Microsoft Teams and Asana integration

 

Microsoft Teams integration is available to all paid tiers.

 

Overview

Use Asana's integration with Microsoft Teams to add Asana projects to group chats and turn conversations into actionable work, all in one place. Chat with teammates about a project while looking at the full task list, including task assignees, due dates, and complete tasks when they're done. With Asana for Microsoft Teams, you can stay connected and organized, no matter where you're working.

Teams is a chat-based collaboration tool that allows global, remote, and cross-functional teams to work together and share information via a common space. Users can utilize features like document collaboration, channel messaging, team chat, and task management with Asana. This integration with Asana ensures focus and work continuity wherever you are, at any given time or place. Asana lets you know who is doing what by when.

An Asana bot has been added to Microsoft Teams that facilitates the unfurling of Asana features. It will help you search and find Asana features to reference in Teams conversations and allow users to create tasks or add messages to existing tasks from Teams.

Requirements for installation

Asana requirements

Microsoft Teams integration is available to all paid tiers.

 

Microsoft Teams requirements

The Asana for Microsoft Teams integration is available to all Microsoft Teams paid plans. The free version of Microsoft Teams does not support app integration.

Installation steps

Connect Asana to Microsoft Teams to assign tasks and stay accountable by adding the app for yourself and your team.

set up

How to set up Asana for Microsoft Teams integration:

  • Go to the Apps tab in MS Teams
  • Search for Asana Project management
  • Click on Asana
  • Click add to install your app
 
add

From the Asana Project Management pop-up, click Add.

It's not possible to add the Asana bot for Microsoft Teams to a private channel or chat.

 

How to manage the app for your organization:

manage apps

To manage apps, go to the Microsoft Teams admin center, then search for Asana to ensure it is set to allowed. Tick Allow.

Add Asana to the Pinned apps list in Microsoft Teams admin center so that you can find it quicker and choose the order that it is pinned to the navigation bar.

 

Onboarding flow

When the integration is installed, you will have access to the integration bot in your 1:1 chat. You can also add the bot to specific team channels.

You can type in questions and use it to keep you updated about project activity in Asana.

onboarding

When you interact with the integration for the first time, you will engage with a chatbot. The chatbot will introduce the integration, run through examples of use cases, and provide links to any further Guide articles you might need.

How to share links

Users can unfurl tasks, projects, portfolios, status updates, and teams to show more information when sharing with a particular team.

share link

To share links:

  • Paste any Asana specific URL link
  • Wait for the unfurl to appear
  • Click the Expand icon for further context
  • Link to the team and send
 
expand

You can then view it in its entirety by clicking View in Asana.

You can find tasks, projects, and portfolios by clicking on the Asana logo in the message composer.

find task

Searching for tasks, projects, or portfolios:

  1. Click the Asana logo in the message composer
  2. You can search for any task, project, or portfolio within this menu

How to create a new task

create new task

To create a task:

  1. Click the + button in the Asana message composer dialog
  2. Select Create new task
  3. Fill out details in the pop-up screen that appears
  4. Click on Create task
 
create task 2

You can create new Asana tasks anywhere in Teams. You can use the create task command with the Asana bot, the option from the composer, or within any message in a conversation. You can assign it to a teammate, set a due date, and add it to an Asana project.

How to add a message to a task

Adding message 1

To add a message to a task:

  • Under the three dot icon options, click More actions and choose Add message to task
  • Via a pop-up window, you can search and select an existing Asana task for the message to be added to
 
Adding message

You can then add this message to a task as a comment.

How to view an Asana project within Teams

To see a project view within Microsoft Teams, we recommend using the Website tab option to not only view the project, but to add tasks, edit existing tasks, and enjoy full Asana functionality.

You can add this tab to Teams and Events.

Access project view

Choose the project you want to view.

set up

How to access project view:

  • Navigate to the Team or Event you want to add the project view to, and click the + button at the top
  • Search for Website and select
 
add

From the pop up:

  • Add the Website tab so you can access services and enable project view
 
url link

To view project:

  • Paste the URL or the name of the project you want to add to Asana and save
  • After loading it will unfurl to view the entire Asana project within Teams
 
expand

You can now view the entire Asana project

Notifications

How to receive personal notifications

notifications

To receive personal notifications:

  1. From the sidebar, access your chat and click on the Asana bot chat
  2. Write “link project”
  3. Click the Link project button
 
notifications

The Asana bot will then ask you to select a project to link to. Select My Tasks and click Link to start receiving personal notifications.

