Efficient goal management is critical to organisational success, and Asana Goals, which is accessible on the Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise+ tiers, enables teams to align their work smoothly.
Understanding when to choose manual updates and when to use automation is critical for a seamless process.
In the attached video, I’ll explore the various types of Asana goal updates, offering insights and examples on when to choose manual updates and when to leverage automation.
Examples of when to use Manual vs Automatic Goal Updates
When to opt for manual goal updates:
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Qualitative metrics are used when your goals require subjective analysis or input that cannot be simply quantified. For example, collecting qualitative information from customer reviews, etc
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External Data Integration: If your objectives include data from outside sources that require, such as financial data from accounting software or customer satisfaction rating from a support software/ticket system, etc.
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Strategic adjustments and more detailed analysis: Manual updates work well when goals require strategic shifts beyond task or project completion, allowing for enabling detailed storytelling and context in thorough analysis scenarios.
When to opt for automatic goal updates:
Standardized Reporting / Routine Updates: Automation guarantees consistency and efficiency in reporting procedures. You can automatically calculate progress from sub-goals, projects, or tasks.
Sub-goals Measurement Options:
- Percentage
- Numeric Total
- Currency Total
Tasks Measurement:
- Completion of Connected Tasks
Projects Measurement Options:
- Milestones Complete
- Tasks Complete
Time-sensitive metrics: Used for objectives that must be completed within a set amount of time that can be measured based on task or milestone completion
Efficiency and Consistency: Automation guarantees efficiency and lowers the possibility of human error when goals are regular and repetitive and consistent metrics can be derived from task progress.
Note: Often a combination of using manual and automatic updates might come in handy, such as for example you want to increase the total sales per year. You are adding the total sales manually for the subgoal. The main goal result will automatically calculated based on the subgoal progress/updates.
Examples of manual goal updates
- Sales growth
- Total orders per month / quarter / year / region
- Measuring brand reputation
- Customer satisfaction index
- Customer loyalty / returning customer rate
- Influencer Marketing - maybe you want to keep track of the total units given away
- Running paid marketing - ads and you want to achieve a specific ROAS figure (return on ad spend)
- Email open or click-through rate
Examples of automatic goal updates
- Measure team productivity based on task / milestone completion
- Project Progress based on Task Completion Rate
- Marketing Campaign Performance
- New product tests/launches based on completed milestones
- Closed Deals in Sales
- Feature Implementation Progress
- Monitor Bug Resolution Through Task Completion Progress.
- Total blog posts published (measured based on task/milestone completion)
- and many more
Asana’s Goals feature offers a versatile platform with both manual and automatic update options. Achieve a seamless blend by considering the nature and frequency of changes for efficient goal management.
For more information on getting started with goals, writing effective goals, exploring various goal types, and more, refer to these articles: