You can let a delegation expire, if you selected an End Date, or you can manually stop it. You can also modify the time frame for the delegation, if the dates for the delegation changed.

  1. Go to the Home area, then click Edit delegation in any of the following widgets: My Work, My Tasks, or My Issues.

  2. In the Stop delegating tasks and issues box, do one of the following:

    • Modify the Start date or the End date
    • Click Stop delegation
    TIP
    You can edit only the End date of a delegation if the delegation already started.

    Stop delegation button

  3. (Conditional) click Save to save the new delegation dates

    Or

    Click Stop delegation in the confirmation box to confirm stopping the delegation.

    The delegation either updated the dates or it stopped and the delegated users have been removed from your tasks and issues. Their permissions to the tasks and issues remain in place.

Locate delegated work and delegates information

When tasks and issues are delegated, there are several areas in Workfront where you can see the delegated work or who the delegates are.

Locate delegates in the Assignments box

When your system or group administrator enables work delegation in your system, the Assignments box displays the following tabs everywhere you can access it:

  • Assignments: Users assigned to the task or issue display here.
  • Delegations: Users designated as delegates by the assignees on the task or issue display here.

You can access the Assignments box in the following areas:

  • The task or issue header

    The Assignments field in the task or issue header changes to Assignments and delegations.

    Assignments and delegates panel in task header

  • The Workload Balancer when manually assigning tasks or issues

    Assignments and delegations panel in Balancer

NOTE
You cannot view delegates in the Assignments section of a task or issue Edit box.

If a task or an issue is delegated and the Delegations subtab is empty, one of the following scenarios might exist:

  • You are not assigned to the task or issue.
  • The task or issue dates are outside of the delegation time frame.
TIP
The Planned or Actual Hours for delegated tasks and issues are not taken into account in resource management tools, like the Workload Balancer or the Resource Planner for the delegated users. The hours remain associated only with the assigned user.

Locate delegated work in Home

  1. Go to the Home area in the My Work widget.

  2. Click the filter drop-down menu and select one or more of the following options:

    • Delegated: to view tasks and issues delegated to you or by you.

    • Delegated to me: to view tasks and issues delegated to you by another user.

    • Delegated by me: to view tasks and issues delegated by you to other users.

      Delegated tasks and issues filter

  3. (Optional) Click the Sort drop-down menu to sort the list by the following criteria:

    • Due Date. This is the default sorting option.
    • Name
    • Percent Complete
    • Status

  4. (Optional) Expand the groupings drop-down menu in the upper-right of the My Work widget, and group by one of the following criteria:

    • Nothing. This is the default grouping option.
    • Project
    • Status
    • Due Date

  5. To view either items you delegated or that have been delegated to you, view one of the following:

    • For items that you delegated to others, find the delegate’s name under the status of the task or issue, after Delegated to.

    • For items delegated to you, find the assignee’s name under the status of the task or issue, after Delegated to you by.

      TIP
      If the delegation is set to start at a date after today’s date, the start date of the delegation also displays in the Work List. The delegated items display in the grouping you select for the Work List, according to the type of the grouping. For example, if you group by Planned Completion Date, the delegated items display in the grouping that matches their planned completion dates.

More help on this topic

Previous pageDelegate tasks and issues overview
Next pageTeams and groups

Workfront


Learn: Automating Workflows with Workfront Fusion - Unique Use Cases in Action

Workfront

Tuesday, Mar 4, 6:00 PM UTC

Looking for creative ways to use Workfront Fusion to solve business challenges? Join Pan Shahbazian of Starbucks as she shares three unique use cases that can transform your workflows.

Register

The Perfect Blend: A New Era of Collaboration with AEM and Workfront

Adobe Customer Success Webinars

Wednesday, Apr 2, 5:00 PM UTC

Explore how Adobe Experience Manager and Workfront integrate to help teams move from ideation to delivery without the usual bottlenecks, ensuring content is organized, on-brand, and ready to go live faster.

Register

Connect with Experience League at Summit!

Get front-row access to top sessions, hands-on activities, and networking—wherever you are!

Learn more

Register to learn something new

WORKFRONT

Join Adobe product experts in live events where you will learn Adobe Workfront best practices, tips and tricks, and hear about the latest product features and updates.

Register

Register now