Come in, come in to the "TaskTown-Expo"! In the midst of creative minds, two special guests strolled through the halls: awork and Asana. These two are old acquaintances who know each other from various events. Today they have arranged to meet up to explore the trade fair together. They stroll through the various halls, each representing a different category of project management.
They want to compare their own strengths and project management functions. They walk past areas that cover everything from design & UX and onboarding new team members to working with creative and development teams. The topics of time recording, data protection and project and capacity planning are not neglected either.
So pull out your VIP passes and get into the fray. 🦄✨
Hall 1: Design & UX
awork and Asana enter the first hall, where everything revolves around Design & UX.
💜 awork: "We offer a beautiful design with a happiness factor plus an intuitive UI and UX. This combination is one of the most common reasons why clients want to work with us. The user interface is clearly laid out so that everyone can immediately see where to go. No confusing menus or cluttered pages - instead a simple structure and intuitive layout. All in nice colors, in a cool font and simply so that everyone enjoys using the too. How are you doing?"
🩶 Asana: "Just between us: it's an open secret that some customers switch to you for the brilliant UX. Our tool is super customizable and offers 1001 setting options - unfortunately, the intuitiveness comes up a bit short. Do you have any tips on this? That would be really nice. Where did I leave off... we also tend to use muted colors and keep everything corporate-casual. Our aim is to make project management not only efficient, but also user-friendly and pleasant. Because you see it that way too, you would be a really good alternative to Asana."
After looking around the design and UX hall, awork and Asana quickly grab a waffle and some popcorn. 'Let's move on,' says awork and Asana nods, eagerly awaiting the next hall.
[.b-important-block]awork scores with its pretty design and easy-peasy operation. Simple UI/UX, structured view, appealing colors - professional and with happy vibes.[.b-important-block]
[$tag] 👉 Nice to know [$tag]
Hall 2: Onboarding for new team members
You reach an area that deals with the onboarding process.
💜 awork: "Getting started with our project management tool is super easy, so that new team members feel comfortable right from the start and can immediately get to work. When the entire company moves from another tool to awork, everyone is ready to go and can work on their projects as usual. We have developed a special onboarding project in case there are any questions. Here, the most important functions and processes are explained step by step - almost as if you had a personal guide at your side. And speaking of personal: We offer a German-language live chat that responds within a few minutes and is free of charge for all users. On top of that, we hold regular training sessions and live webinars to support the teams."
[.b-testimonial]We tested Asana, Monday and Trello and the team unanimously found awork to be the most intuitive. Steepest learning curve. All functions are where you intuitively look for them and every new feature makes sense. We are fans![.b-testimonial]
[.b-button-primary] Curious? Try awork for free! [.b-button-primary]
🩶 Asana: "That's really nice. With us, new users have to block out a certain training period so that they can get to grips with our software. As I said, there are countless customization options, which can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. This is also true if the company is switching from another software to Asana. For onboarding, we offer interactive tutorials and help guides that are designed to help users get started. We have an Asana Academy with training courses, webinars and the like. We don't have a German-language live chat, instead we rely on a friendly bot assistant. So it's not quite as fast and personal as yours at Asana."
Then Asana spies an overly motivated trade fair stand representative walking purposefully towards them. "Time to go," shouts Asana and they make their way into the next hall.
[.b-important-block]With awork, onboarding is easy & every team is immediately ready to go. Here you get an all-round carefree package with an onboarding project, live chat and webinars.[.b-important-block]
[$tag] 👉 Nice to know [$tag]
Hall 3: Creative vs. development teams
The next area of the trade fair is all about the different needs of creative and development teams.
💜 awork: "Our tool is perfect for dev departments AND creative minds. Teams from a wide range of industries work happily with awork - from city administrations to architecture firms. For agencies, consultancies and tech teams, awork is the perfect tool. It was developed specifically for these use cases and offers well thought-out workflows for creative and agile teams with many projects. We focus on continuously optimizing these workflows. With customizable workspaces and flexible project templates, our users can adapt the tool exactly to their needs. Techies love the Kanban view, for example, while project managers celebrate the timeline. In combination with our project templates, this is super practical for campaign and sprint planning."
[.b-testimonial]We have tried many other tools. awork combines everything we need to organize our projects and it's very simple! Asana was too complicated for us.[.b-testimonial]
🩶 Asana: "It's cool that you support all project participants - there are also providers like Jira that focus entirely on developers. So we don't focus on any one industry, we serve everyone. You can think of it like an all-you-can-eat buffet that's a bit overloaded 😅. Our solutions are designed to simply support any organization."
Then awork and Asana notice that the crowd is getting denser. "Let's take those colorful balloons so we don't get lost in the crowd," suggests awork. They each grab a balloon and continue to weave their way through the crowd.
[.b-related-article] Case study: How the digital agency thjnk manages creative projects and 500+ people in awork[.b-related-article]
Hall 4: Time tracking
In the next hall, awork and Asana stand in front of an impressive, huge clock - the perfect backdrop for a conversation about time tracking.
💜 awork: "Well, for us, time tracking is done on the side. We have integrated it directly into the project planning. Team members can start the timer directly on tasks, projects or via the action menu. On top of that, time recording is done directly in the calendar. Appointments and workshops that are already in there can easily be converted into times. This means that teams can seamlessly record their working hours without getting out of their flow. Super handy for keeping track of time budgets and progress and creating reliable reports in seconds. This is especially nice for teams that work on a project basis."
