We are seeing an increasing number of clients select Asana as their project management tool of choice to help their teams organise and track their tasks and projects.

Asana is a powerful tool for collaboration and productivity, but like any tool, it’s important to use it effectively to get the most out of it. In this blog post, we’ll explore our top ten best practices for using Asana.

  1. Define your projects and tasks clearly

    One of the key benefits of Asana is that it helps you break down your projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. However, to do this effectively, you need to ensure that your projects and tasks are defined clearly. Use descriptive titles formed of achievable actions and include all relevant information, such as due dates, subtasks, and attachments.

  2. Decide on a strategy and structure for setting up, running, and archiving projects

    We often see clients with hundreds of projects in their Asana list, many of which are obsolete or unused. Avoid clutter, and make sure that you have control and governance over what is and isn’t in the tool.

  3. Use Asana’s task hierarchy

    Asana’s task hierarchy allows you to break down tasks into subtasks, which can be useful for complex projects. Use this feature to organise your tasks and ensure that everything is accounted for. You can also use the dependencies feature to create links between tasks, so that you can see how one task affects another.

  4. Assign tasks to specific team members

    Asana allows you to assign tasks to specific team members, which can help ensure that everyone knows what they are responsible for. When assigning tasks, be sure to include clear instructions and any relevant details, such as deadlines and priorities. Assigning to a specific team member also means they will receive notifications when anything changes.

  5. Use Asana’s communication tools

    Asana includes several communication tools, such as comments and messages, which can be used to keep everyone on the same page. Use these tools to provide updates, ask questions, and share information. Simply clicking the Like button on a comment or a request lets others know you have seen and acknowledge the communication.

  6. Set reminders and deadlines

    Asana allows you to set reminders and deadlines for tasks, which can help ensure that everything is completed on time. Be sure to set realistic deadlines and use reminders to keep everyone on track.

  7. Use Asana’s reporting tools

    Asana includes several reporting tools, such as dashboards and progress reports, which can be used to track the status of your projects. Use these tools to keep everyone informed of progress and identify any potential issues.

  8. Complete task metadata

    The standard forms within Asana allow you to capture a wealth of data about each task. Take the time to update as many fields as you can for each task, and include custom properties to cover other data points that you may be interested in. This makes reporting a breeze and avoids the need to retrofit data when you realise you want to report on something.

  9. Use templates

    If you have a standard methodology or process for project delivery, or a suite of standard tasks that are performed as part of a project, take the time to set up templates to reduce repetitive work, ensure that nothing is missed, and enable simple integration of learnings from project reviews into all future projects by updating the relevant template.

  10. Integrate Asana with other tools

    Asana integrates with a wide range of other tools, such as Slack, Google Drive, and Trello. Take advantage of these integrations to streamline your workflow and reduce the need to switch between different tools.

In conclusion, using Asana effectively requires clear communication, organisation, and collaboration. By following these best practices, you can ensure that your team gets the most out of this powerful project management tool, but remember, a tool is not a replacement for project management itself. You still need to carefully consider and regularly review your project risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies, ensure you have clear direction and control and mechanisms to drive pace of delivery, and have verbal conversations to support the project delivery.

First published by {n}.bora April 27, 2023