Nick Soderstrom
Asana · Projects, forms and automations

14 Asana automations for three organizations. Try every one yourself.

Asana is where many teams keep their work: every task with an owner and a due date, grouped into projects, rolled up into portfolios and goals for leadership. An automation (Asana used to call them rules) does the routine moving: when a request comes in, it can assign the right person, set the deadline, add the checklist and tell the lead, before anyone opens it.

I set up three made-up organizations the way I would a real one: a marketing team, a professional services firm and a nonprofit research program. Each has a working intake form, its projects in every view, the portfolio and goals leadership reads, and the automations that move the work. Everything runs here in your browser, on sample tasks or on a request you submit. Need this for your team, or hiring a project manager who knows Asana? Get in touch.

Try it: submit a requestSee the three organizationsGet in touch

How to use this page

  1. Pick an organization. New to Asana? Start with the marketing team.
  2. Submit a request. Fill in its intake form with any name and see the task Asana would make, and every automation that runs on it.
  3. Run an automation. Pick a sample task such as “Becomes rush later” or “The client is late”, press Run, and watch each action happen, with its time.

Short on time? Each automation opens with The problem and What I built in plain words. The builder cards and Build notes are the detail an Asana admin would check. Words you may not know

Automations you can run
14
Actions inside them
101
Sample tasks to test with
47
Check if paths, each one taken by a test
39/39

Are these real organizations?

No. Brightline Outdoor, Northfield Advisory and Cascadia Watershed Alliance, and everyone who works there, are made up, so every form, project and automation can be shown end to end and tried by anyone. The setup itself uses Asana’s real triggers, actions, conditions, views and features, checked against Asana’s help center, so each one can be rebuilt step for step in a real workspace. Each case also has screenshots of the same setup built in a real Asana workspace. Nothing on this page sends anything or keeps what you type.

Who built this

I’m Nick Soderstrom, a freelance senior project manager and operations lead: Top Rated Plus on Upwork, with 257 contracts and 18,000+ hours there. Asana is the first tool in my project management stack, alongside ClickUp, Monday and Jira. This page and its simulator were built by directing AI, like the projects on my AI Projects page.

View resume · How I work · Get in touch

Asana words in plain English (17)
Asana
A work management app: teams keep their tasks, projects, plans and reports in it, and see who is doing what by when.
Task, subtask
A task is one piece of work with an owner (the assignee) and usually a due date. Subtasks are the smaller steps inside it.
Project, section
A project holds the tasks for one stream of work. Sections divide it into stages, like New requests, In review and Delivered; on a board they are the columns.
Custom field
An extra column on every task in a project, like Priority or Request type. Library fields are shared across projects so reports can compare them.
Views: List, Board, Timeline, Calendar, Workflow
Different ways of looking at the same tasks: a list, columns of cards, bars across dates, a month grid, or a map of where work comes in and what happens in each section.
Form
A web form attached to a project. Each submission becomes a task, and answers can fill in custom fields. People outside the company can use it.
Automation (rule)
An automatic “when this happens, do that” inside a project, like “when a task moves to In review, assign it to the brand manager”. Asana used to call these rules.
Trigger, action
The trigger is the event that starts an automation. Actions are what it does: assign, move, set a field, add subtasks, comment, post to Slack.
Check if, paths
A fork inside an automation: “if Request type is Video, do this; if it is Email, do that”. Each fork is a path; No other path is matching is the catch-all.
Approval
A kind of task with three buttons instead of a tick: Approve, Request changes, Reject. The decision can trigger automations.
Dependency, milestone
A dependency says one task waits on another. A milestone is a diamond on the timeline marking a moment that matters, like Launch day.
Template
A saved project to copy from, with its sections, tasks, relative dates and automations. Every new launch or onboarding starts from it.
Portfolio
A list of projects with each one’s status, progress and owner, for the people who manage many projects at once.
Goal
A target like “grow online revenue 25%”. Projects and portfolios can be linked to it so its progress updates from the work.
Workload
A chart of how much each person has on, week by week, against what they can handle. Shows who is overbooked before they burn out.
Status update
A short post on a project or portfolio: On track, At risk or Off track, with what changed and what is blocked.
Run history
Asana’s record of when an automation ran and what it did. The simulator here shows the same kind of record.
Case study 1 · Marketing team

Brightline Outdoor

Brightline Outdoor sells packs, layers and camp gear online and through 40 retail partners. Its seven-person marketing team takes creative requests from ecommerce, retail, partnerships and the founders, and those requests used to arrive by Slack DM, email and hallway. Nobody could say what was in the queue, rush jobs jumped the line without anyone deciding they should, and the winter launch slipped twice because sign-off happened in comment threads. The brief: one front door for requests, routing nobody has to think about, a review step the brand manager actually owns, and a launch plan leadership can read without asking.

Projects
3
Automations
4
Actions inside them
30
Plan
Asana Advanced

The sample team · 7-person in-house marketing team

  • Dana Whitfield Marketing director
  • Ava Lindqvist Creative lead
  • Marisol Grant Brand manager
  • Theo Banerjee Video producer
  • Jun Okafor Designer
  • Inés Romero Copywriter
  • Kai Pratt Lifecycle marketer (requester)

Brightline Outdoor and everyone on its team are made up. The Asana setup is real: every field, form question and automation can be rebuilt in an Asana Advanced workspace.

The system

From one goal down to the task in front of you

Asana stacks up: tasks live in projects, projects roll up into a portfolio, and the portfolio is linked to the goals leadership cares about. Automations do the moving in between. Each card below is one automation: the orange text with the lightning bolt is what starts it. Pick a card to open it.

  1. GoalGrow online revenue 25% year over year in Q4
  2. PortfolioMarketing · 2026 H2
  3. ProjectsCreative Requests · Winter Gear Launch · Content Calendar
  4. IntakeForm: Request creative work
  1. 01Request triageTask added to this projectEach request lands with the right maker, a due date and its checklist, or in Needs info.
  2. 02Rush requestsTask added to this projectRush requests reach the creative lead in minutes, so the call to bump other work is hers.
  3. 03Brand review hand-offTask moved to a sectionFinished work goes to the brand manager with a deadline, sooner for rush work.
  4. 04Launch sign-offsApproval status is changedLaunch sign-offs move the plan forward, open a revision task, or cut the asset.
Live demo

The intake form, working

Fill in Brightline Outdoor’s form as if you were sending a request, and press Submit. Use any name: nothing is sent or stored. You’ll see the task Asana would create from your answers, and every automation that runs on it, step by step.

Request creative work

One form for every design, video, email and copy request. The more you tell us here, the less we ask later.

Becomes the task name. Example: “Retail shelf talker for the 30L pack”.

Goal, audience, where it will run, and any files.

Demo only: nothing is sent or stored. The task and the automation run below happen in your browser.

What happens when you submit

  1. A task is created in Creative Requests › New requests, named from your first answer.
  2. Your answers land in custom fields, so automations can read them.
  3. 2 automations run on Task added to this project: 01 · Request triage and 02 · Rush requests.

Each answer lands in a custom field, so the automations can route on it and nobody retypes anything.

How the form is set up in Asana (5 notes for builders)
  • Field mappingRequest type, Rush, Requesting team and Needed by map to project custom fields. The first question maps to the task name, so the board reads as a list of deliverables, not “Form submission”.
  • BranchingThe video-length question appears only when Request type is Video. Branching needs Advanced or above.
  • SettingsSubmissions land in New requests. No default assignee: routing is the automation’s job, so the form stays dumb and the logic lives in one place. Answers are copied to the description.
  • Submitter as collaboratorOn, so requesters inside Brightline follow their task without being added by hand. Outside requesters get the confirmation email and can reply through request tracking.
  • Required where it routesRequest type and Rush are required because automations branch on them. Needed by is optional: rush is the signal, and a date nobody checks is noise.
The projects

The same tasks, in the view each person needs

A view is just a way of looking at a project’s tasks: a list, a board of columns, a timeline, a calendar, or the Workflow view that shows where work comes in and which automations run in each section. Pick a project, then a view.

The team’s single front door. Every request comes in through the form and leaves as delivered work.

Owner Ava Lindqvist · On track

Also: Dashboard

New requestsAn automation runs here0

Needs info1

Retail partner shelf talker

OtherRetail

Ava

Queued1

Holiday gift guide: email header

EmailMedium

JunFri 5

In progress2

Trail pack 30L: 15s product video

VideoMedium

TheoWed 10

Founders’ note: launch landing copy

Copy onlyYes

InésWed 3

In reviewAn automation runs here1

Instagram carousel: layering 101

Social graphicMedium

MarisolThu 4

Approved1

REI co-op banner set

Social graphicMedium

JunTue 2

Delivered1

Black Friday SMS image

Social graphicEcommerce

JunMon 1

Reporting

What leadership reads instead of asking

The portfolio shows every project’s status in one table, goals show whether the work adds up to what matters, Workload shows who is overbooked before they burn out, and a weekly status update says what changed in plain words.

Portfolio: Marketing · 2026 H2

Every live campaign and the request queue in one place, with each project owner posting a weekly status update. Owner: Dana Whitfield.

ProjectStatusProgressOwnerDueAutomations
Creative RequestsOn track14%AvaWed 103
Winter Gear LaunchAt risk11%DanaMon 151
Content CalendarOn track0%MarisolMon 150

Goals

The company goal at the top; team goals beneath it, each measured by a linked project or portfolio, or a number someone updates.

