Tracking project progress

Projects allow you to organize all tasks related to a specific initiative, goal, or big piece of work. Effective project management ensures adequate resource allocation, timely decision-making, team motivation, and achieving milestones. This article will help you explore the intricacies and importance of tracking project progress.

Keeping tabs on tasks

Keeping tabs on task completion is paramount to ensure your project's success. Asana provides a variety of ways for you to monitor task competition related to your projects to ensure success. Here are a few. 

Sort

Projects keep you organized, and the sort option helps you make sense of all the tasks in your project. While there are many ways you can sort in Asana, a few of the most essential ways to sort in projects are:

1. By assignee: see who is doing what 
2. Due date: see when tasks are due by
3. Priority: see what’s most important, helping you determine what should happen and when.

This feature provides a quick overview, making it easy to identify tasks assigned to specific team members, those with impending deadlines, and those marked with high priority.

Filter

Filter is another great option for a more refined search to help you drill down and see what matters most to you. When you filter in your project, the project will only show you the results that match your filter. 

There are many ways to filter in projects, but some of the most important for team leads are:

1. By assignee: see all the work an individual has assigned to them
2. By due date: see all the tasks to be completed on a specific day in this project 
3. Priority: see all the tasks that have the same priority. 
4. Incomplete and completed tasks: see all the project has achieved and what is left to do.

Asana offers advanced search capabilities. Users can simultaneously filter tasks based on assignees, due dates, and priority levels. This feature proves invaluable when dealing with large and complex projects, meaning you can zero in on specific information.

It’s important to assess if team members are getting work done or if there are individuals who are falling behind. Use the filter and sort tools to assess team members’ progress by checking for completed tasks, overdue items, and high-priority tasks to gauge your team's overall workload and productivity. Filter and sort also allow you to flag overdue items, re-prioritize tasks, and open up conversations with team members who may be struggling with their tasks or workload. 

Keep the conversation flowing 

Successful project management extends beyond completion; it involves idea exchanges, updates, and collaboration. This collaboration is fostered through Asana. Here are some features that can help you and your team collaborate and help track the success of your projects.

Comments on tasks

The comments section on tasks serves as a central hub for communication. Team members can share thoughts, ask questions, provide updates, and collaborate directly within the task. Real-time communication ensures that everyone is updated and on the same page and serves as a great reference point for individual contributors. Encourage your team to @mention their teammates and engage in the comment section on tasks. 

A little heart

Ever give a nod in agreement during a meeting? That’s what the like feature represents in Asana. While the like feature may seem simple, it plays a crucial role in acknowledging updates and your team members by extension. It indicates that their updates have been seen, and their task has been acknowledged. Liking tasks and updates fosters a positive and collaborative environment. A little thumbs up keeps the positivity flowing. 

Back and forth 

Before tasks are completed, it's common for questions and clarifications to arise. The Asana platform encourages a seamless back and forth with messages, comments, subtasks and dependencies. 

Encourage the creation of subtasks and dependencies on your team to ensure everyone is on the same page, highlighting if one task is blocking another or is part of a larger part of work. Teams with a collaborative workflow can easily see what tasks they are waiting on from others and, with dependencies, will know when they can start their portion of the work. 

Asking questions in comments and sending updates as messages to the team will help everyone keep up to date on the project's progress. 

Perfect timing 

Timing is a critical element of project management. Asana ensures that tasks are completed at the right time by providing due dates, reminders, dependencies, and notifications. Clearly defining timings, with due dates visible to the whole team, helps prevent delays and keeps the team focused on meeting project milestones.