Hi!
So, where I’m working right now we are trying to onboard more “sellers” let’s say because the constant inflow of them is a key need in the company. But it’s an ongoing project without any end date in site. We are creating and trying out different initiatives, some work, some don’t, investigating and so on. This is one of the main pain points right now because it’s hard to keep track of all the proposals and experiments, etc. And it is one of the reasons we need Asana.
I’m trying to lead the full change into Asana, and they’ve actually tried using Asana here and there in the past but because it’s not an organized approach, it hasn’t sticked.
That’s why I’d like to find some ideas on how to manage permanently ongoing projects that involve a lot of brainstorming and small initiatives (that a lot of times don’t have 10+ tasks) such as this one since it’s one of the biggest pain points and needs of ours that could really help migrate everyone into Asana and finally save us from a lot of headaches.
Perhaps someone has some templates to propose or ideas to divide this project in different ones. I would just like some ideas, tips and recommendations if anyone has any. Thank you! 
Hi @Manuela_Belisario,
Using Asana for a permanent ongoing project, also called an ongoing process, is a great fit. You’ll have a lot of flexibility as you brainstorm and try out various approaches.
Here are a few specific ideas that I’ve had success with for configuring projects for onboarding workflows:
- Use one task per “seller,” which will move through your workflow.
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Use the Board view. This can be a good fit for processes that will have perhaps less than 15 or so active tasks at any given time. Set up a column section for each step in the onboarding process. Tasks move from left to right as they progress through the process. The last column could be the final state, such as “Onboarded,” etc., and tasks in this section could be in the completed state and either filtered out or visible based on your needs.
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Use the List view. This option scales better, and is the view I use the most often. It tends to be preferable for projects that have more than 15 or so active tasks in play. Create a section for each phase of the onboarding workflow and move tasks from the top sections to the bottom sections as they progress through the workflow. The last section could be the complete or end state; same concept as above.
- Use custom tags to add more depth to your workflow process, and consider leveraging automation rules to take certain actions based on the field options you select.
- Use task templates to auto-populate new tasks with certain Title and Description text, subtasks, assignees, collaborators, and field selections.
The beauty of Asana is that as you experiment with various options, you can have a separate project for each concept and try them simultaneously by multihoming. For example, the task for a specific “seller” can belong to several projects at the same time, with each project using a different configuration option. This gives you great flexibility and freedom as you try various options in multiple projects.
One general suggestion for making Asana sticky is to train as many managers as you can in using it, and encourage them to assign work to their direct reports inside of Asana. Once management starts using it and leveraging it’s organizational power, the team members will likely follow along.
Additionally, ask the managers if you can do a kickoff meeting with everyone on their teams, so you can showcase Asana to give them the “why” behind adopting it. Then, immediately after the kickoff meeting, invite each team member to Asana, and assign them an Asana Basics training task. This will break the ice and help your workmates learn some of the best practices from the beginning, and give them as idea of how powerfully this tool can improve their effectiveness.
Here’s an Asana Academy course you may enjoy: 7 steps to making Asana sticky