The Pros and Cons of Using Asana Software

Asana is a web-based project and task management software designed to help teams of all sizes organize, track, and manage their work more efficiently. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, Asana enables users to break down complex projects into manageable tasks, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, and monitor progress in real-time. Businesses are increasingly deploying project management applications to help them boost their productivity, hit their targets, remain competitive, and enhance employee collaboration. PM tools enable their users to track and manage their projects efficiently.

★ If you need an advanced reporting and exporting platform to boost Asana’s capabilities, consider Bridge24 for Asana.

The Cons or Disadvantages of Asana with Alternatives

1. One-Person-Per-Task Limitation

Asana’s distinctive policy restricts task assignment to just one person, a feature intended to streamline accountability. However, this can pose challenges in situations where multiple team members need to collaborate on a single task. Such a restriction becomes especially troublesome if the assigned person is unavailable, potentially leading to delays as the task cannot be reassigned to someone else.

Asana Alternative #1: Assign multiple users to tasks with AceProject: In this aspect, AceProject excels by providing the capability to allocate tasks to multiple team members, each with custom estimated hours. This flexibility ensures that collaborative tasks are managed effectively and clearly, avoiding confusion.

2. Absence of Location Data Custom Fields

Asana lacks a built-in functionality for managing or displaying location data in its task or project management interface. This absence can be a notable drawback for users who need to track geographical locations or manage location-centric data within their project management tool, particularly for those whose work entails significant location-based planning and coordination.

Alternative #2 to Asana: Take Advantage of Monday.com Location Field: monday.com features a location column where users can enter addresses or coordinates, integrated with map views for geographical context in tasks or projects. This feature significantly improves the ability to plan and track spatially, a crucial aspect for specific project types or workflows.

3. Excel Export Unavailable (Restricted to JSON and CSV Formats)

Asana’s exporting and importing data capabilities are limited to JSON and CSV file formats. This restriction may prove inconvenient for teams needing their data in more widely-used formats such as PDF or Excel, often leading to the need for external tools to facilitate the conversion process.

Alternative #3 to Asana: Take Advantage of Wrike Excel Export for Projects and Tasks: Wrike sets itself apart as an ideal choice for native Excel data export, thanks to its comprehensive and integrated export capabilities that accommodate a variety of file formats, including Excel, without the need for extra software or plugins.

4. Lack of Checklist Features for Tasks

Asana differs from some competitors in that it does not provide a simple checklist feature for tasks, opting instead for using subtasks. This approach can introduce an extra layer of complexity to otherwise straightforward tasks.

Alternative #4 to Asana: Utilize Trello Advanced Checklists: The Trello Advanced Checklists feature lets users create in-depth checklists inside cards, with the ability to assign each checklist item to a team member and set due dates. This functionality facilitates dividing tasks into more manageable sub-tasks, improving organization and efficiency in carrying out projects.

5. Expensive Pricing Structure for Small Teams

With a starting price of $11 per user, Asana’s cost structure can be a substantial financial strain for small businesses or startups with limited budgets. This pricing can obstruct smaller teams seeking access to the tool. Moreover, the price escalates to $25 per user for the Advanced level, which becomes particularly expensive for those requiring features like time-tracking and portfolios.

Alternative #5 to Asana: Basecamp Affordable Pricing for Unlimited Users: Basecamp stands out with its flat-rate pricing model of $299 for unlimited users, becoming a more budget-friendly option for teams of 20 or more. This approach offers many project management tools without the burden of per-user fees, rendering it an economical choice for many companies.

6. No Built-in CRM Integration

Asana, a project management tool, lacks built-in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) functionality, focusing instead on task and project tracking. While it excels in organizing projects and collaborating on tasks, it does not natively support the specific features required for managing customer relationships, such as sales pipelines or contact management. However, users can integrate Asana with external CRM systems through third-party integrations and apps to bridge this gap.

