When it comes to project management tools, there’s no doubt that Asana is one of the best on the market. It’s a powerful project management tool, widely recognised for its flexibility, robust feature set, customisations, integrations and ability to streamline workflows. It has become an essential platform for teams across industries looking to improve collaboration, task management, and overall project visibility and tracking.
However, despite its impressive advantages, successfully implementing Asana into an organisation's workflow is not always simple. Working with a registered Asana partner who understands its extensive features and customisation capabilities makes it easy for businesses to maximise the potential of their Asana investment, reaping the organisational and revenue benefits.
This post will explore why it’s worthwhile to work with a partner that can guide and oversee your Asana adoption, customisation and rollout, as well as how to select the right partner for this process.
The complexity - and potential - of Asana's extensive features
Asana is more than just a task and project management tool; it’s a platform with advanced features designed to handle complex projects across teams. But, this complexity comes with a learning curve, especially if your organisation has no previous experience with comprehensive project management software.
Asana’s key features like custom fields, dependency tracking, and integrations with other tools (like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace) require strategic configuration to maximise their effectiveness. Investing in the proper initial setup can ensure greater user adoption among employees and proper utilisation of Asana’s full suite of capabilities.
It might be tempting to try and do it yourself, but a qualified implementation partner brings deep expertise in setting up, configuring and customising Asana for diverse use cases tailored to your operations. Implementation partners ensure that organisations maximise the tool’s potential by configuring the platform in a way that aligns with their unique workflows, team structure and larger business goals.
The challenges of customising Asana to fit your business needs
Another critical aspect of Asana implementation is tailoring the platform to meet your unique business requirements. Different departments within a company might use Asana for vastly different purposes, from tracking product development in the engineering team to managing campaigns in the marketing team.
Customisation is essential to ensure that each department can leverage Asana in a way that fits their specific project needs. This could necessitate setting up unique templates for projects, creating automated workflows using Asana’s Rules feature, or developing custom integrations with other tools.
Without a partner, it can be tricky to create and implement these customisations effectively. An experienced partner can not only help with the initial setup but also provide strategic insights into how to optimise Asana for different purposes. This insight can be invaluable in ensuring Asana becomes not just a part of your tech stack, but also an integral part of your organisation’s overall operational strategy.
What to look for in an Asana implementation partner
There are plenty of experienced, capable Asana partners on the market - but how do you know which partner would best suit your operational structure and requirements? It’s key to remember that there’s no one “right” or “ideal” partner, but any Asana partner worth its weight should meet certain benchmark criteria. Here are some key factors to consider when evaluating potential partners:
1. Official certification:
Many businesses can present themselves as Asana experts, but unless they’re officially registered with and recognised by Asana as a verified partner, it’s not worth taking the risk. They may try to compensate by offering a lower cost estimation but, in the long run, you’ll likely end up paying more to fill structural and operational gaps and errors.
2. Deep knowledge of Asana:
The partner should have deep and demonstrative experience working with Asana. This goes beyond basic rollout and implementation. A good partner should be able to advise you on the best implementation and management strategies when evaluating your existing workflows and team structures, harnessing Asana’s advanced features.
3. A collaborative approach:
Your implementation partner should work closely with your team, taking the time to understand your specific goals, current challenges and pain points, and existing workflows. A collaborative approach ensures that Asana is implemented as a customised tool in your organisation that drives real value for your team.
3. Advanced customisation capabilities:
The right partner should be able to tailor Asana to your organisation’s unique needs. This includes configuring the tool to fit your workflow, setting up integrations and connectivity with other software your team relies on, and designing custom templates and automations that align with your business processes.
4. Training and Support:
Training is a key component of successful implementation. Ensure that the partner offers comprehensive training that caters to different levels of users within your organisation. Additionally, they should provide ongoing support services to address any challenges that arise post-implementation.
5. Unique value add services:
While all of the above capabilities are essential for reaping the full benefits of your Asana investment, what separates a good Asana partner from an outstanding one is the niche value your partner can bring to your organisation.
At CloudSmiths, for example, we’re experts in extracting granular value from business data. Our dynamic data engineering capabilities produce in-depth analytics directly sourced from Asana, turning your raw data into actionable insights that drive productivity, identify operational inefficiencies and capitalise on opportunities.
