What Are the Main Differences Between Asana and Jira?

Brand development and the fulfillment of business goals today are categorically different from what they were even 10 years ago. The software is becoming more complex, the end-user desires have grown significantly, any product must satisfy much more desires.

UI / UX is becoming an increasingly challenging task for any company. The appearance of the product also requires more and more uniqueness. Functionality and usability must be at the highest level. Market competition has grown significantly.

Therefore, the role of project management has grown significantly, and approaches to this process have changed. First of all, project management tools have gained significant importance. A lot of them appeared on the market. Several services compete for first places at once. One of these became Asana and Jira.

Main objectives and target audience

Asana and Jira are popular platforms, each of which has a unique approach to project management and has good qualities. But their comparison concerns not only key characteristics, but also the tasks for which they are suitable.

Both services are used both by large organizations such as Google, Slack, Twitter, and small projects and start-ups. Large companies take a little from each service, depending on the tasks of a particular team. Small and even medium-sized businesses, as a rule, choose one of two, based on their goals and needs.

Asana became an excellent option for managing general projects (marketing campaign, creating commercials, implementing the interior of a restaurant, etc.), while Jira is the choice of software developers (IT departments, software companies, etc.).

Asana is easy to learn and offers many of the features that an inexperienced user expects from such a service. The basic set offers templates for different projects, building task lists, timeline, calendar and progress status.

Jira, in basic condition, is also very easy to understand and use. Because sometimes this service becomes the preferred choice of companies that are not involved in software development. But for the effective use of all potential it is necessary to configure the service, which requires minimal technical knowledge. That is why software developers for whom the configuration of such services is an easy task became its target audience.

Hosting

Asana provides exclusively cloud storage. Thus, project data is stored on the servers of this company. Jira, in addition to the cloud, allows you to host data on your own servers, which makes it possible to launch the service locally.

Cloud storage has many benefits, including cost savings for purchasing and maintaining servers. Also, the maintenance of the service itself (speed optimization, upgrades, capacity reservation) remains with the service provider company. At the same time, integration of third-party applications, as well as changing system settings is possible only through technical support.

Own servers (on-premise) - the most flexible option, because it provides complete control over the project management tool, from configuration to general administration. You get maximum freedom of action, but commit yourself to spend more and take care of data security.

Task management

In Asana, task management is based on a specific project. So, the leader creates a project, adds a team of employees to it and creates lists of goals. Within each list, you can create separate tasks, assign performers to them, schedule deadlines.

Asana allows you to create custom fields in which you can track almost any information (execution speed, project cost, resources used, and much more).

This tool implements an arbitrary form of providing information to team members through simplified lists. When working with Asana, you may get the feeling that you previously had to come up with complex strategies for organizing work, and now everything happens almost offline.

The basis of Jira was the solution of a specific issue by tracking problems and errors that occurred in the process of achieving the goal. Jira is a more complex tool, in which everything begins not with the creation of the project, but with the launch of the “workflow”, to which are added goals, questions, problems, etc.

For the most part, Jira is used with its main method - scrum, which is the most popular method of software development. Jira also provides Kanban boards at a primitive level (three sections - To do, In process, Done), which makes tracking task status easier.

The niceties of Asana task management

Asana's first step is to create a project. So, the manager adds a new brand in his account, from which he received an order and proceeds to the project. Inside the project, sections are immediately created for the main tasks, the terms for each goal and for the entire project as a whole are determined.

Each project and task must have its own description, so that the performer understands the essence of his work.

Reporting can be organized in two ways:

1. Inside the project there is a tab “Progress”, in which users can indicate the status of the implementation of their tasks.
2. At the end of each day, a comment is left inside the task indicating the progress, approximate deadlines for completion of work, as well as reasons that may affect the change in terms by the contractor.

An important part of Asana is calendars. Each user will have access to two calendars: personal (it contains all the tasks and deadlines for the corresponding team member) and general (it reflects the dates of all goals, as well as deadlines of all projects the team is working on).

The implementation of calendars, first of all, greatly helps managers, since it is much easier for them to monitor all their tasks, as well as control each team with which they work.

One of the features of Asana is that at the end of the day there should not be a single task with the date of the current day. Some users believe that this is not entirely convenient, since it requires you to enter the project every day. However, this greatly simplifies control. So, if such a date has come, but the goal is not fulfilled, the executor (or manager) is obliged to change the date and comment on the reason.

Niceties of Jira task management

Jira creates a workflow. Some mistakenly identify it with the project, but the workflow is a broader phenomenon. Several projects can immediately become its part, in which “problems requiring solution” are indicated (an analogue of tasks).

The whole process is systematized according to three indicators: sprints, epics and bugs. Sprint is the time period specified for a group of goals (or one goal, if it covers a large scale).

Epic organizes the achievement of the goal on the subject. For example, the subject is the creation of a blog. Goals - this is the implementation of a keyword search, organizing categories, creating a format for presenting content, grouping articles, etc.