  • Grow online revenue 25% year over year in Q4

    On track Dana Whitfield · Q4 FY26

    58%

    Number, updated weekly from the ecommerce dashboard

  • Launch the winter line on its date with every channel live

    At risk Dana Whitfield · Q4 FY26

    45%

    Linked project: Winter Gear Launch

  • Grow the email list to 120,000 subscribers

    On track Kai Pratt · Q4 FY26

    71%

    Number, updated weekly

  • Deliver 90% of creative requests by their due date

    On track Ava Lindqvist · Q4 FY26

    86%

    Linked project: Creative Requests

Workload

Effort points per week against each maker’s capacity. Theo is over in week 2, so the 15-second cutdowns move to week 3 before anyone burns out.

  • Ava Lindqvist Creative lead · capacity 14 a week

    9W1Week 1: 9 points11W2Week 2: 11 points8W3Week 3: 8 points

  • Marisol Grant Brand manager · capacity 12 a week

    7W1Week 1: 7 points10W2Week 2: 10 points6W3Week 3: 6 points

  • Theo Banerjee Video producer · capacity 16 a week

    14W1Week 1: 14 points19W2Week 2: 19 points, over capacity9W3Week 3: 9 points

  • Jun Okafor Designer · capacity 16 a week

    12W1Week 1: 12 points15W2Week 2: 15 points10W3Week 3: 10 points

  • Inés Romero Copywriter · capacity 16 a week

    8W1Week 1: 8 points11W2Week 2: 11 points12W3Week 3: 12 points

Status update · Friday, week 1

Winter Gear Launch · weekly status

At risk Posted by Dana Whitfield

Launch day holds, but the hero video sign-off moved two days, which leaves no slack before Creative locked.

What went well
  • Positioning and offer locked on time.
  • Landing page build is a day ahead.
Risks and blockers
  • Hero video color grade needs a second pass. Theo is on it; sign-off moves to Wednesday.
  • If sign-off slips past Thursday, the email series starts a day late. The dependency on Timeline shows it.
Next week
  • Both sign-offs by Thursday.
  • Creative locked milestone on Friday.
In Asana itself

The same setup, built in a real workspace

These are screenshots of Brightline Outdoor’s projects, portfolio and goals in an actual Asana Advanced workspace, created from the same data this page draws with an API script. Every task is assigned to me there, so the avatars all read NS; the fictional owners are named in each task’s description. Select a screenshot to see it full size.

  • Creative Requests in Board view
  • Winter Gear Launch on Timeline
  • The weekly status update
  • Content Calendar in month view
  • The Marketing · 2026 H2 portfolio
  • A goal with its progress

The automations

Pick an automation, pick a sample task, press Run

Each tab below is one automation (Asana called these rules until recently). Read The problem and What I built for the short version. Then pick a sample task and press Run automation: the run history shows what people do to the task, which automations run, and every action they take, and the builder card ticks off each step.

For Asana admins: the simulator follows the builder’s rules. Any trigger starts the automation, actions run before the Check if, the first matching path runs (or No other path is matching), changes made by an automation start others only where “Can be triggered by other automations” is on, and date triggers fire between midnight and 1 AM for open tasks only. New to the words? Open the decoder.

01 · Form → the right maker

Request triage

Every request lands with an owner, a due date and its checklist before anyone opens it.

The problem

Requests arrived in four places and sat until Ava, the creative lead, sorted them by hand, usually on Monday morning. A video request waited three days for someone to notice it needed a shoot. Half the requests came without the one detail that decides who makes them.

What I built

The form makes Request type required and maps it to a custom field. The moment a request lands, one automation checks that field and sends it down one of four paths: video to Theo with a 10-day due date and the four production steps as subtasks, design work to Jun with five days and a brand check, copy to Inés with three days, and anything marked Other to Needs info with a comment saying who will follow up. The board is sorted before Ava opens it.

Creative Requests › Automations /01 · Route new requests by typeActive
Project
Creative Requests
Runs on
Tasks
Triggered by other automations
Off
Why it’s set up this way (3)
  • Off for “Can be triggered by other automations”: only a new request should be routed, never a task another automation moved.
  • The paths are written so no two can match the same task, so their order never matters.
  • Due dates are set as “in N days” from the moment the request lands. Ava adjusts by hand when the requester’s Needed by date is sooner.

The automation as it reads in Asana’s builder (Customize › Automations). Each step gets a green tick when the run reaches it.

