Definition

This action allows you to create a new task in a specified Asana workspace and project. It serves as a fundamental building block for automating project management, allowing you to programmatically add to-do items, assign them to team members, and set their initial properties directly from a zenphi flow.

Key capabilities:

• Create a new task with a specific name and description.
• Assign the task to a specific user within your Asana workspace.
• Organize the task by placing it within a designated project.

This action is essential for integrating other applications with Asana, enabling automated task creation from triggers like new emails, form submissions, or CRM events.

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Inputs

1. Connection

   • Purpose: This field establishes a secure, authenticated link to your Asana account. It authorizes zenphi to create tasks on your behalf.
   • Practical Guidance: You will need to select a pre-existing Asana connection or create a new one by following the authentication prompts. This is a required first step before you can access your workspaces, projects, or users.
   • Use Case Context: You would use the 'Connection' field to tell zenphi which Asana account should be used to create the new task.

2. Workspace

   • Purpose: This field specifies the high-level workspace or organization in Asana where the task will be created.
   • Practical Guidance: After establishing a connection, this field will populate with a dropdown list of your available Asana workspaces. You can select a static value from this list. Alternatively, you can use a dynamic value from the token picker, such as the Workspace ID from a previous "Get Workspace" action.
   • Use Case Context: You would use the 'Workspace' field to ensure the task is created within the correct company or team area in Asana.

3. Assign to user

   • Purpose: This field is for assigning the new task to a specific member of your Asana workspace.
   • Practical Guidance: Based on the selected workspace, this dropdown will show a list of users you can assign the task to. You can select a user from the list (a static value) or use the token picker to dynamically provide a User ID from a previous step, such as the output of a "Find User" action.
   • Use Case Context: You would use the 'Assign to user' field to delegate responsibility for the new task immediately upon its creation.

4. Project

   • Purpose: This field allows you to place the newly created task into a specific project board or list within your chosen workspace.
   • Practical Guidance: This dropdown menu will display the projects available in the selected workspace. You can hardcode the project by selecting a static value from the list or use the token picker to insert a Project ID from a prior step in your flow.
   • Use Case Context: You would use the 'Project' field to make sure the task appears on the correct team project board for tracking and visibility.

5. Name

   • Purpose: This field sets the title of the task that appears in the Asana user interface.
   • Practical Guidance: You can enter a static value directly into the text box, like "Review Q4 Marketing Budget". More commonly, you will use the token picker to insert a dynamic value from a previous trigger or action, such as the subject line of an email or a response from a form submission.
   • Use Case Context: You would use the 'Name' field to give the task a clear and concise title that describes what needs to be done.

6. Optional Fields

   • Purpose: This field allows you to provide additional details for the task beyond the standard required fields.
   • Practical Guidance: Selecting this dropdown will reveal a list of optional properties you can set, such as 'Description', 'Due on', 'Start on', etc. Once you select a field, a new input box will appear where you can provide its value, either statically or dynamically using the token picker.
   • Use Case Context: You would use the 'Optional Fields' to add a detailed description, set a deadline, or provide other important context for the task.

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Outputs

1. Task id

   • Data Description: This output provides the globally unique identifier for the task that was just created.
   • Workflow Utility: This ID is critical for interacting with the task in subsequent steps. You can pass this token to other Asana actions like 'Update Task', 'Add Comment to Task', or 'Complete Task' to ensure you are modifying the correct item.

2. Name

   • Data Description: This is the title of the task that was created.
   • Workflow Utility: This output is useful for logging purposes or for including in notification messages. For example, you could send an email or a Slack message confirming that "Task: [Name] has been successfully created."

3. Created At

   • Data Description: This output provides the exact date and time (in UTC) when the task was created.
   • Workflow Utility: This timestamp is valuable for auditing and reporting. You can log this value in a spreadsheet or database to track task creation times and measure process efficiency.

4. Modified At

   • Data Description: This output provides the timestamp for the last time the task was edited. Upon creation, this will be the same as the 'Created At' time.
   • Workflow Utility: You can use this value in flows that check for task updates. By comparing this timestamp with a previously stored value, you can trigger actions only when a task has been modified.

5. Completed

   • Data Description: This is a boolean value (true or false) indicating whether the task is marked as complete. For a newly created task, this will be false.
   • Workflow Utility: This output can be used in conditional logic. For example, you can build a flow that periodically checks the status of a task and only proceeds with the next step if the 'Completed' value is true.

6. Assignee Status

   • Data Description: This output indicates the status of the task in the assignee's "My Tasks" view (e.g., 'today', 'upcoming', 'later').
   • Workflow Utility: This information can be used for advanced reporting or to build flows that manage user workloads by checking how many tasks are scheduled for 'today'.

7. Completed At

   • Data Description: This provides the timestamp for when the task was marked complete. It will be null for a newly created task.
   • Workflow Utility: This is essential for calculating task completion times. You can compare the 'Completed At' timestamp with the 'Created At' timestamp to measure how long a task took to finish.

8. Due on

   • Data Description: This output provides the date (without a specific time) on which the task is due.
   • Workflow Utility: This is useful for sending date-based reminders. You can create a scheduled flow that checks for tasks where the 'Due on' date is today and sends a reminder notification to the assignee.

