Asana is a popular project management tool that many well-known companies rely on. Its popularity is due to its ability to make project management simple and convenient for teams, with minimal learning costs, and to enable highly efficient collaboration. Today, we will share how Asana helps couples establish a comprehensive project flow through a few key actions.
Project Management Visualization
No matter the size of your team or the complexity of your projects, Asana’s diverse range of visual charts allows for easy project management and resource allocation. Based on a people-centric design philosophy, Asana allows users to organize and plan teamwork according to their needs and habits, in the way that is most comfortable for them. Asana provides four different visual charts: boards, lists, timelines, and calendars. In the following, we will share specific examples of which visualization is suitable for different management scenarios.
Asana Work Chart 1: Boards
For projects that require fixed process stages, work can be presented in a sticky note format, clearly displaying and tracking each task’s current stage. This makes the overall workflow more transparent. By dragging and dropping tasks, project managers can easily move tasks between stages, and by clicking on each task, they can view more detailed task information.
Asana Work Chart 2: Lists
The ‘Lists’ work chart displays all project tasks in a top-down format, making it easier for managers to plan project stages. Teams can also synchronize and understand each specific task of the project work or process and the order of each task. This type of visual project management is suitable for planning annual project plans or simply collecting ideas and data.
Asana Work Chart 3: Timelines
By displaying project plan content on a timeline, teams can see the relationships and order between tasks. For projects with high uncertainty or changing schedules, such as marketing campaigns, timelines are handy. When a task or schedule changes unexpectedly, following tasks can quickly adapt to the changes, ensuring the smooth progress of the project.
Asana Work Chart 4: Calendars
When faced with long project timelines or tight project schedules, managers can use the calendar interface to view all project start and end times. like the calendar interface that people are used to, managers can easily see if project activities overlap excessively and make real-time adjustments.
Getting Started with Creating Project Tasks in Asana
To begin using project management tools, it is important to start with the creation of project tasks. After setting up a project in Asana, relevant tasks can be added to it. Task elements include a description, subtasks, sections, assignees, deadlines, and attachments. In the following sections, we will provide a detailed explanation of each element.
Tasks
Asana can help you break down your project into manageable and assignable segments that you and your team can execute promptly, making your project more achievable. The “description” field allows you to present task-related details and requirements through text, bullet points, images, files, and links.
Subtasks
When dealing with complex tasks, it may be beneficial to break them down into smaller, more specific subtasks. This allows for different team members to execute individual parts of the task or for the team to gain a better understanding of all the steps involved. Subtasks are displayed under the main task and serve to further break down the task into smaller, more manageable pieces.
Sections
To organize tasks based on different sequences, classifications, or themes, the ‘Sections’ feature in Asana can be used. It allows for effective categorization and organization of tasks in a structured manner. However, it’s worth noting that the display of sections may vary across different work charts in Asana, depending on the specific visualization of the work chart.
Task Assignees
Asana’s task assignment feature allows team members to be directly assigned to tasks. Assigning a task to a specific team member results in their profile picture being displayed within the task, providing clear visibility of who is responsible for completing the task. This feature enhances accountability while ensuring efficient task management within a team.
Due Dates & Times
Each task has a start and end time, and therefore, you can use ‘due dates and times to regulate the length of task execution. Asana can also be integrated with other Google Workspace features, allowing you to easily add task due dates to your Google Calendar and better manage all of your work tasks.
Attachments
When creating tasks, team members can attach relevant files directly from their computer, Dropbox, or Box to the task in Asana. For businesses using Google Workspace, files from Google Drive can also be quickly added to tasks, allowing for immediate synchronization and editing by all team members.
