Finding the right project management solution may be difficult. Thus to help you out on the search, I have started a series of posts comparing the Eylean Board to other popular tools on the market. This week, I am stacking up Eylean Board and Asana to see what both of these solutions can do and to help you decide which is right for you.
Both Eylean and Asana are classified as project management solutions, thus it may seem there’s little difference in which to choose. However, from the very first look, it is clear that Asana is more focused on lists and checks in what needs to happen next, while Eylean looks into tasks themselves and finding the optimal process. Right here lies the main difference in the tools and the teams that would be choosing either of them.
1 – The Layout
The very first difference you will notice about the two solutions is the way they look. While both Eylean Board and Asana give you similar task and list views, the ones of Eylean are a lot more detail-oriented.
It is clear from the start that Asana is great for teams that need to keep track of the tasks and what is happening. The layout is simple and unburdened with detail, showing where the tasks are at the moment. Eylean Board, on the other hand, provides a little more information to the users. Besides the main information, you immediately see notifications, progress bars, and time spent on each task. Giving teams valuable insight not only on where tasks are but also how likely they are to get finished.
2 – The Planning
If you are one of the managers that like seeing all the tasks in the calendar, both of these solutions have good news for you. Eylean Board’s Schedule and Asana’s Timeline is just what you will be using. The difference here is where you like to plan your tasks.
The Schedule in Eylean Board visualizes the tasks on a linear calendar. Making it easy to note what is scheduled on each particular day. You can zoom in or out to see the necessary scope. The Timeline in Asana is practically the same; only here, you can draw dependencies between the tasks. The difference here really is where the main task planning takes place. In Eylean, you plan on the task board and check the calendar in the Schedule. In Asana, on the other hand, you can plan in the calendar more easily, having the ability to draw dependencies between the tasks.
3 – The Details
Task details are another major difference between the two tools. Eylean Board strives to hold all the information you will need to finish a project, while Asana helps you keep track of what is going on with just the minimal amount of data.
Eylean Board has a narrow window for each tasks’ information. You will find all the usual features like task description, assignment, due date, and attachments as well as the ability to block a task, add it to a specific category, estimate the completion time, and even the ability to add a field of custom information. This way, Eylean ensures, all the team members have access to all the information at all times. The task details found in Asana, are not by any means stingy, but they are focused on the essentials only. Thus for more complicated projects and more data, Eylean Board could be the way to go.
4 – Managing the Workload
Both solutions offer similar features to manage the workload for the teams. There are priority settings, assignments, and time tracking in both. However, they differ a little on how each team member’s responsibilities are visualized. You can check the workload of each team member in both tools, but if you want to see tasks assigned to a specific person, the approach is quite different.
In Eylean Board, all you have to do is click on their name in the team tab. You can choose one or several members of the team and only see the tasks assigned to them. Making it easy to evaluate and compare. If you want to reach the same effect in Asana, you need to arrange your task board according to the team members. Each team member gets a separate column where their tasks are placed. However, this way, you cannot track tasks as they progress through your custom workflow (ex. To Do, In Progress, Testing, Done) as that is also achieved through the task board columns. Therefore Eylean may be better suited for teams with a complex workflow and Asana for straightforward operation.
5 – Kanban Application
Lastly, the two solutions will be quite different if you are a Kanban practitioner. Eylean Board was created with Kanban in mind, while Asana is adapted to fit it.
If you only use Kanban to visualize your workflow and sort tasks accordingly, Asana will be great. You can create a custom task board with your specific flow and start working. If, however, you are looking for a more in-depth use and features, your choice should be Eylean Board. Besides the workflow, you will find WIP limits with task overflow notifications, lead and cycle time reports, and a TFS Kanban integration for the developers on the team. So with Eylean, you will get a fully featured Kanban solution that is ready to go.
Both Eylean Board and Asana are great tools for specific teams. Asana is created to help you stay on top of what is happening and what needs to happen next in certain departments. While Eylean is built to help create and manage the most optimal process for the whole project or company.
