Information hierarchy in Asana

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the information hierarchy in Asana, covering how to effectively use projects, tasks, sub-tasks, portfolios, and goals. Understanding this hierarchy will help your team organize work efficiently and achieve your objectives.

Step 1: Understand Projects, Tasks, and Sub-tasks

In Asana, the foundational elements of your workflow are projects, tasks, and sub-tasks.

• Projects: Create a project for each major initiative or area of work.

  • To create a project, click on the “+” icon in the sidebar and select “Project.”
  • Choose between a blank project or a template that suits your needs.

• Tasks: Within each project, add tasks that represent individual pieces of work.

  • Click on “Add Task” within the project to create a new task.
  • Assign tasks to team members and set due dates to keep everyone on track.

• Sub-tasks: Break tasks down into smaller, manageable pieces using sub-tasks.

  • Open a task, then click on “Add Sub-task.”
  • This helps in organizing complex tasks and tracking progress more granularly.

Step 2: Utilize Portfolios

Portfolios are a powerful feature for tracking multiple projects at once.

• Creating a Portfolio:

  • In the sidebar, click on “Portfolios” and select “Create Portfolio.”
  • Name your portfolio and add relevant projects to it.

• Managing Portfolios:

  • Use portfolios to get an overview of progress across projects.
  • You can view key metrics such as due dates and overall status, allowing for better strategic planning.

Step 3: Set Goals and Sub-goals

Goals in Asana help align your team’s efforts towards larger objectives.

• Creating a Goal:

  • Navigate to the “Goals” section in Asana and click “Create Goal.”
  • Define your goal’s name, objective, and key results.

• Sub-goals: Break down larger goals into sub-goals to track progress more effectively.

  • This allows for focused efforts on specific outcomes that contribute to your main goal.

Step 4: Implement Multi-homing

Multi-homing allows tasks to exist in multiple projects, enhancing flexibility.

• How to Multi-home:

  • Open a task and click on the project name under it.
  • Select “Add to Project” and choose another project where the task should also appear.

• Benefits of Multi-homing:

  • This feature helps in managing tasks that are relevant to more than one project, ensuring they are not overlooked.

Conclusion

By understanding and utilizing the information hierarchy in Asana, you can streamline your team’s workflow and enhance productivity. Focus on effectively creating and managing projects, tasks, and goals to meet your objectives. Explore Asana’s Help Center for further resources and consider subscribing to their YouTube channel for more tutorials.