Alternative #6 to Asana: Use Bitrix24 with its built-in CRM Integration: Bitrix24 is a comprehensive, free CRM platform designed for businesses aiming to fully manage their sales cycle, from lead generation to customer support. It provides a single CRM system for tracking leads, engaging with customers, and easily finalizing sales. Bitrix24 CRM allows for seamless lead acquisition, contact and deal management, workflow automation, and an increase in successful deals.

The Pros or Advantages of Asana 

1. Excellent User Experience: Much thought has gone into developing Asana’s user interface. This tool’s UI is easy to use, uncomplicated, and intelligent. The interface is designed to be intuitive, allowing users to find what they want in just a few clicks. Users also have the option to color-code projects to get a personalized view. These features enable teams to use the platform effortlessly.
2. Improved Work Efficiency: Asana allows team members to have a bird’s-eye view of all the week’s tasks. This helps them learn what work is urgent, what to act on, and what should be prioritized. Teams can use this information to organize and revise objectives as time passes and boost their productivity. 
3. Enhances Collaboration: Asana provides an excellent platform for increasing collaboration in a team. Users can invite others to the workspace, and new members can participate in the project. You can also communicate in real-time through messages and share files. Users also get alerted when tasks are assigned, or revisions are made. On top of that, Asana promotes transparency and accountability across the organization. Every team member can tell who is working on what tasks and by when. 
4. Tons of Integrations: Many third-party tools can be integrated with Asana. If you need extra features unavailable in Asana, you can extend its functionalities with an extension, add-on, or power-up. A tool like Bridge24 for Asana can be used to improve Asana’s reporting and exporting capabilities.
5. Enhanced Security: If you are working on a project that includes sensitive or confidential data, Asana can help you protect that data. It backs up information and uses a firewall to secure it. Only authorized team members can access the data.
6. They Have a Free Plan: Small teams and individuals may not have the funds to invest in expensive project management tools. Yet, these tools are essential for the success of a business. Fortunately, Asana has a free plan that allows small-budget teams to access the platform.

Asana Key Features

1. Task Management: Asana’s task management feature allows users to create, assign, and organize tasks easily. Each task can be broken down into subtasks with a description, attachments, comments, and custom fields, ensuring all necessary details are available for the team to complete the work. Task deadlines, priorities, and dependencies can be set, facilitating smooth project execution and enabling team members to focus on their most important responsibilities.
2. Project Templates: Asana offers a variety of pre-built project templates designed to streamline the setup process for common project types such as marketing campaigns, product launches, and event planning. These templates can be customized to suit individual team requirements, helping users save time and maintain project consistency. By using project templates, teams can quickly establish best practices and standardize their project management approach.
3. Custom Fields: Custom fields in Asana allow users to add additional data to tasks, providing more context and ensuring all necessary information is available at a glance. Custom fields can be created for various data types, such as text, numbers, or dropdown lists. They enable teams to categorize tasks, track specific metrics, and create custom workflows that align with their unique project management needs.
4. Timeline View: Asana’s timeline view visually represents the project schedule, enabling users to plan and adjust tasks and deadlines with a simple drag-and-drop interface. This feature helps teams identify potential bottlenecks, manage dependencies, and ensure that work is evenly distributed across team members. The timeline view also allows users to compare the planned schedule against actual progress, making it easier to adapt and make necessary adjustments throughout the project lifecycle.
5. Milestones: Milestones in Asana are used to mark significant events or achievements within a project. By setting milestones, teams can easily track their progress toward critical objectives and celebrate their accomplishments. Milestones help to provide a clear sense of direction and focus, ensuring that team members understand the project’s overarching goals and can prioritize their work accordingly.
6. Portfolio Management: Asana’s portfolio management feature enables users to gain a high-level overview of multiple projects at once, providing valuable insights into the health and progress of their entire project portfolio. With this feature, users can easily monitor all their projects’ status, deadlines, and progress, identify potential risks, and allocate resources more effectively. Portfolio management in Asana helps organizations make data-driven decisions and prioritize their work based on strategic goals and objectives.
7. Advanced Search and Reporting: Asana’s advanced search functionality lets users quickly find tasks, projects, and conversations based on specific criteria. Users can create and save custom search queries for future use, making generating reports and tracking specific metrics easy. This feature helps teams monitor their progress, identify trends, and uncover opportunities for improvement in their project management processes.
8. Custom Rules: Asana enables users to automate repetitive tasks and processes, streamlining their workflows and saving time. Users can create rules based on triggers (e.g., when a task is completed) and actions (e.g., assign a new task), ensuring that work is automatically routed to the appropriate team members and reducing the risk of delays or miscommunications.

