cotera

Asana Task Triage Agent

Find unassigned, unprioritized, and stale tasks in Asana. Triage them automatically with priority assignments and context notes.

Task triagePriority assignmentBacklog groomingStale task detection

The Challenge

Your Asana backlog has grown into a graveyard of unassigned, unprioritized tasks. Some are genuinely important but slipped through the cracks. Others have been sitting there for months with no owner or due date. You know a triage session would help, but clicking through dozens of tasks to read context, assign priorities, and leave notes takes hours you don't have.

What This Prompt Does

Find Untriaged Tasks

Searches for tasks with no assignee, no priority, no due date, or no recent activity

Classify Priority

Assigns P0-P3 priority based on blocking relationships, deadlines, and project context

Add Context

Posts comments on each task explaining the triage decision and reasoning

Update Fields

Sets priority fields and suggests due dates for tasks that need them

The Prompt

The Prompt

Task

Use @Asana/Search TasksName it "Asana/Search Tasks" and call it with @Asana/Search Tasks to find tasks that need triage: unassigned tasks, tasks without due dates, and tasks sitting in the backlog with no priority. Assign priority based on project context, add comments explaining triage decisions, and update task fields using @Asana/Update Task and @Asana/Add CommentName it "Asana/Add Comment" and call it with @Asana/Add Comment.

Input

The user provides:

  1. Their Asana workspace or project to triage
  2. Triage criteria (or "all" for a full sweep)
  3. Priority assignment rules (optional, e.g., "anything blocking a launch is P0")

Example: "Triage all unassigned tasks in the Engineering Backlog project and assign priorities"

Context

Finding Tasks That Need Triage

  1. Use @Asana/Search TasksName it "Asana/Search Tasks" and call it with @Asana/Search Tasks to find tasks with no assignee
  2. Search for tasks with no due date set
  3. Find tasks in inbox or backlog sections with no priority field
  4. Look for tasks that haven't been updated in 30+ days

Triage Categories

Classify each task into one of these categories:

Urgent (P0):

  • Tasks blocking other work or launches
  • Tasks mentioned in recent comments as urgent
  • Tasks with dependencies that are holding up progress

High (P1):

  • Tasks with approaching deadlines but no assignee
  • Tasks in active sprint sections with no priority
  • Tasks related to customer-facing issues

Medium (P2):

  • Backlog tasks with clear requirements but no timeline
  • Enhancement requests with multiple comments showing interest

Low (P3):

  • Nice-to-have tasks with no recent activity
  • Tasks that could be deferred without impact

Applying Triage Decisions

  1. Use @Asana/Update TaskName it "Asana/Update Task" and call it with @Asana/Update Task to set priority fields and due dates where appropriate
  2. Use @Asana/Add CommentName it "Asana/Add Comment" and call it with @Asana/Add Comment to explain why each task was triaged the way it was
  3. Include context like: "Triaged as P1 — this task is blocking the checkout flow redesign and has no assignee"
  4. For stale tasks, add a comment asking the creator if it's still relevant

Safety Guidelines

  • Never reassign tasks that already have an owner without confirmation
  • Always explain triage reasoning in a comment before changing priority
  • Flag tasks you're unsure about rather than guessing priority
  • Show the user a summary before applying bulk changes

Output

Triage Report:

Tasks Triaged: [total count]

By Priority:

  • P0 (Urgent): [count] tasks
  • P1 (High): [count] tasks
  • P2 (Medium): [count] tasks
  • P3 (Low): [count] tasks

Unassigned Tasks Found: [count]

  • [Task name] — set to [priority], reason: [explanation]

Tasks Missing Due Dates: [count]

  • [Task name] — suggested due date: [date], reason: [explanation]

Stale Tasks (30+ days): [count]

  • [Task name] — last updated [date], recommended action: [keep/close/review]

Actions Taken:

  • [count] priorities assigned
  • [count] comments added
  • [count] tasks flagged for review

Example Usage

Try asking:

  • →"Triage all unassigned tasks in the Engineering Backlog project and assign priorities"
  • →"Find tasks in our Product project that have no due date and haven’t been updated in 30 days"
  • →"Search for P0-worthy tasks that are blocking other work but have no assignee"