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Asana has lengthy been thought of top-of-the-line in undertaking administration software program, and although I discovered there to be the next studying curve related to Asana relative to its rivals, my expertise is that it deserves this high-ranking standing.
SEE: Hiring kit: Project manager (TechRepublic Premium)
The cloud-based platform affords a sturdy free plan for small groups, and its premium options have the potential to rework enterprise course of administration for deployment in massive organizations. On this in-depth information to Asana, we’ll study its key options, potential use circumstances, pricing plans and undertaking administration software program alternate options to think about.
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Assessment methodology
This evaluate is predicated on my private expertise registering, configuring and executing a undertaking in Asana. I ran a free trial of the Marketing strategy to check this instrument.
Asana alternate options & rivals
For added context concerning how this analysis was formulated, I began by familiarizing myself with Asana’s product documentation, demos, trade critiques and recognition. I additionally accomplished a comparative evaluation of those different undertaking administration options:
What’s Asana?
Asana is a piece administration firm and software program that provides undertaking and activity administration, collaboration and productiveness capabilities for groups. The corporate’s cloud-based platform features a stack of instruments to assist crew members re-visualize and optimize undertaking workflows.
In 2008, Fb co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and engineer Justin Rosenstein based Asana in San Francisco, California. Impressed by a productiveness instrument developed for the social media large, Asana’s beta was launched in November 2011 with a business version the following yr. Within the decade since then, the undertaking administration platform has reworked right into a public firm value over $5 billion and serving over 126,000 paying prospects.
The Asana platform contains options for basic and area of interest undertaking administration groups to collaborate in real-time on undertaking duties. Whereas organizations more and more undertake hybrid infrastructure environments, Asana can protect communication between distant crew members, combine important knowledge from third-party purposes and automate widespread enterprise processes.
For a fast demo of Asana, watch the review from our associate website, TechnologyAdvice.
Asana overview
Asana is offered as a free trial, free plan or paid SaaS subscription, giving small and enormous groups the instruments and centralized console to effectively work via undertaking duties.
Begin with the Asana desktop or cell software
The Asana platform is offered by way of net browser, desktop software or cell software via the Apple and Google Play shops for iOS and Android units.
From the Asana homepage (Determine A), you’ll be able to choose the Get Began button on the high proper and enter what you are promoting e mail. After verifying your e mail, you’ll be redirected to Asana to finish the registration course of, together with the username, password, crew, kind of labor and first goal you will have for utilizing Asana.
Determine A
For brand new customers, these preliminary questions are a pleasant contact to drive suggestions for roles, groups and tasks. Whereas the highest PM instruments, together with Asana, communicate to basic undertaking administration wants, customers can select from a handful of different area of interest use circumstances like IT, advertising and finance.
Customers then select a core function for the varieties of work they wish to monitor in Asana:
- Venture and course of administration
- Private activity administration
- Portfolio and workload administration
From there, customers can enter the primary few duties and classes for the undertaking. When these particulars have been entered, step one contained in the platform exhibits your preliminary undertaking (Determine B) and the few particulars included within the earlier step.
Determine B
Asana pricing plans
Asana affords 4 pricing choices to groups and companies of various sizes: Fundamental, Premium, Enterprise and Enterprise packages.
Fundamental | Premium | Enterprise | Enterprise | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing (per consumer per 30 days billed yearly) | Free | $10.99 | $24.99 | Contact gross sales for pricing data |
Customers | As much as 15 customers | Limitless | Limitless | Limitless |
Assist and management | SOC kind 2, MFA | SOC kind 2, MFA, knowledge deletion, Google SSO and limitless free company | SOC kind 2, MFA, knowledge deletion, Google SSO and limitless free company | SOC kind 2, MFA, knowledge deletion, Google SSO, limitless free company, customized branding, SAML, audit log API, knowledge export, service accounts and 24/7 help |
Storage | Limitless | Limitless | Limitless | Limitless |
Board view tasks | Sure | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Integration with 100+ apps | Sure | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Customized templates | No | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Milestones | No | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Workflow builder | No | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Portfolios function | No | No | Sure | Sure |
Tableau and Energy BI integrations | No | No | Sure | Sure |
Fundamental
The Fundamental plan, which is Asana’s free tier, serves as much as 15 collaborators and contains options corresponding to listing and board view tasks, limitless activity creation, messages, exercise logs, undertaking and crew administration, and integration with different instruments.
This plan serves as a great possibility for freelancers and people looking for to raised construction their tasks for gratis. Nevertheless, because the complexity of tasks will increase and groups change into larger and extra interdependent, the Fundamental plan will now not be ample.
