Asana is a tool that needs no introduction. This useful project management software helps to enhance collaboration across various teams working on the project. Moreover, it also helps with reporting to boost your efficiency. One of the most useful ways Asana helps with projects is the ability to use pre-made templates that streamline all processes related to the new projects. These pre-designed frameworks can be used as starting points for similar projects, which significantly saves time and ensures consistency. Standardizing tasks, deadlines, and instructions, allows you to quickly replicate the structure for every new project without having to repeat inputting data and settings from scratch. Today, we would like to show our readers how Asana templates work and how to use them effectively. At the end of the article, we also listed examples of the most useful Asana templates.
What are Asana project templates?
Project templates in Asana are pre-prepared projects that can be used to start a new one. Instead of creating workflows and processes from scratch every time, you can save the preferred settings as templates and replicate the structure.
The templates can be used for different project types, such as marketing, onboarding, product launches, and so on.
Types of Asana templates
There are two types of Asana templates, custom templates, and Asana-curated templates.
Custom templates
If you have very specific yet similar projects, a custom template will be your most suitable option. Or perhaps, you simply cannot find the template that meets your specific needs within the Asana library. You can then create a template from scratch to use for future similar projects. Also, you can always modify templates according to the specific needs of a given project.
To create a new template, go to the Overview tab. Scroll down to find 'Templates', and click 'New template'.
You or your team members might have already unknowingly saved templates for certain types of projects. To find them, click on your team from the sidebar. From the Overview tab, scroll down to the bottom where you will see the list of existing templates.
Template components which can be modified within the project template are:
Tasks
Subtasks
Task descriptions
Due dates
Assignees
Milestones
Sections
Forms
Rules
Bundles
Attachments
Custom fields
Pre-built (Asana-curated) templates
Pre-built templates were created by Asana. You can either download such a project template and use it as it is, or tailor it to the specific needs of your tasks and projects.
To choose one of the Asana templates while creating a project, click on 'Use a template'. In types, choose 'Asana-curated'. Scroll down to see all the templates and choose the most suitable one. You can also preview the structure of the templates by clicking on the project templates. Once you decide on which template you want to use, hit 'Use template' in the top-right corner and it will be applied to your project.
Examples of pre-built project templates
Project plan templates' biggest advantage is their variety. The template will always cover the most crucial information, such as timeline or milestones, however, its format will depend on the type of work connected with your project planning. Strictly speaking, your business type will dictate the template you will use.
Asana offers various pre-built project plan templates. They might serve HR teams, product management teams, IT teams, and many more areas of industry. They are a great help for small initiatives as well as more complex projects. That is why we have selected a few from different areas of business that may turn out to be beneficial for your project.
Simple project chart template
Every project should have easy-to-complete and manageable parts. Thanks to the simple project chart (a Gantt chart) you can easily divide your projects into such pieces. This chart is also a visual representation of your project plan consisting of a pre-defined project timeline, due dates, task dependencies, and milestones.
A simple project template helps with that a lot. It also allows for easy organization of tasks, so you can see which tasks are whose responsibility. The template also helps you track progress in real-time, so you are more efficient in planning and executing your project according to the plan, step by step.
Product development plan template
If you are looking for a way to standardize your development process we have good news. A product development template is a huge help in the process of launching a new product. From the idea through prototyping and testing to the product launch, the whole product development process is very complicated and time-consuming. On top of that come various teams that work and cooperate to deliver a successful product.
The road is not easy but the product development plan makes it significantly simpler. It streamlines the entire product development process helping with coordinating team communication and tracking product development progress. Additionally, such workflow can be reused for future projects.
Product marketing template
Product marketing is a tough nut to crack. Managers have many responsibilities, such as conducting market research, preparing messaging and positioning, and forming product strategies. All that to bring new products to life. It often also involves a product launch, and coordination across various teams, to ensure that the products are ready to ship.
Luckily, Asana makes many of the processes easier with its product marketing template. Thanks to using it you can create one plan for running the launch and never worry again whether you thought of everything. You can benefit from such steps as setting launch targets defining a channel strategy and, most importantly, simply copying the template for your future launches.
Product roadmap template
Another useful template when it comes to product development is the product roadmap template. Tracking the product features, initiatives, and updates is a lot to take care of. Especially, when your team plans to launch within a specific short timeframe. Thankfully, the product roadmap template lets you effortlessly track and monitor every status of your launches. This, in turn, provides enhanced visibility to stakeholders who know what will launch and when that will happen.
An additional benefit is the alignment of the launch to the company's goals. With the product roadmap template, you can easily organize your launches by different variables.
HR project plan template
You probably know that the HR team helps in many processes and projects within your company structure but most importantly empowers employees and shapes the organization’s culture. Thanks to the HR project plan template they can do all that (and not only!) even more effectively. Organizing HR initiatives, tracking their progress, and managing priorities now become significantly easier. Asana helps to launch new goals, update the hiring plan, or collect employee feedback.
Conference agenda template
Planning seamless events and productive conferences takes a lot of effort. You must coordinate your work with speakers and vendors, update event details, and oversee the venue and time of the conference.
Thanks to the conference agenda template you will finally have a less stressful organization. Why? Because Asana easily takes care of helping you plan effective conferences! It does not matter if it is a one-day or multi-day event or even a virtual conference, a conference agenda template in Asana will serve as a great structure storing all the details you require for a smooth run of the event.
Sprint planning template
If you are a part of an Agile project team working on an Agile project process, you know how important sprint planning is. It allows for prioritizing work and deciding who should take on certain projects.
Such teams are always busy and sometimes the direct communication for assigning tasks and tracking the work progress is not the best solution. Asana's sprint planning template solves that problem by simplifying the whole sprint. It also creates a unified system of recording the changes, updates, progress, and completion. It saves time the team can devote to build fast and deliver quicker.
Want to save more time? Add integrations!
Using Asana templates is a great way to speed up all processes and boost performance. However, there are also other ways to save time. Since we are on the topic of time, it is worth considering getting a time-tracking integration. TimeCamp is one of the best tools in the market. What can you expect when you integrate Asana with TimeCamp? You will enjoy using a wide array of functions, such as:
Generating timesheets
Time tracking for unlimited users and projects
Automatic time tracking with keywords
Browser Plugin
Time Clock Kiosk
Geofencing
Web, desktop & mobile apps
Personal activity timeline
Idle time tracking
and many more if you opt for one of our premium plans. You can get started for free with our 14-day trial.
Time management