Bugs show all the wrong actions, their impact on the problem, by whom and at what moment they are committed. They help control the team, show the level of skills of each employee, allow you to develop the highest quality software.

Time tracking is a unique Jira feature that shows in detail how much total time was spent to achieve a goal, how much time an employee spent every day, how many pauses, etc.

The last element is reporting. It is better organized in Jira than in Asana, because everything goes beyond commentary or status. Upon completion of the work, the team member must draw up a full report, indicating his achievements, mistakes, add diagrams (if necessary). This is a useful feature in terms of software development.

Teamwork

Project management tools bring the workflow into the virtual world, therefore the communication opportunities between team members, as well as between the leader and the team are very important.

Jira provides many opportunities for working in a team, from exchanging messages and files to jointly solving a problem. Determining the essence of the project, team responsibilities, workflow optimization, reporting and other elements are endowed with all the possibilities of communication, and in some cases make collaboration an indispensable element. The downside is that the size of the team depends on the chosen tariff.

Asana's uniqueness lies in the fact that it eliminates the need to visit mail. The service provides opportunities for the exchange of notes, messages, notifications, comments, files and other.

Moreover, this tool allows you to like certain actions, which positively affects the team spirit. Also, when completing a task, you can see a unicorn, yeti or phoenix who allegedly congratulate you on achieving your goal (custom function).

Integrations

A modern project management tool cannot be called effective if it does not implement integration with third-party services. After all, regardless of the capabilities of the tool, the leader or contractor will turn to other applications to achieve certain goals.

Asana and Jira have extensive opportunities in this regard. The companies cooperate with many world leaders, thanks to which the integration of all services that are needed in most projects is implemented.

Jira is a kind of industry standard because it has over 250 integrations and additions. The tool provides support for almost all third-party applications, regardless of their popularity. Asana has a little more than 160 integrations, which also created a well-known name in the market.

Asana Integrations

Adobe CC. The entire set of Adobe applications, from Photoshop to InDesign, can be integrated with Asana to exchange designs, improve task descriptions, attach files, and more. This integration is useful for projects related to marketing, web design, product design, etc.

Salesforce. Transactions are won by teams, not individuals. But if the team is too large or the manager manages several projects, this can lead to a misunderstanding. When combining Salesforce and Asana, each team member knows what work he must perform to implement the transaction, and the chief does not get confused between projects.

Jotform is an easy way to quickly create and publish forms. Regardless of whether it is necessary to collect information about the candidates or visitors of some event, JotForm will help to obtain the most relevant information and organize any project in accordance with the desire of the consumer.

Jira Integrations

TimeCamp. This integration will allow for even more detailed assessment of the time spent for projects and problems that the team is working on. With this application, you can set keywords for each task, so you can quickly find the necessary information. Also, the tool automatically imports all projects and tasks, so you can work without switching between applications.

Gannt. Gantt charts are almost an integral part of the work of each team. They allow you to create simple plans with timelines and dependencies, track your workflow, manage tasks, export data to tables, and much more.

Zephyr helps a lot in testing. So, the chief can create, view, edit, clone and independently perform tests (if you have the necessary skills), plan the cycles of testing. In the context of software development, this is one of the best integrations. Zephyr also compares perfectly with bug tracking functionality, which allows you to make an even more reliable product.

Safety

Asana has security certification and general data protection provisions. It encrypts all user data and eliminates potential errors. The user can easily export personal information, change password settings, set two-factor authentication.

Jira is also endowed with all certificates, allows you to export and import data, delete it at any time with confirmation via e-mail or mobile phone. Additional security options (such as password settings) are available exclusively through Atlassian.

Both tools offer a good level of security, which allows you to add any data to projects and not be afraid for their safety.

Service and Support

Jira and Asana are reliable and simple tools, but support from the company is always necessary.

First of all, product documentation is important. Jira and Asana are equally well documented, allowing you to quickly start using the service. The documentation covers the basics, frequently asked questions and some tricks.

Also, both tools can be used on any platform (it is necessary to install the application on tablets and smartphones), which allows you to be aware of any changes constantly.

Asana provides a free basic plan, but it is used only by small teams. As a rule, managers take paid sets, because they need to constantly add employees to the project. Jira has exclusively paid rates.

It is noteworthy that in both services the level of support is improving depending on the tariff plan. So, if in the basic version only support by e-mail and on the site is possible at certain hours, then in the premium you can get round-the-clock communication with company employees through any means of communication.

What is the difference?

You ask a question: which is better? But it’s more correct to ask: what will be useful for managers and performers? Whenever you evaluate project management tools, you need to ask a question on behalf of your wards.

There is no unanimously the best among these services. Each is good in its own way. Do not let flashy attractiveness or elegant functionality distract you from a rational choice. And it is in the needs.

A small project to create a product design? Asana. Software development? Jira. A large-scale project with many tasks? Combine tools, because their joint integration is also possible.