Premium
Essentially the most reasonably priced paid plan is Asana Premium, which prices $13.49 per consumer per 30 days when billed month-to-month and $10.99 per consumer per 30 days when billed yearly. Premium affords customers extra undertaking administration options like superior reporting, the flexibility to set milestones, activity dependencies and customizable dashboards, and a workflow builder.
Small and mid-sized groups usually tend to respect the Premium tier. It delivers a hen’s-eye view of complicated tasks to undertaking managers and affords managers entry to key options for crew coordination.
Enterprise
Priced at $30.49 per consumer per 30 days when billed month-to-month and $24.99 per consumer per 30 days when billed yearly, the Marketing strategy gives extra options to rising groups. It affords Portfolios, which is a function that provides an outline of the progress of all lively tasks a crew has. It additionally has the Workload function, which exhibits the workload assigned to each crew member. Different differentiating options of the Enterprise tier embrace varieties, proofing and the flexibility to lock customized fields.
This tier is generally useful to bigger firms and organizations that must accurately monitor all their tasks, keep higher inter-project and interdepartmental management, and considerably improve the customizations of their undertaking administration processes.
Enterprise
Asana affords an Enterprise plan that’s custom-made to the wants of huge enterprises. It delivers SAML, knowledge export and deletion, consumer provisioning, customized branding and extra. It’s value noting that that is the one plan that provides 24/7 help. Nevertheless, its pricing info is just not publicly out there, which means potential customers must contact Asana’s gross sales crew for extra info.
Asana options and capabilities
Importing present undertaking knowledge
Customers have the choice to import undertaking knowledge via a CSV file, e mail or Wufoo. CSV is the most well-liked import methodology, however Asana affords extra steerage on easy methods to import knowledge from different apps like Airtable, Google Sheets, monday.com, Trello, Smartsheet and Wrike.
For our ongoing PM software program evaluate collection, I used to be in a position to obtain our Google Sheets template as a CSV and add it to the Asana house. From there, I noticed a clear preview of the undertaking knowledge and double-checked it earlier than I confirmed the import.
Upon first look, imported knowledge seems similar to our unique spreadsheet with minimal exceptions (Determine C). Asana acknowledged deadlines, crew member names, activity standing, completion proportion and length. Nevertheless, it didn’t embrace the beginning date column or proportion full, and it failed to acknowledge the connection between mother or father and subtasks. As seen under, all duties imported had been put beneath the initially submitted class, Not Began.
Determine C
To make sure undertaking knowledge on Asana displays our legacy Google Sheets file, and earlier than the remainder of the crew joins, I moved columns into comparable areas and hid irrelevant columns.
The method for indenting duties into their sprints as subtasks was a tad extra concerned. Customers should first double-click the supposed mother or father activity, which, on this case, is every dash. This may open an in-app window on the right-hand aspect (Determine D), exhibiting activity particulars and instruments to connect recordsdata, create a subtask, copy and share the duty hyperlink, add a remark and extra.
Determine D
To create a subtask from present duties, I opened the supposed mother or father dash and dragged every subtask from the left into the mother or father activity’s particulars part. Most PM instruments wrestle with the mother or father activity and subtask relationship; even so, I discovered this course of much less intuitive and extra tedious than most.
Managing undertaking knowledge
A shortcut to managing undertaking knowledge throughout the platform, together with columns, is the Customise button, which is discovered within the high proper of each undertaking view. When chosen, an in-view window (Determine E) opens on the right-hand aspect with controls for discipline knowledge (columns), guidelines, purposes, varieties and activity templates.
Determine E
Customized controls for undertaking knowledge
By way of the Customise window, customers can handle a few of the top-level controls for all knowledge associated to the undertaking. Listed below are some examples of these customized controls:
Fields: Set values for undertaking knowledge inputs
In Checklist view, fields are the values featured in every column with corresponding row duties. In Determine E, proven above, a handful of columns are chosen to point out within the Checklist chart, whereas Tags, Tasks, Dependencies and different fields are hidden.
Customers can choose Add A Customized Area and select between single-selection, multi-selection, textual content or numerical values for a brand new column. Nevertheless, choices that you simply would possibly discover in different undertaking administration platforms, like checkboxes and formulation, don’t seem right here.
Guidelines: Automate widespread workflows
With the Guidelines element (Determine F), customers can select from an inventory of widespread workflows or create a customized workflow to automate duties.