You’ll receive notifications when:

  • A task is assigned or unassigned from you

For tasks assigned to you, you'll receive a notification when:

  • The task is completed
  • The due date changed
  • All dependencies are completed
  • A dependency is uncompleted
  • A dependency due date is changed
  • You are added as a follower
  • There is a comment on a task you are following

 

Setting notifications

Navigate to any team channel or 1:1 chat.

notifications

How to access notifications:

  1. In the + menu, select Link Project
  2. Select a project that you want to receive notifications for
 
select

 

Configuring notification settings for Microsoft Teams

MT notifications

From the Asana message composer:

  1. Navigate to notification settings from the + menu in the Asana dialogue pop-up
  2. Select which communication notifications you wish to receive
 
choose notifications

You will then be notified about all new activity in the project that you have selected.

Custom notifications

You can create custom notifications using the Asana Rule feature. Users can send a custom message to a channel automatically whenever a task is updated or moved. Read our Rules guide article to learn how.

custom notification

From the Add rule pop-up:

  • You can send a customized channel message via Microsoft Teams with task updates

Asana bot

The Asana bot for Microsoft Teams will chat with the app to ask questions and find things. It will return a response based on input from you, the user. There are a number of commands you can use with this app to save time. Interactions are seamless.

 

Bot interactions:

bot interactions

From the Asana chatbot, you can select your workspace or switch to another one to suit your project needs with the command change workspace.

MSFT Teams Meetings

Asana’s Microsoft Teams integration also works with Teams Meetings.

This allows users to turn unstructured conversations into trackable work in Asana and reduces the need to switch tools.

When you add the Asana integration to a Meeting event in Teams, you’ll be able to:

  • Quickly create tasks without leaving the meeting window
  • See a summary of tasks created in a meeting

 

How to set it up

The meeting organizer must add the team or event to the integration before the meeting starts.

This is supported in the Teams Desktop App and will not appear in meetings when accessed in a browser window.

Navigate to the team event you want to add the integration to and click the + button at the top of the screen

navigate to team event

The first step requires the designated meeting organizer to add the team or event to the integration. It’s currently not possible to add this feature from within the meeting - you have to add it in the meeting edit/settings.

 

Keep work connected

add tab

Add the Asana tab:

  • Search for ‘Asana’ and select it to add the Asana tab
  • Click Add to confirm
 
add asana

 

To join the meeting

connect to asana

Connect to Asana:

  • Next, you will be prompted to Connect to Asana click on this
  • After you authenticate with Asana, select a workspace to prep for the meeting
  • Join meeting event
 
add asana

Create tasks, and review any tasks you’ve created within the Event or Team. Tasks created in Teams are by default only visible within Teams to the user who created them. Tasks will always be found in Asana.

This view is only available to meeting organizers and is a great place to assign prep or note-taking tasks for the meeting or review tasks you created after the meeting ends.

 

How to create tasks:

When you join the event, you’ll also see the Asana logo in your meeting menu. Clicking it will open a side panel where you can create tasks mid-meeting and review tasks you’ve created in the meeting.

create tasks in ms

Other attendees will also see this in their menu and will be able to authenticate and create tasks as well.

Any tasks created here will also be visible in the ‘Tab’ for reviewing tasks post-meeting.

 

Why use Teams Meetings?:

After loading this Asana 'App' within the Teams Meeting video call experience, users can:

  • Create tasks without navigating away from the video call
  • Have a record of these tasks
  • Have continuity in spontaneous creative bursts without tool switching
  • Have a productive meeting of minds
  • Convert ideas to action

Key use cases

With this integration, your team can stay focused on their goals, projects, and tasks wherever they are. You will always know the status of work happening across your team.

  • Define key information - This integration allows users to create an Asana task from Teams and incorporate any contextual information (such as a message). Users can define key information such as task name, description, due date, assignee, and/or custom fields.

  • Keep up to date - Collaborators in Teams can now be updated about important context and progress from Asana as it happens.

  • Reference to Asana - When a work-related discussion occurs in Teams, you can reference related Asana projects, tasks, and other information easily so that your team members and discussion participants can have more context, clarity, and workflow transparency and never feel out of the loop.

  • Accountability - Chat with teammates about a project while looking at the full task list, including task assignees, due dates, and complete tasks when they’re done. Teams can move faster and accomplish more.

  • Seamless - No need to switch tools. With Teams Meetings, users can turn unstructured conversations on the fly into trackable work in Asana.

Need help? Check out Microsoft's Support page here.