--- title: "Cyclical Relationship Warning for a Task in BigPicture Scheduling Process" canonical: "https://support.appfire.com/space/SUPPORT/3675226130/Cyclical%20Relationship%20Warning%20for%20a%20Task%20in%20BigPicture%20Scheduling%20Process" format: markdown --- **Example:** BigPicture displays the following warning for **IGC-1641**: This task was excluded from automated scheduling because it is part of a cyclical relationship chain. The warning appears when **IGC-1641** is linked to **IGC-1637** using the Jira issue-link relationship **“considers / is considered by.”** The reporter confirmed that removing the link makes the restore option available and removes the warning. Recreating the same link causes the warning to appear again. We need assistance identifying the exact relationship path that BigPicture interprets as cyclical. **Steps to Reproduce** 1. Open BigPicture Box **PROG-384**. 2. Locate **IGC-1637** and **IGC-1641**. 3. Ensure the following Jira issue link exists: - **IGC-1641 considers IGC-1637** - The inverse side on IGC-1637 is displayed as **IGC-1637 is considered by IGC-1641**. 4. Open the affected task in the Gantt module. 5. Observe that **IGC-1641** is excluded from automated scheduling with the cyclical relationship warning. 6. Remove the “considers” link between IGC-1641 and IGC-1637. 7. Confirm that the restore option becomes available and the warning is no longer shown. 8. Recreate the same link. 9. Confirm that the warning appears again. **Investigation Completed** 1. **Jira issue-link review** The following relationships were confirmed: - **IGC-1640 considers IGC-1637** - **IGC-1641 considers IGC-1637** For IGC-1640, only the relationship to IGC-1637 was found during the review. No direct relationship between IGC-1640 and IGC-1641 was identified. 2. **BigPicture Scope hierarchy review** The Scope module shows the following generated structure: IGC-1637 Group-Structure - STC-Gx, Product Design Engineering ├─ IGC-1640 IGC_PDE_GLOBAL └─ IGC-1641 IGC_PDE_NAR When filtering Scope for IGC-1637 alone, IGC-1637 appears under the existing higher-level hierarchy. No visible child issue is shown beneath IGC-1637 with that single-issue filter. All three issues are associated with the same Epic. We have not established that the shared Epic relationship is responsible for the warning. 3. **Structure Builder review** The Box Structure Builder settings were reviewed. The builder order contains: 1. **Considers**, type **LINK-BASED** 2. **Sub-tasks**, type **BUILT-IN** 3. **Epic**, type **BUILT-IN** The Scope hierarchy therefore appears to be generated, at least in part, from the configured **Considers** link-based builder. 4. **Dependency validation** The BigPicture dependency validation screen reports: - **Broken dependencies: 0** - **Correct dependencies: 37** - **Non-scheduling dependencies: 1** The affected IGC issues were not visible when searching the Correct Dependencies section. Therefore, we could not identify an explicit Gantt dependency record showing the cycle. 5. **Global dependency mapping review** The global dependency configuration shows dedicated mappings for: - End to Start - Start to Start - End to End - Start to End - Soft Link The **“considers / is considered by”** Jira link was not visibly identified in the reviewed dependency mapping. However, **Considers** is configured separately as a link-based Structure Builder. 6. **Task mode and dates** The affected tasks were observed with **Task mode = Manual**. The reviewed issue data also showed the same start and end date. We have not established either setting as the cause because BigPicture’s warning specifically identifies a cyclical relationship chain. **Current Assessment** The Jira issue links are being created successfully, and BigPicture reports no broken dependencies. However, BigPicture consistently identifies **IGC-1641** as being part of a cyclical relationship chain when the **“considers”** link to IGC-1637 exists. The visible Scope structure alone does not reveal an obvious circular path among IGC-1637, IGC-1640, and IGC-1641. The issue may involve an interaction between: - the **Considers** link-based Structure Builder, - the generated parent-child hierarchy, - another hierarchy relationship outside the filtered task view, or - scheduling logic not exposed by the available dependency validation interface. We are not concluding that this is an upgrade regression or product defect at this stage. We need vendor assistance to identify the exact relationship chain used by the scheduling engine. **Expected Result** BigPicture should either: 1. Schedule the task without excluding it if no actual circular relationship exists, or 2. Display the complete relationship path responsible for the detected cycle so that the conflicting link or hierarchy relationship can be corrected. **Actual Result** IGC-1641 is excluded from automated scheduling with a cyclical relationship warning, but the exact relationship chain completing the cycle is not visible in the reviewed Scope, issue-link, or dependency-validation views. **Questions for BigPicture Support** 1. Can you identify the exact task and relationship path that completes the cyclical chain involving **IGC-1641**? 2. Can a link used by a **LINK-BASED Structure Builder** produce this warning even when it is not mapped as a strong Gantt scheduling dependency? 3. Does BigPicture provide an administrative diagnostic view, log entry, REST endpoint, or export that exposes the full detected cycle? 4. Is the visible structure below interpreted as cyclical by design? IGC-1637 ├─ IGC-1640 └─ IGC-1641 1. Could the interaction between the **Considers**, **Sub-tasks**, and **Epic** Structure Builders create an indirect cycle even when Jira shows only the expected “considers” links? 2. Are there any known compatibility issues relevant to this behavior after a Jira or BigPicture upgrade? 3. What is the recommended correction if these issue links and the generated hierarchy are intentional?