Determine F
All automations encompass triggers that provoke one or a number of actions. Triggers may be pulled into motion when a activity is added, up to date or overdue, whereas actions are a part of a fair longer listing of choices that embrace the next:
- Shifting or updating a activity and creating new subtasks or approvals
- Sending notifications to Slack or Microsoft Groups customers
- Creating new points in Jira Cloud or Jira Server
Asana’s deep partnerships with different purposes is obvious from the big range of connections with fashionable trade purposes like Zendesk, Bitskout, Jotform, PageProof and Flowsana.
When creating a brand new rule, customers’ choices embrace 17 triggers and nearly 40 actions groups can use to construct workflows. For Premium plan holders and above, Asana’s guidelines engine can ease workloads for crew members whereas sustaining communication between stakeholders and shifting duties alongside within the undertaking pipeline.
Apps: Join important integrations
Along with the automation-focused purposes listed above, customers can discover Asana’s in depth listing of integrations that tackle file sharing, reporting, gross sales, operations and software program improvement wants. You possibly can try Asana’s full Application Directory for those who don’t spot your favourite app within the in-platform window.
Determine G highlights a variety of fashionable connectors.
Determine G
Different notable enterprise IT purposes embrace:
- Azure Energetic Listing
- Drata
- Exterro
- Google Workspace SAML SCIM
- MuleSoft
- Okta
- OneLogin
- OneTrust
- Panther
- ServiceNow
- Splunk
- Workato
- Zylo
Kinds: Convert survey responses into undertaking knowledge
The Kinds engine offers shoppers a user-friendly type generator with a customized cowl picture, type description, questions and settings. A standard function among the many high PM instruments, varieties are a handy methodology for service groups to gather knowledge, and Asana mechanically locations responses into the duty knowledge of a undertaking.
Process templates: Simplify activity creation
Groups that usually execute comparable processes — like fulfilling an IT service ticket or monitoring software bugs — can convert workflows into activity templates for constant setup. Like every other activity particulars, customers can arrange the info that repeats from activity to activity and re-use the template with changes when organizing future sprints.
Duties are straightforward sufficient to create, and capabilities like these lower the general variety of clicks and energy a undertaking lead or crew member must make to appropriately organize knowledge. Like so many options out there on Asana, these instruments can straight scale back the time spent on monotonous duties and provides extra time again to stakeholders.
Visualizing and modifying undertaking knowledge
To assist undertaking stakeholders acquire perception into the standing of their tasks, Asana affords a handful of visualizations to view and work together with undertaking knowledge. Whereas one crew member can persist with the acquainted Checklist view that resembles an Excel spreadsheet, different customers can change activity knowledge via a kanban-style board or calendar. Adjustments are pushed to every of those views in actual time.
Inside a person undertaking, customers can discover the instruments listed under or add recordsdata and ship team-wide messages for ongoing communication and updates.
Checklist view: The superior spreadsheet
For professionals who’re snug with the traditional spreadsheet, Asana’s Checklist view (Determine C, proven earlier) affords the same really feel with out the formulation and capabilities that generally lavatory down newer spreadsheet customers.
Area values are decided by column circumstances, whereas rows signify duties with the extra choice to divide rows into separate sections. Whereas spreadsheets are all rows, it did take me a second to regulate to this preliminary division of duties into sections. In any other case, customers can view and alter gadgets simply or add a brand new column.
Board view: Playing cards throughout a whiteboard
The Board view features a kanban chart that includes playing cards and duties cut up throughout lanes based mostly on a set situation. Customers can simply drag and drop these playing cards vertically or horizontally to alter a card’s standing.
In Determine H, my Board view exhibits lanes cut up by part names beforehand set within the Checklist view. This affords one other good option to see undertaking duties over every dash, however kanban charts actually shine on the subject of displaying the focus and motion of duties based mostly on progress standing.
Determine H
In its present state, my Board permits me to maneuver duties from one dash to the following, however I don’t need the expectation of delaying duties or shifting them to future sprints. To make the best association of lanes, I want to regulate sections and duties. Sadly, I didn’t discover a straightforward or intuitive option to make this shift for the undertaking knowledge.
In the course of the onboarding course of, I chosen the above background; nevertheless, upon seeing my undertaking in Board view, I used to be not a fan. After a number of minutes of in search of a option to change the background, I gave up and embraced the forest the place my undertaking’s board would reside.
Timeline view: Duties over time
In a Gantt-style chart, the Timeline view affords the rows of duties seen in Checklist view throughout a timescale. This attitude offers a strong overview of how lengthy every dash lasts and the dependencies between duties.
In Determine I, I switched the view to Quarterly to see everything of the three-month undertaking and the connections to every.