What starts this workflow
  • Task added to this project
  1. Check if4 paths
    VideoRequest type is Video
    1. Set assignee

      Theo Banerjee

    2. Set due date

      In 10 days

    3. Add subtasks

      Script and shot list · Shoot plan · Edit v1 · Captions and cutdowns

    4. Move task to section

      Queued

    5. End
    DesignRequest type is any of Social graphic, Email, Landing page
    1. Set assignee

      Jun Okafor

    2. Set due date

      In 5 days

    3. Add subtasks

      First draft · Brand check

    4. Move task to section

      Queued

    5. End
    Copy onlyRequest type is Copy only
    1. Set assignee

      Inés Romero

    2. Set due date

      In 3 days

    3. Move task to section

      Queued

    4. End
    Anything elseNo other path is matching
    1. Set assignee

      Ava Lindqvist

    2. Move task to section

      Needs info

    3. Add comment

      This request is marked Other, so it can’t be routed yet. Ava will reply here within one business day to agree the format, then move it to Queued.

    4. End
Pick a sample task
Tue 10:12 AM · day 2Not started
  1. Pick a sample task above, then press Run automation. Each line is one thing that happens, with its time: what people do to the task, which automations run, and every action they take. Days in between are fast-forwarded.

Build notes

The detail an Asana admin would check before trusting this automation. Start with What if… for the unusual cases in plain words. Words you may not know

  • Someone adds a task by handIt is routed the same way if Request type is set. If it isn’t, it goes to Needs info, which is the nudge to use the form.
  • A request type is added laterA new option, say Podcast, matches no path and lands in Needs info until a path is added. That is the safe failure.
  • The maker is on holidayChange the assignee in one path while they are out. The automation doesn’t know about time off; Workload does, and Ava checks it on Mondays.
  • A duplicate submissionBoth tasks are routed. The second is merged by hand (Mark as duplicate), which keeps comments and followers.

Asana features in this build

  • Forms
  • Field mapping
  • Custom fields
  • Automations
  • Check if paths
  • Subtasks
  • Sections
  • Board view
Design choices

The same few rules in every workspace

Three different organizations, one way of building. In plain words: work comes in one way, facts live in fields, important steps can’t be skipped by accident, decisions are recorded as decisions, and reminders go to the person who can act.

Troubleshooting

What I check first when I inherit a workspace

Most messy Asana setups go wrong in the same few ways. This is the order I look in, and what I do about each.

  1. Automations nobody ownsWhen the creator leaves, automations that post to Slack or email stop being editable. Asana flags orphaned ones; I claim and re-authorize them first.
  2. Routing that reads free textPaths that depend on a task name or description break the first time someone phrases it differently. Move the fact into a single-select field and route on that.
  3. Duplicate fields“Priority”, “priority” and “Pri” across twelve projects. Merge into one library field so portfolios and dashboards can report across projects.
  4. Sections used as statuses and labels at onceA task can only be in one section per project. If a section is doing two jobs, one of them belongs in a field.
  5. Chains that loopTwo automations that move a task back and forth. Turn off “Can be triggered by other automations” on one of them unless the chain is the point.
  6. Approvals that aren’tA task called “Approval” that anyone completes with a tick. Mark it as an approval, assign the approver, and make the project comment-only for everyone else if it matters who decides.
  7. Templates that driftedProjects made from a template two years ago, edited by hand since. Fix the template first; live projects keep their version.
  8. Goals with no sourceA goal at 40% that nobody can explain. Link it to a project, a portfolio or a number someone owns, or retire it.
How I work

From a messy inbox to a workspace the team trusts

  1. Map the work

    How requests arrive, who decides what, where it waits, and what leadership needs to see. Written down before anything is built.

  2. Fields and sections

    Library custom fields with fixed options, sections as stages, and names the next admin can guess.

  3. Forms, then automations

    One form per front door, mapped to fields. Then one automation per job, each with its paths written so no two match the same task.

  4. Test with sample tasks

    A sample task for every path, checked against the automation’s run history, then a real request from a teammate.

  5. Templates and reporting

    Save the project as a template, add it to the portfolio, link it to a goal, and set up the weekly status update.

  6. Hand off and watch

    A short screen-recorded walkthrough (Loom) and a one-page how-to (SOP). Run history checked in the first week, then monthly.

Naming, so the next person can find things

Automations
01 · Route new requests by type: numbered, a verb, what it does
Sections
In review, Needs info: stages a person would say out loud
Custom fields
Request type, Waiting on: library fields with fixed options, shared across projects
Templates
Seasonal launch, Client onboarding: named for the work, not the client

Hiring a project manager who knows Asana, or need it set up?

I plan, run and set up projects in Asana: intake forms, automations, templates, portfolios, goals and the weekly reporting around them. If you’re hiring for a project or operations role or want your workspace cleaned up, I’d like to hear about it.

Get in touchView resumeEmail me