What is Asana?
Asana is a project management platform that helps teams organize work, track progress, and collaborate on tasks and projects. The interface consists of workspaces containing teams, projects, and individual tasks.
Main navigation structure
When you first enter Asana, you'll encounter:
Sidebar navigation: located along the left side, containing:
- Home dashboard
- My tasks (your personal task list)
- Inbox (notifications and updates)
- Teams and project lists
- Starred items
- Goals (if enabled)
Main content area: The center panel displays the current view (project, task list, inbox, or dashboard)
Top navigation bar: Contains search, notifications, help menu, and profile options
Additionally, Asana provides a Skip link at the top of the application that allows you to jump straight to the main content area.
Key areas to navigate
Projects view: Projects can be displayed in multiple formats:
- List view (most screen reader friendly)
- Board view (Kanban-style columns)
- Timeline view
- Gantt chart
- Calendar view
Task details: Select any task to open a detailed panel showing:
- Task description
- Assignee information
- Due dates
- Subtasks
- Comments and collaboration history
- Custom fields (if configured)
Essential keyboard shortcuts
You can expose an entire list of the app’s shortcuts (CMD or CTRL + /) while you’re in Asana. You can also visit the Keyboard shortcuts article. Below are a selection of particularly useful ones for key actions and workflows.
Global navigation:
- Tab + Z: Go to My tasks
- Tab + I: Go to Inbox
- Tab + H: Go to Home
- Tab + /: Focus the search bar
- Tab + K: Global search across the app
Within tasks and projects:
- Arrow keys: Navigate between tasks in a list
- Tab + Enter: Open the task details (within a task list)
- Tab + A: Assign a task to someone
- Tab + M: Assign a task to yourself
- Tab + D: Set or change due date
- Tab + P: Add task to a project
- Tab + S: Add subtask
- Tab + F: Add collaborators
General interface:
- Escape: Close dialogs, panels, or exit edit mode
- Cmd + / or Ctrl + /: Show all keyboard shortcuts
- Tab + Q: Quick add (create tasks, projects, etc.)
Getting started recommendations
- Start with list view: When viewing projects, list view provides the clearest structure for screen reader navigation
- Use search effectively: The search function (accessible via keyboard shortcut Ctrl+/ or Cmd+/) helps you quickly locate specific tasks or projects
- Explore My tasks first: This personal view gives you a good feel for how tasks are structured and presented
- Enable notifications: Asana provides audio and text notifications for updates, which can be helpful for staying informed about project changes
Accessibility features
- Full keyboard navigation support
- Proper ARIA labeling throughout the interface
- Screen reader announcements for dynamic content updates
- High contrast mode compatibility
- Customizable notification preferences (via Settings > Notifications and Settings > Display)
Asana generally follows web accessibility standards, making it navigable with most popular screen readers including NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver.