Market Perspectives

The management and effectiveness of work is a priority for every organization, but the technology in use may not be helpful in reaching these goals. Challenges in outdated work management tools can arise when projects switch hands between various roles and departments, resulting in tasks and dependencies being transitioned without full information on items like deadlines and resources. Basic methods, such as assigning tasks via email, cannot be tracked, analyzed or viewed by other workers. By tracking assignments systematically in a dedicated application, even the smallest task can be evaluated to assess for necessary changes and influence on objectives. Work management is defined by Ventana Research as a unified process to plan and execute work with activities and tasks using the allocated resources available to ensure efficient execution of tasks and increase worker productivity.

Asana is a San Francisco-based company founded by former Facebook engineers Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein in 2008. Asana’s work management platform, which operates on computer and mobile technologies, provides a transparent view into project and goal progression, allowing workers to shift their focus from performing administrative duties to working towards project completion, using workflows that can be tailored for specific use cases. Projects can be customized using several styles, like Kanban boards or to-do lists, and an overview is available to view status updates and key resources in one place, where workloads can be managed and tasks can be rescheduled or reassigned. Company-wide, departmental and personal objectives can be set as goals which can then be broken into sub-goals and assigned to different teams, and goal progression can be tracked using a dashboard. Workflows can be programmed to process specified actions with Workflow Builder, and customized rules can be adapted based on priority levels. Dashboards can be accessed to monitor progress made on custom workflows, tasks or projects and troubleshoot underlying issues, if necessary. Asana includes integrations such as Google Workspace, Slack and Zendesk, and Asana API can be used to build custom integrations, if needed. The Asana software aims to unify project information into a data-backed and transparent platform to reduce information gaps and disjointed work between teams.

According to our Benchmark Research, fewer than one-half of executives (45%) communicate strategies and objectives related to business planning well or very well. Work management applications can unify insights on work progression and resource availability into one platform, allowing managers to more effectively pinpoint priorities, leading to optimal performance. Ventana Research asserts that through 2025, the use of work management is found to be an essential investment to increase the effectiveness of the workforce and to reach optimal outcomes. Asana offers four pricing plans, and its enterprise option, in particular, provides enhanced security and increased data control and has several certifications including Systems and Organization Controls 2 (SOC 2) and complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The effects of the pandemic have forced organizations to reevaluate how business processes and work are managed to ensure business continuity in a contemporary workplace. In its 2023 release notes, Asana includes several new advancements such as time tracking, Goals team sharing, reporting and new integrations with Google, Freshdesk, HubSpot and Vimeo.

Asana’s approach to work management is to provide a comprehensive portfolio of capabilities that link work with goals and timelines to ensure resources are well-managed. Ventana Research believes organizations should embrace work management technology tools that are adaptive to business processes and meet specific workforce requirements. Investment in, and utilization of, work management can provide an organized approach to managing myriad tasks to maximize productivity and outcomes. Organizations reevaluating their current work management process should consider Asana and examine its approach to meet individual to enterprise-class requirements.