This resource is to help you transition from Asana to Shortcut. Use the handy Asana-to-Shortcut translations below to help guide you. Shortcut is designed for software teams, so you will find the features and names are developer-focused.
Shortcut Stories vs. Asana Tasks
Definition
A Story represents an individual piece of work to be completed in a Workflow, which can be broken down with subtasks.
Best Practice
Stories are the fundamental units of work in the Shortcut hierarchy. A Story should be an individual piece of work that takes 1-2 days to complete (no longer than a week or two). If a Story is larger than this we recommend breaking it down into several Stories and using Story relationships to relate the Stories to each other. Learn more about how to set up and use Stories here.
Additional Story Features
| Shortcut | Asana | Description |
| Requester | Member | The Requester is the user that requests for the Story to be completed |
| Owner | Assignee | The Owner is the user that will actually complete the Story work. |
| Following | Member | Following is a user that would like to follow the Story but is not the Requester or Owner. |
| Estimate Field on a Story | Custom Field | Estimate Field is where Story points are added, this points scale is customizable. |
Shortcut Tasks vs. Asana Sub-Tasks
Definition
Tasks are binary entities within Stories and work like checklists. Tasks live within the Story as a list of items to be completed on the Story.
Best Practice
Tasks in Shortcut are meant to help you create a checklist and remind you of the items that need to be done in order to complete the Story, assign the steps to owners, and in general, help outline what goes into a Story in order to complete it. To make sure you are using Tasks efficiently, a good rule of thumb is that a Task shouldn’t take more than an hour to complete. If it will take longer, you should consider making it a Story and relating it to the Story rather than having it as a Task on the Story. Learn more about Tasks here.
Shortcut Epics vs. Asana Projects
Definition
An Epic is a collection of Stories representing a larger body of work or feature.
Best Practice
In Shortcut, an Epic is a distinct object or large goal, which makes it easier to organize and view your work. In Shortcut, Epics can span multiple Workflows and even Teams as needed. Learn more about Epics here.
Shortcut Objectives vs. Asana Goals
Definition
An Objective is a collection of Epics representing a larger initiative with a common goal and is the highest level of organizational hierarchy in Shortcut.
Best Practice
Objectives are high-level company goals. They represent the big projects that have the highest impact on the business. Having another layer of hierarchy makes it easier to track higher-level progress, which makes it easier for executives and anyone in need of a big-picture view to zoom out or dig in to the details as needed.This is also very useful for teams and individuals to know what goals they are working towards. Learn more about Objectives here.
Shortcut Teams vs. Asana Teams
Definition
A Team represents a cross-functional squad, or any other group of Shortcut users who collectively own Stories, Epics, and Iterations.
Best Practice
Teams are core to organizational structure and are easily filterable.Teams are easy to set up and manage, allow you to add and customize workflows, and make it easy to view and edit the work that matters to you. Teams can simply be removed or changed from an entity as needed. Learn more about Teams here.
Shortcut Iterations vs. Asana Projects
Definition
An Iteration is a time-boxed period of development for a collection of Stories that can span multiple Epics and Workflows, and can be used to track sprint cycles.
Best Practice
Iterations are an optional Shortcut feature for teams the run sprints, or some version of them. The Iteration page gives you a Burndown chart, Cycle Time/Lead Time Chart, and Cumulative Flow Diagram making it easy to track progress and get ahead of roadblocks. On the Stories page you can create a saved space for your current Iteration for an additional place to view Stories in each Iteration. Creating and linking Docs to your Iteration make planning, tracking, and completing Iteration seamless and all in one place. Learn more about best practices for running Iterations here.
Shortcut Saved Spaces vs. Asana Portfolios
Definition
Saved Spaces are filtered views of the Stories page. Filter by workflow, Team, quick filters, Iteration, and more.
Best Practice
Use Saved Spaces on the Stories page to create filtered views that show your work, you teams work, and any other customized board view you need. The Stories page can quickly toggle workflows and filter on various dimensions, so there is no need to create siloed views. Learn more about Saved Spaces.
Shortcut Workflow/Workflow States vs. Asana Status
Definition
A Workflow is a set of States customized by your organization as the process through which Stories and Epics move from creation to completion.
Best Practice
Workflows in Shortcut are no longer a pain. Shortcut Workflows are linear, but can still transition Workflow States based on VCS actions.
The Workflow and Team relationship is many-to-many. Teams are assigned as many Workflows as are needed and a Workflow can be assigned to numerous Teams. For example, all the Teams could use the same Engineering Workflow, or if needed, each could used a customized engineering Workflow. Different Story types do not have different Workflows. Overall, its easier to standardize Workflows across your organization. Learn more about Workflows here.
Shortcut Docs vs. Asana Project Briefs
Definition
Docs is a documentation tool that allows you to seamlessly connect to your work and Docs, making it easy to plan, build, and ship new features.
Best Practice
Shortcut Docs are part of the Shortcut platform. In Shortcut you don’t need to jump from tool to tool but instead have all your work and Docs all in one tab. In Docs you can create and link Stories, Docs, Epics, Objectives and Iterations right from the Doc. Learn more about Docs here.
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