Every team manages projects differently in Asana, but these tips will help you learn the basics and show you new perspectives that will open up after you’ve completed a few successful projects.
Project, task, or subtask?
Before you start, however. many clients wonder when it’s best to create (or not create) a project, task, or subtask when adding work to Asana. Here’s a visual guide to help you figure things out quickly:
- Create projects for large collaborations with multiple milestones and stakeholders who need to see information in different views (it could be a campaign, a launch/event or an editorial calendar/process).
- Create tasks if you need to formulate an individual task for one person that can be completed in minutes or working days (such as writing a blog post or fixing a bug in a program), if you also need to track it in different views.
- Create subtasks to break down the task or split up the work (e.g., check keywords for search engine optimization to be used on the blog or analyze the frequency of the bug). You can view subtasks only in the context of the overall task. (That said, we do not recommend creating more than five subtasks or multiple levels of subtasks!)
If you need a more detailed explanation of this structure, additional tips are given here.
Creating a Project
Even if you don’t know how to do anything else in Asana, understanding the process of creating and using projects will greatly improve your team’s performance and eliminate outdated spreadsheets, confusing email correspondence, and protracted meetings trying to get the same information.
Create a project. In Asana, projects are within groups and contain collections of related tasks. Projects can be used for everything from time-bound initiatives (like launch) to ongoing processes (like maintaining an editorial calendar) to information processing (like incoming design requests). You can switch between list, board, timeline and calendar views at any time. Save time with templates. Our templates are based on the most reliable and proven workflows in Asana. They include guidelines for setting up projects and moving tasks around as you go. You can also create your own templates.
Systematize your project
Once created, structure your project so that it is well organized and easy to work with.
Group similar tasks into sections. Examples of sections: by deadline, stage of work, type of task, etc. 2Clearly assign responsibilities by assigning tasks and specifying due dates. Then each employee will know exactly what he or she is responsible for and when the work is to be completed.
Supplement task information with custom fields. Custom fields are like columns in a spreadsheet. They are designed to collect information for each task. You can also filter and sort tasks by these fields. Status, priority, cost, etc. fields are useful.
Sort, filter, and save your project view. Don’t want to see completed tasks in the project list? Want your project to appear as a calendar when you open it? Use the project toolbar to filter, sort, and save your project.
Creating a project schedule
Now that the foundation for a project has been laid, Asana will help you create its schedule and workflow so that your team can move the work from start to finish clearly and seamlessly.
How to do it:
- Make project plans with the Chronology feature, which allows you to generate a Gantt chart-style view. This helps you plan and visualize each stage of a project. The timeline clearly shows the duration of each task, its due date, and its dependencies. Tasks can be moved around with ease to avoid overlaps and conflicts.
- The definition of dependencies between tasks allows you to always start work on time. If you’re waiting for a colleague to finish a task, Asana helps you keep track of its status so you can start your part of the job on time. It also means you’ll spend less time reconciling a blocking task and know right away that it’s done. The Chronology feature makes it very easy to establish dependencies between tasks.
- Split the work into subtasks (if needed). Many customers ask why tasks can have only one performer. This is done for a clearer distribution of duties. However, if the task involves preparatory work and additional steps, or if you just need to ask another colleague to complete it, subtasks can help to break the task into separate elements, which will simplify management and show the distribution of responsibilities.
Create a project overview that allows you to provide your team with a project task where all other plans and tasks are, and clearly spell out responsibilities within the project so that this information can be checked off at any time.
Move the work forward
Once your group starts working together, Asana becomes even more useful for project management. You can easily provide status updates in the context of the work your team is doing. In doing so, you’ll only receive notifications about what’s important to you.
How to do it:
- In the task comments, you can keep participants informed of how the work is progressing (or that it is blocked), and to answer questions and provide feedback.
- Publish status updates using project data and provide task burnout charts and progress on the project. You can also reference tasks, projects, and colleagues in the update (and celebrate their successes) using @mentions. All project participants are notified of updates. They can also leave comments.
- Create milestones to highlight key project goals and milestones. This way you will show your team what goals they need to achieve and help managers monitor the project against the milestones.
- Optimize checks and approvals with our approval workflow. If visuals are part of your project, you’ll be comfortable tracking feedback with our Corrections feature.
- Add rules to automate manual work such as assigning tasks, updating custom fields, moving completed tasks, etc. You’ll save time and make sure everyone follows the correct procedures.
Control information across multiple projects with portfolios. Portfolios are ideal for those who need to manage multiple projects or monitor the progress of specific initiatives in a single view and in real time.
Preparing for the next project
Yay! You’ve successfully completed a project in Asana. However, don’t rush right into the next one. Take time to analyze the completed project.
How to do it:
- Keep in mind that Asana is constantly introducing new features and improving the app, so your team still has discoveries to make that may change the way you think about using Asana-it’s okay and, in fact, perfect!
- Take any experience you have with your project and transform it into a template. This will avoid repeating mistakes and make your plan even more reliable next time.
- Transfer the project to the archive. Now that the project is complete, send it to the archive and focus on the tasks at hand. The project and all the information it contains will not be deleted, it will simply be removed from the project list.
- Celebrate with your team. Asana has lots of ways to show appreciation and show that you like something.
