How to Create and Manage Projects in Asana

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Asana is a widely used project management tool that helps teams organize their work, and ensure they are on track to meet deadlines. Whether you are leading a large team or working individually, Asana can be a powerful ally in achieving productivity and clarity. This guide details the step-by-step process of creating and managing projects effectively in Asana.

Getting started with Asana

Before diving into project creation, it's important to understand Asana's interface and features. If you're not familiar with Asana, start by signing up to create an account. Visit asana.com and register using your email. Once you've created an account and logged in, you'll be ushered into your "workspace." A workspace in Asana is your central control panel where all of your tasks and projects reside.

Creating a new project

Projects are the main organizational units within Asana. To create a new project, follow the steps below:

1. Go to your Dashboard, which is your home view when you're logged into Asana.
2. On the left sidebar, you will see a “+ New” button next to “Projects”. Click on it to start a new project.
3. Asana offers you templates like “Marketing”, “Design”, “HR” or gives you the option to create a “Blank Project”. Choose the template that suits your needs or start from scratch.
4. Give your project a descriptive name that clearly indicates its purpose such as “Q4 Marketing Plan”.
5. Choose whether you want the project to be in “list” or “board” view. The list view is linear with tasks stacked vertically, while the board view uses columns for tasks, similar to a Kanban board.
6. You can choose between a private or public project. A public project is visible to all team members in the workspace, while a private project is visible only to invited members.
7. Click “Create Project”, and your project will be ready to use.

Add and manage tasks

Tasks are actionable items or "to-do's" within a project. Here's how to add and manage tasks in your Asana project:

1. Go to your newly created project. On the right part of the view, click the “+ Add task” button to create a task.
2. State the name of the job clearly and concisely.
3. To add more details to each task, click on the task. A task panel will open where you can:
• Add task details: Provide more context or details about the task.
• Assign a task: Use the “Assignee” box to assign a task to a team member. Enter their name or email and select from the list.
• Set Due Date: Set a deadline using the “Due Date” feature to ensure tasks are completed on time.
• Attach files: You can upload task-related documents directly as attachments.
• Add subtasks: If a task is complex and needs to be broken down into smaller steps, create subtasks using the Subtasks option.
• Comments: Use the comments feature for team conversations just below tasks, ensuring all communications are centralized.
4. Add more tasks to the project by following the same process.
5. To move tasks between different sections in the “Board” view, simply drag and drop them into the appropriate column.

Use of sections and milestones

Sections and milestones in Asana help break down your projects to make them easier to navigate.

Stream

• In List view, sections are horizontal separators between tasks within a project. To create a new section:
• Click the “+ Add Section” button at the top of your task list.
• Name your sections accordingly, for example, “Step 1”, “Step 2”, “Tasks Completed”, etc.
• Drag and drop tasks from one section to another for better organization.

Milestones

• Milestones, on the other hand, are categories of tasks that represent important stages of a project. They are used to mark important goals or deadlines.
• Create a task as usual, then convert it to a milestone by clicking the "Milestone" option within the task details.

Setting priorities

In any project, some tasks have higher priority than others. Asana allows prioritizing tasks through tags and custom fields:

Tag

• Attach tags to indicate the priority of tasks, for example, “high priority”, “urgent”, “low priority”, etc.
• To add a tag, open a task, click "Add Tag", and type the tag name you want.

Custom fields

• Use custom fields for more information than the granularity and specificity provided by tags. You can set up fields for priority levels using dropdowns, numbers, or text fields.
• Open your project, go to “Customize” on the project header, and click “Add Custom Field.”
• Define a field for “Priority” where you can specify options such as “High”, “Medium” and “Low”.
• Enable your custom fields in similar projects to maintain consistency.

Integrating Asana with other apps

Asana's power increases even more with integrations. It can work seamlessly with a variety of tools you already use:

• Email: With Asana for Outlook or Gmail, you can convert emails into tasks.
• Slack: Create tasks directly from Slack messages or receive Asana notifications within Slack.
• Google Calendar: Sync your Asana tasks with Google Calendar to ensure deadlines are visible.
• Time tracking: Integrate time tracking apps like Toggl or Harvest to manage time spent on tasks.

To integrate with an app, access “Apps” in your Asana account settings. Search for the app you want and follow the installation prompts, following the specific instructions provided.

Monitoring and reporting of projects

Monitoring the progress and effectiveness of your projects in Asana is the key to successful project management.

• Project Dashboard: Provides a summary view of your project status with widgets for completion percentage, overdue tasks, etc. You can customize this dashboard to display relevant metrics.
• Advanced search and reports: Use Asana's search feature to create reports. Filter by various criteria such as assignees, projects, due dates, and completion status to create customized reports for analysis.

To access these reporting features, go to the “Reports” option or use the search bar. Save valuable search results for easy access in the future and share them with your team.

Using team communication features

Asana thrives in an ecosystem where collaboration and communication are constantly facilitated:

• Task comments: Encourage team members to communicate through comments during tasks to maintain context.
• Mentions: Use “@mentions” to directly address team members in comments or task descriptions to increase responsiveness.
• Inbox: Act as a notification center where you receive updates about the tasks and projects you are following.
• Team conversations: Use this feature for broader discussions unrelated to a specific task or project. These discussions happen outside of the inbox.

Constant communication ensures that everyone is united and facilitates quick decision making.

Manage permissions and privacy settings

Asana provides tools to maintain control over who can see and do what in your project:

• Make sure private projects stay private by adjusting privacy settings at project creation time or in the project overview.
• To avoid clutter and information overload, invite team members only to projects that require their involvement.
• Use the “Guest” feature to give customers or vendors limited access without including them in your extensive workspace.

Adoption of best practices and automation features

Maximize the efficiency of your Asana use through best practices and automation:

• Recurring tasks: Automate repetitive tasks by setting them to repeat daily, weekly, or monthly.
• Project Templates: Convert successful project frameworks into templates for seamless project setup in the future.
• Rules: Automate actions such as task transfers, assignee changes, and status updates to minimize manual intervention.

Conclusion

Successful project management on Asana depends on your understanding of its features and your ability to apply them systematically. From project creation to managing tasks, setting priorities, integrating with existing applications, and monitoring progress, Asana provides a robust toolkit for productive and effective project management. With automated processes, improved communication, and comprehensive reporting, your project goals will become achievable milestones, one step at a time.

In the ever-evolving landscape of business and team dynamics, Asana can be the versatile tool you need to stay organized, connected, and ahead of your deadlines.

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