Asana Project Management Training

Skills: Strategic Planning, Project Management, Internal and External Communications

Task

New staff members of the International Center of Photography’s marketing and communications department had been introduced to Asana, the team’s project management tool, but were struggling to adopt it with fluency. As senior manager, marketing and communications and the team’s lead project manager, I was asked by our senior director to give a presentation on how to effectively use the tool.

Action

As I reflected on the presentation’s content and structure, I realized I didn’t want to just review workflow, clarify expectations, and explain how we use projects and tasks to organize the work we do. I also wanted to dig into why we use the tool and create opportunities for discussion in order to better understand the root causes of why staff members were having trouble adopting the tool.

To this end, I developed a presentation that touched on the history and fundamentals of project management; addressed common roadblocks; connected the tool to our overall project request and kickoff process; and made ample time for questions and discussion. I also compiled a “menu” of the team’s deliverables to help everyone grasp the amazing amount of work we accomplish and created standard project templates that could be easily duplicated and applied to new projects.

Result

The presentation sparked conversations that got to the heart of what we do as marketers and communicators and how we do it. We hashed out the minutia of where to store information in Asana, but also addressed big-picture questions of how best to collaborate with other departments and resolve gaps in our workflow. Our team’s open discussion decreased interpersonal tension, increased project transparency, and served as a great example of the collaborative nature we strive to achieve.

I’ve observed a marked increase in the team’s use of Asana since the presentation—one team member who previously did not use the tool now tracks all of their projects in it, and the large majority of our departmental conversations now occur in specific threads there instead of over a multiple lengthy email chains.  

To me, project management is about more than just fielding requests, creating timelines, and assigning tasks. It’s about designing systems that can adapt to any project—from writing a copy for a brief to making strategic decisions about brand partnerships—and that allow the team to be more efficient and effective. I was incredibly proud to see this connection click for our staff members.

Praise for Asana

“Wow, this is so much easier than email! I am so glad you set this up.”