As a business evolves, the number of employees, departments, and projects also scale up in unison. For continuous development, an effective Project Management Platform is required that will automate the processes and boost productivity. Irrespective of any domain, Project Management is always a concern for organizations. As the businesses progress, a company sails to handle multiple projects. In such critical situations, it becomes necessary to deliver quality Software Development using an Agile Methodology. The Agile process assists decision-makers by giving precise work progress at each stage.
Asana is a Project Management tool that can strengthen businesses to achieve success seamlessly with Workspace Management Dashboards. It provides many advanced tools allowing companies to manage projects. Asana offers significant customization for planning and organizing projects to help teams boost productivity and deliver requirements within the timeline. Leveraging its excellent Reporting Features you can get insights into your business performance and can take the required actions accordingly.
Moreover, Asana is one such Cloud-based Software Service providing Project management for Agile Methodology. With necessary customization for project development, this software enhances the Agile capabilities allowing teams to accomplish goals quickly and efficiently.
This article provides you an introduction to Asana Project Management Software and its key features. It describes the importance of Agile methodology and explains the Agile project types and steps to make Agile Boards in Asana Project Management Software. Read along to find out the implementation of Agile Methodology in Asana Project Management Software.
Table of Contents
Understanding Project Management Applications
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Project Management Software is an application that aids an individual or a team in efficiently planning and managing their Projects and Tasks in an organization. Its goal is to make the Workflow of a team working on the same Project easier. It is appropriate for small startup teams, large seasoned teams, and even numerous distinct teams that must collaborate to build a Project. The program enables you to assign and reassign Tasks, conveniently track deadlines to ensure they are met, and, of course, control the entire process from a unified management location.
The software is ideal for both workers and executives. It aids in Project Management, Team Objectives, and Work Synchronization. An ideal Project Management Software suite includes a variety of tools for allocating resources, controlling output, and managing workloads.
Project Management Software does more than just Task Management. It provides a comprehensive, larger-scale solution. It allows you to lead the team, monitor document efficiency, and counterbalance Projects, whereas Task Management Software splits components within the same Project, defines individual efforts, allows for self-management, and assigns due dates.
The Workflow is automated using modern Project Management Software. For example, it alerts all parties involved when a specific phase is completed and it is time to assign new Tasks.
Introduction to Asana Project Management Software
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Asana is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Project Management tool for businesses to manage, organize, and collaborate to expedite Project completion. It was founded in 2008 and commercially launched in 2012 by Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein. Depending on Project complexity and the hierarchy of management, Asana provides six different Views — List (default), Board, Timeline, Calendar, Progress, and Forms. However, a user can work on any View and make it a default Project View.
With automation and integration services, Asana can also handle multiple Projects with ease to increase productivity. This software ensures standard security protocols, respecting data privacy. Since Asana Project Management Software provides Agile Management for Software Development Project teams, it facilitates complete roadmaps for each member of the team to prioritize work.
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For further information about Asana Project Management Software, you can follow the Official Documentation.
Key Features of Asana
The developers at Asana have put in continuous efforts to enhance the Asana Project Management platform by taking regular Customer Feedback. Working to make Projects across Businesses manageable, they have come up with some of the most intuitive features.
The key features of Asana Project Management Software are as follows:
1) Remote Access
You can go online and access all your Projects from any location, anytime, and from any device of your choice.
2) Asana Timelines
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Through Asana Timeline, you can set stages for your Project and check the status of various Tasks as things get done.
3) Asana Portfolios & Workload
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According to different departments, you can build separate Portfolios and see an overview of each team’s performance. The Workload tab lets you see how much work is assigned to whom, allowing you to distribute responsibilities efficiently.
4) Asana Calendar View
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In Asana Calendar View, you get the list of Tasks assigned to you and your team that needs to be completed on a specific due date in a bird’s eye view.
5) Collaboration
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With each Task mentioned in the Asana Calendar View, you and your team members can attach files, leave comments, and appreciate someone’s work using the Like button.
6) Customization
Based on your style, you can customize and design your Workflow process. You can start building Asana Calendar, Boards, Timelines from scratch or use the Templates provided in the catalog.
Prerequisites
- An idea of SaaS.
- Working Knowledge of Asana Project Management Software.
- An Asana account.
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Understanding Agile Projects
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Agile means to move quickly, and an Agile Project involves frequent delivery by breaking a Project down into manageable Tasks. This methodology is primarily used for Software Development Projects to promote a disciplined Workflow of Management Processes. It encourages frequent inspection and teamwork to quickly deliver high-quality software and a business approach to meet customer requirements on time.
The Agile Process is a common Project practice among many leading companies. As a result, many IT professionals have recognized its importance and need within their premises.
Following are a few benefits of Agile Methodology:
- Product Quality: As this process involves continuous delivery, the team receives regular feedback, assuring the product is tested to its maximum potential. Outcomes of such a method always address the requirements accurately.
- Productivity: Agile method involves team collaboration to constantly remind them of a common goal thus helping teams increase productivity.
- Predictability: As the Agile process uses a fixed and reliable schedule, the Project teams are well aware of the deadlines. Consequently, it helps product delivery with higher predictability benefits for vendors and stakeholders.
Methodologies in Agile Process
The Agile Process helps developers and stakeholders in the entire Software Development Cycle. Unlike the traditional method, the Agile approach allows parallel and synchronized activities like development and testing. Thus, the choice of correct methodology among different Agile frameworks helps businesses become efficient with Project Management.