🩶 Asana: "Phew, awork seems to be a really good Asana alternative 😅. For us, time tracking is not a key feature - it is only available in the Advanced or Enterprise plan. With us, you first have to activate time tracking in the "Customize" area and integrate a time tracking application such as Timely or Clockify. But there is definitely the option to track times in tasks and projects. Perfect for resource management and budget planning once it is activated."
Then awork and Asana take one last look at the giant clock before moving on. "Time flies when you're having fun," says Asana as they make their way to the next hall with their balloons.
[.b-important-block]awork links time tracking with the calendar and converts appointments into working hours. Including stopwatch and time tracking for tasks and projects.[.b-important-block]
[$tag] ☝️ Nice to know [$tag]
Hall 5: Project planning
"Planning, planning, even better planning!" can be heard from all corners of the next hall.
💜 awork: "Nice, project and work time planning is also our specialty. We offer a whole range of tools with which teams can plan and manage their projects from A to Z. Our functions range from simple task lists and Kanban boards to Gantt charts. Our drag & drop function, which makes it easy to move tasks around, is particularly popular. Our filter systems are also praised time and again - this way, everyone can create their own individual dashboard. The focus is always on the overview, after all, awork is THE place where all projects come together - including status updates and co. The cool thing is that we make sure that the user interface always remains intuitive, no matter how many projects are running at the same time."
🩶 Asana: "That sounds like a well-rounded thing, awork. We are super focused on task management - tasks can even be part of multiple projects. Cool, right? And there is a dashboard for each project, which you can completely customize - project leads love that. We focus on a single project and don't offer a multi-project overview. In Asana project management, we also use classic project management functions such as task lists and boards. Features such as timelines, calendars and reports ensure that each project can be managed effectively. We also have Gantt charts. Your approach as an Asana alternative is really interesting - it shows how easy the world of project management can be."
"I'm excited to see what's next for us," says awork as they make their way to the next stop.
[.b-important-block]awork provides a clear overview, brings all projects together in one place and with an intuitive user interface - perfect for comprehensive project management.[.b-important-block]
[$tag] ☝️ Nice to know [$tag]
Hall 6: Capacity planning
The next hall is also quite full - here everything revolves around capacity planning.
💜 awork: "We have the most accurate capacity planning in the world because we combine project planning with the personal calendar. We not only include projects and tasks in our capacity planning, but also calendar appointments such as client calls and meetings. Our team planning takes into account the workload of each team member - this is ideal for organizations that are spread across several locations and work from home. If spontaneous requests or absences occur in the team, our tool quickly shows who is available and how tasks can be redistributed. Vacations, public holidays and the like are of course also taken into account. The workload view shows who still has free capacity and helps to avoid overbooking. And if things get really tight, freelancers can be added with just a few clicks. awork enables a seamless transition from long-term resource planning to detailed, calendar-based work planning, bringing transparency and an overview to complex project landscapes."
🩶 Asana: "Capacity planning is not a core feature of Asana, so we hide this function a little 😅. We do enable project managers to keep an eye on their workload, but our tool isn't really intuitive. Your approach with the calendar link is so smart, I'll definitely take that as inspiration!"
The two look around searchingly. "How about a quick detour to the trade fair café?" suggests awork. Asana nods in agreement and they set off together.
[.b-important-block]awork links capacity planning with the calendar and integrates projects, tasks and appointments. The tool enables the transition from long-term to detailed planning.[.b-important-block]
[$tag] ☝️ Nice to know [$tag]
Hall 7: Data protection
awork and Asana are the last to make a stop in the security and data protection hall.
💜 awork: "Data protection is not a minor matter for us and our security standards are top notch. awork is fully GDPR-compliant and is hosted in Germany. Our data centers comply with the ISO 27001 standard, which means top security. For us and our users, a secure server location is a must. We store all data exclusively in Germany to guarantee our users the highest possible data security. So we are fully "Made in Germany"."
🩶 Asana: "That sounds like a strong commitment - and that certainly makes you the Asana alternative for many companies. We work globally with Asana Project Management, which means that our data is stored in different data centers around the world. However, for our Enterprise customers (our most expensive package), we have the option to host their data in an EU data center in Frankfurt am Main. This allows them to use Asana in compliance with GDPR. You'll just have to pay a little extra and factor in higher Asana costs. 😅"
Then awork and Asana realize that they are already in the last hall of their tour. They take a few promotional goodies from a nearby stand as a little souvenir.
[.b-important-block]awork guarantees maximum data security, is GDPR-compliant, hosted in Germany and conforms to ISO 27001 - a genuine 'Made in Germany' product.[.b-important-block]
[$tag] 👉 Nice to know [$tag]
A day at the project management expo: awork as an Asana alternative
After a day full of discoveries and aha-moments at the '"TaskTown-Expo", awork and Asana review the trade fair:
🩶 Asana: "It was really interesting and I have to say, you are one of the best Asana alternatives. And that's saying something - because I only see a few tools as real alternatives to Asana 😬."
💜 awork: "To be chosen by you as an Asana alternative is a real compliment, thank you very much! You are also a cool project management tool, Asana 😬. I find you and your benefits very inspiring and it was cool to stroll around the fair with you."
The project management tools say goodbye with a high-five. They now know that each tool has its own strengths, perfectly tailored to the needs of different organizations.
Project management tool: awork as an Asana alternative
Looking for Asana alternatives? awork is a project management tool for teams in agencies, consultancies and tech companies.
And for everyone who is looking for more than just standard solutions for their projects. Whether you are leading a creative brainstorming session or coordinating complex tasks - awork has your back. Curious how awork performs as a non-open-source alternative to Asana? We make it easy for you: test all our cool features and details in an uncomplicated way - here.
[.b-button-primary] Curious? Try awork for free! [.b-button-primary]
