I keep encountering an issue where tasks change virtual hands (multiple times), and it is not that easy to know who created the task in the first place.
I am aware I can run a custom search, or dig through the task update history itself, but that is not that optimal when dealing with a heavy workload. Not to mention, that is not something you could ask a Client to do, or expect an Engineer to stop and solve on their own.
What I thought could help improve the issue, is to add a task Created By + User Name & Icon, and leave that set to display ON by default.
By doing so, anyone can quickly see who created a task in case they are required for clarification. It also makes life a lot easier for Clients and Developers.
Asana already tracks created by, which one can run searches for; the backend work should already be in place.
You just need to account for the extra field being displayed within the task header; assignee should be left blank until assigned per the normal process.
I hope this helps. I did a search and could not find anything matching my suggestion. Please let me know if something was already posted.
I think a custom field is a great solution. What if the user that creates the Task in Asana isn’t the user that should be noted as the originator of the Task? Because it’s a custom field, whether it’s wanted or not in any particular Project is already baked into how a custom field functions.
To close the gap between custom fields and what you are looking for, I would suggest these Asana additions instead.
A custom field type of user. (available values are users in an org - name & icon)
The ability to add default custom fields to new Projects.
These additions could meet your request and provide additional general functionality.
I hear what you are saying about Custom Fields, and I am using those right now (and every day). At the moment, I have specific projects where I use ‘Generated by’ to easily track if my Internal Team or the Client was the author of the issue.
I love using custom fields. That is one of the most important features of Asana I use on a daily basis.
That said, what I am asking for in this request, is pretty basic MVP level features one would expect a PM tool. For context, I do have around 15years of Production experience as a Project Manager and Software Producer. Most competing products (past & present) display some variation of 'Issue Created by’ for many reasons (without a user input).
But I do hear what you are saying, there may be a small percentage of users who want something marked as private. If that is the case, I would just expect there to be Super User / Admin access allowing one power-edit something as needed.
Asana is a collaborative tool that makes PM processes simple for new users and experts alike. I believe my request for this feature would benefit users in many ways.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Here’s to using Custom Fields as an interim workaround solution.
I would love this feature, but probably would need to be more flexible. Perhaps by default it would be filled with the “created by” person that can be changed to someone else. Instead of “created by”, perhaps specify the name the name of the field as “reports to”. So any given task is assigned to person A but reports to person B. Then have a Private check box option when needed.
The Created By field is well handled in Bridge24 for Asana. You can view/sort/group it in a grid view. You can generate charts and advanced reports with it, and also export it to Excel.
Sorry for the late update on this thread, but just wanted to let you know we’ve rolled out an update to make the Task creator more obvious and indelible
It would be great to be able to see “created by” as a field in our list/board views alongside “assignee”. This would be very helpful for sprint planning and quick-glance to know who a point of contact is on specific tasks.
Hi @Rachel_Hazen, welcome to the Asana Community Forum
While it is currently possible to see who has created a task by viewing the task stories (just under the description), we don’t have a Created By custom field at this time
Hopefully this is something our Product team can introduce! I’ll keep you posted here with any updates
This option would be extremely helpful here too. Other PM tools I have used give the option of ‘created by’ along with ‘assigned to’. It helps track the movement of the task (if it has to change hands) from source to end.
Thanks for the quick reply, but except for wasting 30 minutes reading between the lines, seems like Asana doesn’t support the simple features I am asking for (I guess if I was a programmer in your team, it was the time that would have taken me to add them to the system).
What is Brdge24? add-on on add-on for Asana?
I’m happy to announce we are launching the new Metadata Fields! Going forward, you will be able to add the following fields to the project list view by toggling them on from the Customize Menu:
Created on
Created by
Completed on
Last modified on
With this update, you can easily see the task creator in the project’s List View!
just a quick note to let you know Metadata fields are now supported on mobile both for projects and My Tasks. We hope you enjoy this latest addition and we look forward to hearing your feedback
using custom fields. That is one of the most important features of Asana I use on a daily basis.
