A Guide to Asana: Top Use Cases and Pro Tips

Businesses are seeking better methods to adequately meet their customers’ needs. With the pandemic causing most business offices to close and teams to work from home, there is a need for platforms like Asana to manage workflows. Asana is one of many popular project management tools built to help organize project tasks. 

In this guide, we will show you how to use Asana to manage organizations’ teams and lead to a scale-up in profits. This step-by-step guide to Asana provides top use cases, key terms, and Asana tips. These elements will help you take full advantage of the platform, regardless of the type of project you’re working on.

What Is Asana?

Asana is a platform that help that’s used for organizing, tracking, and managing teams with their work. Through Asana, organizations are able to break down tasks and set clear goals for teams. The main purpose of the content management system is to enable workplaces to organize, analyze, and address issues all in one place. It is much easier for structuring projects that would otherwise require many meetings, emails, and memos. 

You can get Asana Basic, Premium, Enterprise, or Business from the official website. Asana basic is a free version that provides unlimited tasks, project briefs, mobile apps, and over 100 app integrations. The Asana Premium plan costs $13.49 per month and lets you access forms, admin controls, advanced search functions, and timeline views. For $30.49, you can get Asana Business. If your business has high security needs, you should go for Asana Enterprise. 

Why Do You Need Asana?

You need Asana if you want to streamline your business’s processes. The software as a service platform is excellent at promoting collaboration in an organization. Through the platform, you can easily meet any organizational needs. This is because it helps undercut any unnecessary business processes. Below you will get an in-depth overview of Asana use cases. 

Asana Use Cases

• Successful Project Management: Agile project management is one of the main uses of the Asana platform. Users rely on it to create project boards for hosting Asana projects. It features meetings, programs, and initiatives. Members will be able to better understand their roles, track the project’s progress, group tasks, create rules, and add any necessary attachments from integrated software. It also helps to track time.
• Team Collaboration: This is another major use of Asana. Through the platform, teams are able to collaborate with each other to meet an organization’s goals within the project schedule. It is highly efficient when teammates are working in different locations and in different time zones. It helps to reduce any lack of visibility, poor planning, and unclear objectives. 
• Management and Reporting: Through Asana, organizations are able to keep projects updated through notifications on a project’s current status. Often, users use the platform to ensure everyone in the organization is on the same page. Through it, you can send messages, use virtual sticky notes, check your custom dashboard, craft product updates of ongoing projects, and identify problematic areas. 
• Team Communication: One of the biggest challenges of a business, especially when working mostly online, is communication. Through Asana, organizations are able to streamline their entire process. The platform allows you to keep track of all your messages and associated tasks. You can also turn any comments into tasks and notify the project team of whatever corrections need to be made. 
• Project Planning: You can use the platform for managing and executing your project plans. It is excellent for defining project goals, milestones, and objectives. Organizations use it to organize projects in one place, save time, and monitor their projects’ progress. 

Key Terms You Need to Know to Use Asana 

Business Case

A business case refers to a document highlighting the advantages of a particular business initiative. It is essential for you to have a business case, especially if you are pursuing a different procedure or business idea from the norm.  

Contingency Plan

A contingency plan is a secondary idea you pursue if the initial plan does not work out. Often it is referred to as a plan B in project management. A successful project plan backed by a contingency plan is essential for large and complex business initiatives and projects. They ensure that the process runs smoothly in case there is a hiccup with the original plan. 

Gantt Chart

You can use Gantt charts to display projects on a timeline. They can help you keep track of the entire lifecycle of a project. Often they’re used to dictate the end dates of project activities. It’s an excellent way for project managers to view the list of tasks, the people responsible for them, and the timeline. You can check the horizontal bar to estimate the amount of time a particular major project will take. 

Project Portfolio Management

This is the process of creating a main portfolio for different projects. Through it, you can obtain more insight across different projects. You will get to see how your employees’ daily contributions align with the set business goals.

Kanban

This is another form of visual project management. The board displays different projects in appropriate columns. These columns are often used to represent different stages of work. 

