Problem with "Duplicate Project" being inconsistent with "Use Template" despite being the same project.

[Matt5]

Hello all,

I’ve discovered something frustrating. Let’s assume have a Project that has been marked as a Project Template. Some of your 20+ users will tend to start new projects by selecting “Duplicate Project”… and yet others will start new projects by using “Project Template”. As long as they are picking the correct Project, you’d think those two options give you the same results by default. They don’t, and it’s making a WRECK out of Asana for us.

Here’s the problem I’m running into… If you duplicate the Project that is the Template, it wrecks all the Multi-Homing that the tasks are built pre-populated with because that checkbox “other projects” is unchecked by default, and nobody in the company notices this (no matter how much you train them, tiny details like that get forgotten).

If they duplicate the Project, none of the multi-homing of the tasks inside that project happens, which is what’s wrecking the system. People aren’t going to remember to check that box about “other projects”, and they’re going to put a ton of work into that Project before they realize that something’s wrong.

BUT, if they start their new project by selecting “New Project: Use Project Template”, all the multi-homing happens by default.

This is really inconsistent on Asana’s part and frustrating. Our company has a mix of user skill levels, and many of them already are using Projects that are “Copy Me to Start New”, but multi-homed tasks are part of those, so they don’t realize what they are doing. They think using “Duplicate Task” is giving them everything they need.

This is very frustrating and inconsistent. Is there a way to either:

1. Delete the project that the Template is based off of, without losing the template? So that users don’t have the option of using “duplicate”?

–OR–

2. Set all the default checkboxes so that when they do use “duplicate”, I get all the checkboxes I want checked off?

[Marie]

Hi @Matt5, and thanks for sharing your experience with us; we appreciate it and will keep in mind as we continue to develop Asana.

“Use templates” and “Duplicate projects” are similar but have different functionalities. “Duplicate project” allows some flexibility so folks can create projects without starting from scratch, while “Use templates” is a lot more rigid and ensure a more streamlined experience.

@Matt5

This is very frustrating and inconsistent. Is there a way to either:

1. Delete the project that the template is based off of, without losing the template? So that users don’t have the option of using “duplicate”?

–OR–

2. Set all the default checkboxes so that when they do use “duplicate”, I get all the checkboxes I want checked off?

None of these options are possible at the moment. All templates are based on an actual project, and deleting this project would result in deleting the template. The preset checkboxes can’t be customized either. The best way to solve this issue is to set some clear conventions with your team and to have these conventions listed in a project that members of your team can refer to if they have any doubts. This solution will take a little bit of time to establish, but it’s an excellent opportunity to set guidelines for other use cases and ensure everyone works together with the same standards.