Subtask "Point Counting" Rolling up to Task Level

[Clair_Arthur]

Build a Department Points Roll-Up System in Asana

What I’m trying to solve

I manage projects in Asana where each parent task contains subtasks organized by department: Scripting, Production, Editing, Design, and Casting. Each of those department subtasks contains its own child subtasks, and each child subtask has a numeric custom field called “Points” that represents estimated or actual time/effort.

I need a system that:

1. Sums the Points across all child subtasks within each department

2. Surfaces those department totals at the parent task level so I can report on how much effort each department contributes to a given task

Task Structure (for reference)

Parent Task
├── Scripting (subtask / department container)
│   ├── Write outline — Points: 3
│   ├── Draft script — Points: 5
├── Production (subtask / department container)
│   ├── Location scout — Points: 4
├── Editing (subtask / department container)
│   ├── Rough cut — Points: 6
│   ├── Color grade — Points: 3
├── Design (subtask / department container)
│   ├── Thumbnail — Points: 2
└── Casting (subtask / department container)
    ├── Talent outreach — Points: 2
    ├── Callbacks — Points: 1

Preferred approach

Build this natively in Asana as much as possible. Please advise on:

• Whether Asana’s Rules, custom fields, or formulas can achieve any part of this automatically

Output I want to see at the task level

Department	Points
Scripting	8
Production	4
Editing	9
Design	2
Casting	3
Total	26

[Jan-Rienk]

hi @Clair_Arthur

I think you can accomplish what you want with a slight twist:

• use a project instead of a task
• use tasks inside the project instead of subtasks (can be multi-homed, likely grouped by project, each department having their own project as process)
• use dependencies on tasks instead of a sub-task’s subtask.

Then use a field per department to estimate effort, have that roll-up to the portfolio level, where you can also add a formula that adds up the total.

Note that this is how to accomplish working with points, which I’m sceptical to whether that is a good idea.