Document Syntax Standards (AKA Markdown) for Asana Processes , Workflow, Project Standards

English Forum Asana In Practice
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A bit on the nerdy side here… I wonder what (if anything) you all use to document your Asana Processes, Workflows, and Project standards.

There are many objects within the “Asana Universe” that one may need to reference when writing about a process, workflow, or governance structure you are proposing within your organization.

Narrative terms can get confusing when describing processes, particularly with the flexibility Asana affords us. A task can represent a Project, Projects can be Projects, a portfolio can represent a Project, a portfolio can contain projects AND other portfolios!

My latest foray into documenting a project management portfolio process made me think about this a bit and wonder if any other practitioners have developed something that could be shared with others.

Absent that, maybe interested community members could work together to put something together that could serve as a sort of “Markdown” for Asana.

Here are some ideas I have thought about for about 10 minutes.

Proposed “Asana Markdown” v0.1

Object Notation Example
Task (Task) (Build Language Translator)
Project { Project } { Hail Mary Launch }
Portfolio {{ Portfolio }} {{ Hail Mary PMO }}
Field < Field > < Return Status >
Field Value + Field Value + + Not Ready +
Rule ! Rule ! ! Assign to Rocky !
View [ View ] [ Grace’s Open Tasks ]

Make your Mark
I have not thought about simple symbols or the real need for the following:

  • Project Template
  • Task Template
  • Team
  • Goal

Certainly could overthink this, but thought I would post in hopes of generating some good discussion.

What do you think?

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Hi @Mike_Hoefer,

It’s fantastic to see you thinking so deeply about documentation standards, consistency is truly the secret for high-performing teams.

While I love the logic behind creating a custom shorthand, I’d love to offer a bit of “insider” perspective: We usually recommend sticking as close to native Asana terminology as possible.

Creating a brand-new syntax can sometimes create a “double learning curve” for new hires (learning Asana plus learning the code). It can also make it trickier to use native features like global search or Asana Intelligence, which are optimized for our standard object names.

Instead of a custom Markdown, I’d suggest focusing on Naming Conventions. This keeps your documentation “future-proof” and aligned with our official resources. Here are two great places to start:

A common middle ground is to create a “How we use Asana” project in your workspace. You can use a Reference task to act as a “Legend” for your team’s specific formatting rules while keeping the core terminology the same.

Can’t wait to see which direction you take this!

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