Equipment You’ll Need for Asana 

• Adobe Creative Cloud: Through this platform, you will be able to view new tasks, share ideas, and provide feedback, all the while connecting Adobe’s creative suite to Asana. 
• Slack: You can integrate the Slack channel into the Asana platform. It allows users to work faster. The platform allows you to create, complete, and edit tasks directly to Asana. Once action items are updated in Asana, you will receive direct notifications about the project highlights in Slack. It’s a great way to keep tabs on a task’s status.
• Zoom: This is an excellent platform for you to integrate into the project management app. By linking Zoom Meetings to Asana, you will be able to get the entire transcript and recording of the meeting once it’s over. 
• Microsoft: One of the most significant advantages of Asana is its integration with Microsoft 365 products. The platform works well with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, Power BI, and Office 365. This allows users to coordinate and work effectively. 
• JIRA Cloud: Through this platform, you will be able to avoid duplicating work and teams will be able to remain updated on current information.  

How to Set Up and Start Using Asana 

Step 1: Set Up a Project

Before you start setting up your project on the platform, you’ll need to select how you want to view it. There are many options for visualizing your project to best support the framework you rely on. You can create tasks based on the list view, dynamic editorial calendar view, board view, or timeline view. There are several Asana-created templates available to jumpstart the entire project setup. 

Step 2: Create Tasks

Once you’ve created your project, pick a work breakdown structure that will help you determine which individual tasks are relevant for your project. Click on the Add Tasks button to create new ones for your project. You can easily get reminders of actionable items that require immediate attention or on project deliverables. Once you upload a task in Asana, you can assign a deadline and start date, upload documents, and create subtasks for it. 

Step 3: Organize Your Plan

You can maximize your chances of success by organizing your individual tasks. Asana offers various popular project management tools that can help you with project planning. You can group similar tasks in a section or column and attach deadlines, workflows, or timeframes. Asana provides automation capabilities to help you execute redundant processes faster. From delegating work to building project schedules, the platform works seamlessly. 

Step 4: Manage the Project

Thanks to the project management tool, you can view milestones and status updates and create feature updates that will be communicated to the entire team. The platform has inbox features, search capabilities, and filter options that allow users to stay on top of their projects or work. Marketing team members using the platform can clearly view tasks assigned to them along with their deadlines, making business operations streamlined. 

Step 5: Closeout a Project

You should set up a custom template with notes, actionable steps, and relevant information to make sure processes are as effective as possible. Once you establish a milestone in a previous process, ensure you update the template to keep everyone in the loop. For completed projects, you can send them to the archive section and reactivate them if need be. 

The Importance of Asana for Business

Asana is very important for businesses. Whether you have a small firm or a big corporation, you can rely on the task management platform to create a reasonable workflow. The platform helps streamline projects and increase seamless collaboration among team members. You can rely on Asana Business to manage product launches or marketing strides. Discover the top Asana project tips below. 

Top Asana Tips: Use Asana Like a Pro

• Assign Asana Tasks to Multiple Projects: Asana allows users to assign individual tasks to more than one project. This is an excellent feature for projects that are linked or have dependencies. For instance, if several of the projects depend on one particular task being completed, you should connect the projects to the current task. This will greatly contribute to smooth project execution. 
• Define Deadlines and Assigned Parties: For effective workflow, you need to clearly outline due dates and the people responsible for all daily tasks. This will give you an overview of all major tasks and subtasks. The concerned parties will be able to view their responsibilities and plan their schedules to meet the requirements in advance. 
• Use Color Codes: On Asana, you can assign different colors to different projects. Color-coding projects will provide you with a better overview. This is useful if you are dealing with multiple projects at once. You can also use different symbols rather than colors. 
• Use project templates: Another feature you can take advantage of is effective project templates. This is an excellent feature for recurring projects. The templates feature structures and processes that can guide contributors on similar projects. You can utilize the templates you already created or the ones Asana provides.  
• Use custom fields: Asana allows you to set up customized fields to classify individual tasks and subtasks. This allows you to classify your personal tasks with regard to your individual goals and needs. 

Asana for Different Professions

Should You Use Asana?

Yes, you should use Asana. The platform is excellent for managing multiple projects for a company. If you are working with remote teams, you should consider taking advantage of the platform to ensure maximum collaboration. The platform will also help you ensure actionable tasks get completed within appropriate timelines. Incorporating Asana for your personal or business needs is an excellent decision. 

How to Use Asana FAQ