9. Due At

   • Data Description: This provides the specific UTC date and time at which the task is due.
   • Workflow Utility: This allows for more precise, time-based automations. For example, you could trigger an escalation process if a task is not completed by its 'Due At' timestamp.

10. Start on

    • Data Description: This output provides the date on which work for the task is scheduled to begin.
    • Workflow Utility: This can be used to create project timelines or Gantt charts. You can also use it to send a notification to the assignee when their task's start date arrives.

11. Start At

    • Data Description: This provides the specific UTC date and time when work on the task is scheduled to begin.
    • Workflow Utility: This allows for precise scheduling and can be used to trigger kickoff notifications or dependent actions at the exact moment a task is supposed to start.

12. Permalink Url

    • Data Description: This output provides a direct, clickable URL that links to the task in the Asana web interface.
    • Workflow Utility: This is extremely useful for notifications. You can include this URL in an email, Slack message, or Microsoft Teams post to give users a one-click way to access and view the newly created task.

13. Description

    • Data Description: This provides the detailed notes or description that was added to the task.
    • Workflow Utility: You can use this output in logging or confirmation steps to provide the full context of the created task without needing to make another API call to Asana.

14. Workspace

    • Data Description: This is an object containing the details of the workspace where the task was created.
    • Workflow Utility: This provides confirmation of the task's location and can be used for logging or routing logic in your flow.
    • Id: The unique identifier of the workspace.
    • Name: The display name of the workspace.

15. Assignee

    • Data Description: This is an object containing the details of the user assigned to the task.
    • Workflow Utility: This information is perfect for sending personalized notifications. You can use the 'Name' in an email greeting and the 'Id' for any subsequent actions that require a User ID.
    • Id: The unique identifier of the assigned user.
    • Name: The display name of the assigned user.

16. Projects

    • Data Description: This is a list of project objects that the task belongs to.
    • Workflow Utility: You can loop through this list using a 'For Each' action to perform actions related to each project, such as logging the task against multiple project codes or notifying different project managers.
    • Id: The unique identifier of the project.
    • name: The display name of the project.

Example Use Cases

1. Automate IT Support Tickets Automatically create and assign a new task in Asana for every IT support request submitted through a Google Form or zenphi Form.
2. Standardize Client Onboarding Trigger a workflow when a new client is added to your CRM, automatically generating a set of standard onboarding tasks in a designated Asana project.
3. Streamline Content Requests Convert emails sent to a specific address (e.g., [email protected]) into actionable tasks in a content calendar project, assigning them to the content team.
4. Manage Employee Onboarding When a new employee is added to Google Workspace, automatically create and assign tasks for HR, IT, and their manager to ensure a smooth onboarding process.
5. Log Action Items from Meetings Create tasks directly from meeting notes in a Google Doc or a calendar event description to ensure follow-up items are tracked and assigned in Asana.

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Example

Scenario: The IT department uses a Google Form for all internal support requests. Currently, a manager has to manually monitor form submissions, copy the details, create a task in Asana, and assign it to the IT Support project. This process is slow, prone to error, and leads to delays in addressing employee issues. The goal is to automate this entire workflow.

Steps to Implement:

1. Create a Google Form with fields for "Employee Name," "Issue Summary," and "Detailed Description."
2. In zenphi, start a new flow and configure a Google Form Submitted trigger, linking it to the IT support request form.
3. Add the Asana Create Task action to the flow and configure it with the following settings:
   • Connection: Select your pre-configured Asana connection.
   • Workspace: Choose the primary company workspace (e.g., "Company HQ").
   • Project: Select the "IT Support" project from the dropdown list.
   • Name: Use the token picker to insert the "Issue Summary" response from the Google Form trigger.
   • Optional Fields:
   • Select "Description" and use the token picker to insert the "Detailed Description" from the form.
   • Select "Assign to user" and choose the default IT support lead from the user list.
4. (Optional) Add a Send Email action after the Asana task is created. Use the Permalink Url output from the "Create Task" action to send a confirmation email to the employee who submitted the form, including a direct link to their newly created support ticket in Asana.

Outcome: By automating this process, every IT support request is instantly and accurately logged in the correct Asana project without any manual intervention. The task is created with all necessary details and assigned immediately, ensuring accountability and faster response times. This eliminates administrative overhead for the IT manager and provides employees with immediate confirmation that their request is being tracked.

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Best Practices

1. Use Dynamic Tokens for Task Details Always populate the Name and Description fields using tokens from your trigger (e.g., an email subject or a form response). This ensures that each task is created with relevant, context-specific information, eliminating manual data entry.
2. Store the Task ID for Follow-Up Actions The Task id output is essential. Save it to a variable or pass it directly to subsequent actions like Update Task or Add Comment to Task to build more complex workflows that manage the entire lifecycle of a task.
3. Always Assign to a Project To prevent tasks from getting lost in a user's "My Tasks" list, always specify a Project. This ensures tasks are organized, visible to the entire team, and properly tracked within the context of a larger initiative.
4. Include a Permalink in Notifications When sending a confirmation email or a chat message about the new task, always include the Permalink Url output. This provides a direct, one-click link for assignees or stakeholders to view the task in Asana, improving communication and accessibility.