Asana Pricing & Costs

Asana’s pricing plans cater to various users, from individuals to large enterprises, ensuring each customer finds the right fit for their project management needs. These plans include:

1. Personal Plan (USD$0.00): The Personal plan is a free tier suitable for individuals or small teams just starting in project management. It offers essential features like task management, project boards, and calendar view.
2. Starter Plan (USD$10.99 per user per month): The Starter plan is designed for teams looking to scale up and improve their productivity. It includes additional features such as timelines, milestones, custom fields, and advanced search functionality. Premium pricing varies depending on the number of users.
3. Advanced Plan (USD$24.99 per user per month): The Advanced plan targets organizations that require advanced project management capabilities and integration with other tools. It offers features like portfolio management, custom rules, and approval workflows. As with the Premium plan, pricing is based on the number of users.
4. Enterprise Plan (Contact Sales for Pricing): The Enterprise plan caters to large organizations with specific security, compliance, and support needs. It includes advanced security features, priority support, and a dedicated customer success manager. Enterprise pricing is tailored to the organization’s size and requirements.

Each of these plans is designed to accommodate the diverse needs of Asana’s user base, ensuring that customers receive the features and support they require to manage their projects effectively. You can also read our article Asana Pricing or check Asana’s Offical Pricing Page.

Asana – Manage your team’s work, projects & tasks online

Asana’s core functionality revolves around its flexible workspaces, where users can create projects, tasks, and subtasks and customize their views using lists, boards, or timelines. Users can also add tags, comments, and attachments to tasks, fostering clear communication and collaboration among team members.

The software offers various features, including custom fields, task dependencies, milestones, and advanced search capabilities, allowing teams to tailor the platform to their unique needs. Asana also integrates with numerous third-party applications, such as Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams, to streamline workflows and enhance productivity.

Asana’s diverse pricing plans cater to individual users, small teams, growing businesses, and large enterprises, ensuring each customer receives the support and tools necessary for effective project management. With its comprehensive feature set and user-friendly interface, Asana has become popular for organizations seeking to improve their project planning, execution, and collaboration processes.

Is Asana Secure? (Security and Privacy)

The Asana Trust Center furnishes comprehensive details regarding Asana’s adherence to various industry and regulatory standards. These standards include:

1. SOC 2 Type II: Asana has undergone a SOC 2 Type II audit, an industry-standard assessment of a company’s internal controls related to security, availability, and confidentiality, and has completed it.
2. GDPR: Asana fully complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a comprehensive data privacy regulation that applies to businesses operating within the European Union.
3. HIPAA: Asana has put various security controls in place to ensure compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This regulation applies to businesses that manage medical data.
4. Privacy Shield: Asana holds certification under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, a self-certification program mandating companies to conform to specific data privacy principles.
5. Two-Factor Authentication: Asana offers two-factor authentication. Yet, today’s businesses are increasingly setting up 2FA measures to reduce the risks of cybersecurity threats.

Conclusion

Asana is a powerful task management tool with many features to help you organize your work better. Sleek and straightforward, this platform can transform how you manage projects and coordinate teams without much effort. By weighing the above pros and cons, you will be better positioned to determine whether it’s the right tool for your project management or productivity needs.