In this how-to guide, we’ll dive into the powerful productivity tool, Asana. Asana is a project management app adored globally for its organization capabilities, loved by teams for facilitating seamless communication and efficient task tracking. Given its myriad features, one that users find particularly useful is the ability to create subtasks–smaller, actionable units of a larger task.
Breaking down tasks in this manner boosts productivity and keeps deliverables within sight. In the upcoming sections, we’ll guide you step-by-step through creating subtasks within Asana, providing you with the tools you need to maximize your team’s efficiency and project management prowess.
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How to Create a Subtask
To create subtasks, click the subtasks button in the task details pane. If you prefer keyboard shortcuts, select the parent task and press Tab+S. You may create additional subtasks by selecting each individual subtask and pressing Enter.
Altering Subtask Details
To adjust or add more detail to your subtask, click the chat bubble icon located right next to the subtask’s name. You are allowed to create a hierarchy of subtasks up to five levels deep. All the options that are available for a parent task, such as creating additional subtasks, are equally available within the subtask details.
Association with Parent Task
The parent task’s name is visible above the subtask name within the subtask’s details. To return to the parent task’s details, click on the parent task’s name, which is located at the top of the task details pane. Note that marking a parent task as complete does not automatically mark the subtasks as complete. You must complete subtasks independently.
For more information on subtask creation and management, you can visit Asana’s help center here.
Organizing Subtasks for Easy Viewing
To easily identify a task with subtasks, a subtask count icon is positioned next to the task. Asana, the project management software, allows for multiple visualizations of the subtask structure, including boards, calendars, and workload views. This provides a flexible and customized overview of your tasks.
Incorporating Subtasks into Project Flow
Subtasks can be manually included in the project’s structure for easier project management. This ensures they are visible not only in the parent task but also in the project’s task list, timeline, and calendar view. Once a subtask is associated with a project, it is fully integrated, and its name will appear in the detailed view of the subtask.
Efficiently Managing Subtasks
Optimizing task flow also means managing subtasks effectively. This can be done in several ways – for example; a standalone task can be easily converted into a subtask by simply dragging it into the subtasks section of its new parent task. On the other hand, to delete a subtask, select it, click on the three-dot icon, and choose ‘Delete Selected Subtask’. It is also possible to handle nested subtasks, i.e. those stacked within subtasks, by selecting ‘none’ from the sorting options on the project’s list view.
For more comprehensive tutorials on creating, viewing, and managing subtasks, refer to the dedicated section on Asana’s help center here.