The different methodologies used in the Agile Process are as follows:
1) Scrum
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This method breaks a Project into various stages or cycles called ‘Sprints’. The time for each Sprint is scheduled and every team has to meet the requirements of each Sprint in the allotted time. As the Scrum method focuses on continuous delivery, Project Managers can prioritize their Tasks to ensure quality while delivering.
2) Kanban
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Kanban is a Japanese word meaning ‘Visual Board’, which helps in tracking and managing overall Project Workflow. A Kanban Board consists of columns representing stages of the Project and Cards entailing a list of requirements. As the Project progresses, relevant Cards are pushed through various stages until the work status is marked complete.
3) Extreme Programming (XP)
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Extreme programming is an Agile Methodology similar to Scrum, which focuses on continuous Software Development and Customer Delivery. It helps in creating a highly productive and efficient environment for a team.
4) Feature-driven Development (FDD)
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Feature-driven development (FDD) is a Software-specific Agile framework. This methodology involves the development of Project models every two weeks. It requires design and plans for every feature, resulting in rigorous documentation used mainly by teams with advanced design and planning abilities.
Agile Methodologies in Asana
Asana Project Management Software supports 2 Agile Methodologies. The Agile Methodologies are as follows:
1) Scrum Methodology in Asana
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Asana Project Management Software comes with Agile Project Management to help teams plan, organize and manage the Scrum Sprints.
Following are a few concepts to initiate a Scrum in Asana Project Management Software:
A) Terminologies in Asana
Terms used in Agile Scrum are translated upon working in Asana Project Management Software. Below is the table depicting the terminologies.
| Sr. No. | Agile Scrum | Asana Project Management Software |
| 1 | Epic | Create a Project Portfolio |
| 2 | Feature | Create one Project per feature |
| 3 | Story | Add Pasks in your feature’s Project |
| 4 | Task | Add Subtasks to your Asana Story Task |
| 5 | Backlog | Create a Backlog Project |
| 6 | Sprint | Create a Sprint Planning Project |
| 7 | Size | Use a drop-down custom field to indicate the size |
| 8 | Time to finish | Use numeric Custom Fields |
| 9 | Acceptance criteria | Include information in a Task’s description |
B) Steps to Create Scrum Board
Most Agile teams opt for Scrum practices as these can be easily tailored as per the requirements.
Following are the steps to create Scrum Board in Asana Project Management Software:
- Step 1: Create an Epic (collection of Tasks and Projects) initially by creating a Portfolio. Open the sidebar and select ‘portfolios’, and click ‘new portfolio’. Each Portfolio may have several Tasks within an epic.
- Step 2: Create a Project, select list view, and create a team of members using the Admin Console for a particular Project. Each feature represents a Project belonging to an Epic.
- Step 3: A Backlog can also be created as a Project or a section in a Project to keep track of work. Standard practice suggests creating a Backlog after the feature has been set up.
- Step 4: A Story can be created by adding Tasks to a Project. Add actionable steps as Task title and press enter after each Task. A Task can have acceptance criteria by mentioning them in the description of the Task with relevant details.
- Step 5: The Story can be scheduled to responsible persons and further broken down into Tasks called ‘Subtasks’. For each Task, there can be a Subtask to distribute responsibilities evenly among team members.
C) Managing Agile Scrum Work with Asana
Once the Scrum structure is built and the Sprint Project is added, the following ways can be implemented to manage Agile work in Asana Project Management Software.
The Backlog section has an up-to-date running list of all items, and the user needs to prioritize the Backlog before adding it to the Sprint Project. A Backlog can include custom fields like size, hours to sort the Project.
To plan and manage Agile Sprints, Asana Project Management Software provides a Timeline View. Each Feature, Story, and Task added to a Sprint plan must have a start and due date. All the Sprint Tasks can be seen in a Gantt-style View on the Timeline.
Team members working on any particular Project/Task should mark the status of work as it helps other dependent teams to plan appropriately. Stakeholders or Managers can also participate in a Sprint with comment-only access to give valuable feedback on the work progress.
2) Kanban Methodology in Asana
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A Kanban Board can be applied to any Workflow and is readily available as a Board View in Asana Project Management Software.
Following are a few concepts to understand before initiating a Board in Asana Project Management Software:
A) Steps to create Kanban Board
Kanban’s core principle suggests drafting ideas into sections.
Following are the steps to create a Kanban in Asana Project Management Software:
- Step 1: If a Kanban is made from scratch, a user needs to be in the Board View.
- Step 2: Traditionally Kanban consists of three columns – To-do, In-progress, Work-completed. However, depending on the complexity of a project, the Kanban Board can be customized.
- Step 3: Each Task represents a Card in the Asana Board and can be precisely explained with additional information like descriptions, tags, and files.
B) Managing Kanban Board
Asana Project Management Software helps in connecting work across Projects. Any Task, idea, or goal added to a Board can be connected to a Project, and changes made in any entity are reflected in real-time across other Projects. Once the Board is created, a user can switch to another View and work on any View of interest. Changes (added or removed) in other Views are observed in the Board View as well.
Conclusion
This article provides a detailed description of Agile Methodology and Management in Asana Project Management Software. It also provides information about Project Management Applications, Asana Project Management Software, its key features and different types of Agile processes.
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