A frequent question that’s asked in terms of project management is which is a better tool for the same. Here, we take a close look at two such tools- Trello and Asana- so we can find which one works best for you.

Trello

Trello is based around a board view of tasks. This means tasks are arranged as cards rather than lists. These cards can then be dragged around to different columns depending on where in the workflow they are at a given moment. For instance, if a card represents a task under progress, it can be moved to the column for finished tasks once it has been completed.

This simplicity leads to easy workflow management. 

There a quite a lot of things that you could use Trello for. Among the most common of these are managing a content calendar, creating and maintaining development roadmaps and agile sprint planning.

Trello also supports collaboration and teamwork. You can add different users to a board. You can also grant them different levels of access permission, depending on the level of involvement they need to have in a project.

Other features

Assign: You can assign cards to certain users depending on the need. So, if a card represents a task, it can be assigned to users depending on who should need to collaborate for the efficient completion of the task. This could also be a way of nurturing teamwork.

Comment: Different users can comment on cards depending on whether they are granted permission or not. This helps nurture teamwork, especially when people are working remotely. This could also be effectively used for team management.

Add dependencies: Each task in a project is bound to be unique, with its own set of dependencies. Considering this, Trello lets you add task dependencies.

Make checklists: Very few things help you keep track of the things that need to be done in a project like checklists. In Trello, creating checklists is as easy as it gets.

Attach files: For efficiently completing a task, you may need to access certain files. Such files can easily be attached- whether from your system or the web- quite easily.

Set deadlines: You can easily set the deadline for each task in Trello.

Butler: Butler is a feature that lets you automate the workflow. Essentially, you can customize automation against certain actions. For example, you can create an automation to shift a card on software development to the optimization list once a certain user is tagged in the comment. Such automation not only minimizes the time taken for completing a project, but also offsets any potential human errors that may happen in such cases.

Trello comes in different subscription plans, The free plan gives you an unlimited number of cards along with a set number of Butler commands. For the security-conscious, you also get the benefit of two-factor authentication. There are also two paid plans, which give you access to more advanced features like app integration and additional views.

Asana

Contrasting with Trello, Asana gives you both list and board views.

But the tool is more than just a workflow management system. It is a full-fledged project management tool. That said, you can make tasks and add them in a board view. You can also create reports and set goals using Asana.

Asana also has both free and paid plans.

Even in the free plan, you can make projects and view them in three different views: list view, board view and calendar view. To create projects, you can start with a blank project, or choose from the many project templates available. You also have the option to import the project from spreadsheets.

No matter how the projects are created, you can then add tasks, assign those tasks to subordinates and set deadlines on the tasks.

You can group the tasks according to sections, and designate certain important tasks as milestones. Asana offers great flexibility in that you can filter tasks as per your requirement.

The paid plans would let you collaborate with even more team members- thereby possibly enabling greater team management. With a paid subscription, you can also get more advanced features. The Rules feature is a case in point. Similar to Trello’s Butler, it helps you automate workflow.

Another advantage of a paid plan is you get more task views- like timeline views and dashboard views. You could also get access to the Portfolio feature. As the name implies, this helps you with Portfolio management.

As you see, you get a rather exhaustive list of features in Asana. Depending on your requirements, you can use the software either for workflow management or project management.

Trello or Asana- which will work better for you?

If your sole requirement is workflow management, then Trello might be a good fit. However, for more complex project management, Asana is almost always the better option, considering the gamut of features it provides like multiple task views and portfolio management.

What both the tools lack

Both Trello and Asana offer some interesting set of features that assist project and team management. However, neither tool offers certain specific features that would help accurately predict project delivery. For instance, none of these tools helps you measure the actual amount of time someone spends on a task accurately. And if you cannot count that accurately, you are bound to make mistakes estimating the project delivery time.

I’m Productive is a tool that integrates such features which help you accurately predict project delivery, and thereby help assure a predictable revenue. To learn more about how I’m Productive can help you in ways none of the other tools in the market does, please head to their website.