I am so pleased asana launched the project overview tab:man_dancing:! Such little things that make everyone working on these updates absolutely brilliant.
Here is my first look into the feature:
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Project Brief
While this language is very useful for marketing teams, don’t let that stop you. Use this field to house your project charter or project scope
Every time I worked on a project , I used to create one task and call it:
‘Everything you need to know about this project ------->’ Inside this task, I would house subtasks, each one highlighting a key area in the project: scope, budget, schedule, management, quality checks, stakeholders, etc…
While this feature worked well, it did not come without issues. For instance, it was the only task housed without a section. It was the only task that would look odd in a project board view, and it was a task that would easily be lost for those new project members who join the work mid flow. And to be honest it was also a task that could easily get forgotten from keeping up-to-date.
So how does Project Overview now work for me:
a) Project Brief in a one stop shop that includes all the key information about the project. I write it up concise so people easily read it. OR
b) Usually we work on a project that starts with an audit on an area in the business - or a discovery stage. The result of this discovery stage results in a report and clear direction. I attach this document to the project brief. Why? Because it is important not to lose sight on where the project is heading. This becomes your baseline!
But the discovery stage is part of the project work, do you keep the project brief empty until that is done? I would recommend not to. Keep in mind your project board is not a static piece. It evolves with your work. SO as a starting point, let the brief be the high-level of the project scope - or as project managers might call it the project charter. Once the discovery work concludes, then add the document there as a resource. Any new member joining your project team would need to read it to understand the context of the work. Here is a good article 25 Essential Project Management Skills to Succeed • Asana that shows some of the skills needed to success in a project and highlights the importance of communication and organisation
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How we Collaborate:
Treat this section as your executive summary. Don’t put too much details. I personally put the key rules for the project such as the key deliverables , where documents are stored
especially when asana is not the only business tool for collaboration, and an outline of the most exposed communication plan.
- Project Roles 🧍
This is a straight forward feature that is brilliant for everyone to know who is the project team and who is added just from a stakeholder stand point. This can be further developed
So what would I like to see different to this page?
i. Ability to shuffle these headings to my own liking
ii. Ability to delete / archive project briefs as they change
iii. Ability to save project roles the same way I create a custom field - so I do not need to type them at every project
iv. Ability to click on a person from the project role and go directly to all their open tasks within the project itself