Determine I
The skinny blue line between Dash one and two marks the present date for contemplating progress towards objectives, and customers can filter the view via begin date, due date and assignee. Like Checklist and Board views, the Timeline additionally permits customers to open and modify activity knowledge mirrored throughout the complete undertaking.
Calendar view: Mark the date
Calendar view might be one other helpful function for seeing undertaking knowledge on a typical net calendar. Nevertheless, relative to different calendar parts in PM instruments, I used to be underwhelmed by Asana’s model.
Customers can scroll via the calendar to see pertinent activity dates and add new duties, however they don’t have the choice to import an present calendar or export the undertaking calendar to a most well-liked calendar software.
Dashboard view: Break down knowledge with charts
The Dashboard view is one other handy option to visualize undertaking knowledge via acquainted charts and graphics. Whereas different views are all-encompassing for undertaking knowledge with the choice to filter, dashboards give customers the flexibility so as to add charts based mostly on undertaking knowledge factors and enhance observability for crew members.
In Determine J, I set charts to show activity knowledge by dash, standing, assignee and completion price.
Determine J
These charts, in addition to the choice to create others with a spread of circumstances based mostly on undertaking knowledge, imply groups can shortly break down knowledge into insightful charts for crew entry. Because the undertaking strikes ahead, my chosen charts will assist inform decision-making round team-member workloads, undertaking progress evaluation and future activity planning.
Overview view: The homepage of the undertaking
For each undertaking, the Overview web page seen in Determine Ok affords a house for customers to see their undertaking standing, roles, milestones, objectives and key assets like pertinent documentation. Venture managers can add a private message and configure remaining sections to present crew members a full view of undertaking pointers and progress in day-to-day workflows.
Determine Ok
Asana use circumstances and viewers
Asana has over 126,000 prospects throughout a variety of trade and crew wants. The undertaking administration chief highlights its core use circumstances and goal shoppers as listed within the sections under.
Use circumstances
- Agile undertaking administration
- Automated localization
- Marketing campaign administration
- Content material calendar planning and administration
- Inventive manufacturing
- Occasion administration
- Venture administration
- Request monitoring
Roles and groups
- Firm-wide and managers
- Designers and design groups
- Engineers and software program improvement groups
- Occasion planners
- Finance groups
- Human assets groups
- IT departments
- Product administration groups
Professionals and cons of Asana
Asana benefits and advantages
- A wide range of import choices: Loads of import choices for migrating present undertaking knowledge to the Asana platform.
- Amenable to team-specific workflows: Instruments and options for addressing a variety of area of interest crew workflows.
- Numerous undertaking knowledge visualizations: A number of methods to view, regulate and analyze undertaking knowledge.
- Time monitoring: Free integration possibility for time monitoring to quantify time spent on undertaking duties.
- Entry to third-party options: In depth entry to important third-party purposes and connectors.
Asana disadvantages
- Studying curve: Preliminary studying curve for brand spanking new customers adjusting to a full-featured interface.
- Unintuitive UI: The GUI can really feel much less intuitive relative to different high PM platforms.
- Process limitations: Duties are restricted to at least one assigned crew member.
- Difficulties with superior options: Even steeper studying curve for deploying superior options and instruments.
- Occasional efficiency points: Further reviews spotlight occasional error messages and lagging when switching between undertaking views with a big dataset.
For higher insights into the professionals and cons of Asana, think about studying this evaluate on Project-Management.com.
Conclusion
In abstract, that is what I’ve to say about Asana after utilizing it and researching it in-depth:
- It’s a chief in workload administration that’s match for small groups and enterprise organizations alike.
- Its huge function set gives undertaking managers with loads of instruments to allow collaboration and undertaking momentum.
- There’s an evident studying curve, however climbing it opens the door to automating workflows and optimizing productiveness for groups.
Asana is certainly top-of-the-line selections for undertaking administration software program, with a pleasant sufficient consumer interface and superior capabilities for general-to-niche crew wants. Potential prospects will discover Asana’s pricing plans are much like rivals, permitting for a real feature-to-feature comparability with platforms like Smartsheet and Wrike.
SEE: Checklist: Project management (TechRepublic Premium)
With a sturdy free plan, crew leads and smaller groups can’t go incorrect giving Asana a attempt. The 30-day entry to a Marketing strategy — earlier than it reverts again to the free Fundamental version — gives sufficient time for potential patrons to discover the platform, make the most of premium options and think about the long-term advantages of adopting this undertaking administration software.
For PM wants throughout totally different industries, Asana affords one thing for each crew to boost portfolio, undertaking and course of administration.
Learn subsequent: Best project management software and tools (TechRepublic)
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