Restflow.io

## Introduction

In fast-moving startups and operations teams, keeping track of task completion across multiple teams is vital for project transparency, deadlines adherence, and resource allocation. Manual tracking often leads to delays and miscommunication. Automating task monitoring simplifies oversight, reduces human error, and keeps stakeholders informed in real time.

This article will guide you through building an end-to-end automation workflow in n8n that monitors task completion across teams, integrates with task management tools like Trello or Asana, and sends consolidated status updates to communication channels like Slack or email. This solution benefits operations managers, project leads, and team coordinators who need centralized visibility into task progress.

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## What Problem Does This Automation Solve?

Companies with multiple teams often struggle to get timely, accurate updates on task statuses. This lack of visibility can cause bottlenecks and delayed project delivery. The automation workflow described below:

– Automatically fetches updated task statuses from different project boards.
– Consolidates incomplete and completed tasks.
– Sends periodic reports or real-time alerts to Slack channels or emails.

This setup improves transparency, accountability, and communication efficiency.

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## Tools and Services Integrated

– **n8n**: Open-source automation platform used to build and manage the workflow.
– **Trello or Asana**: Task/project management platforms from which the workflow pulls task data.
– **Slack**: For sending notifications or summary reports.
– **Google Sheets (optional)**: To log historical task status data for analysis or backups.

You can adapt this workflow to other tools by swapping nodes accordingly.

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## How the Workflow Works

### Trigger

The workflow is scheduled to run at defined intervals (e.g., every hour or day) using the **Cron node**.

### Process

1. Fetch tasks from Trello or Asana board(s) using their API nodes.
2. Filter the tasks based on their completion status.
3. Compile a summary of pending and completed tasks per team or project.
4. Optionally, update a Google Sheet with current status snapshots.

### Output

– Send a detailed message to a Slack channel or individual, highlighting tasks nearing deadlines, recently completed, or overdue.
– Send summary emails to stakeholders.

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## Step-by-Step Breakdown

### Step 1: Setup the Trigger

– Use **Cron node** in n8n.
– Configure it for the desired schedule, e.g., run every day at 9 AM.

### Step 2: Fetch Tasks from Trello or Asana

**For Trello:**
– Use the **Trello node**.
– Authenticate using API key and token.
– Use ‘Get All Cards’ to pull cards from specific lists or boards.

**For Asana:**
– Use the **HTTP Request node** or dedicated Asana node if available.
– Authenticate using Asana personal access token.
– Query the tasks for specific projects or teams via API.

### Step 3: Filter Tasks By Completion Status

– Add a **Function node** to filter tasks.
– Extract tasks where ‘completed’ property is false (pending) or true (done).
– Optionally, separate by due date to identify overdue tasks.

Example JavaScript in Function node:
“`javascript
return items.filter(item => !item.json.completed);
“`

### Step 4: Organize and Summarize Tasks

– Use **Set node** to create summary messages.
– Aggregate counts: total tasks, completed, pending, overdue.
– Format messages to include task names, owners, and links.

### Step 5: Update Google Sheets (Optional)

– Use **Google Sheets node**
– Append rows or update a sheet with the latest task summaries.
– This creates a historical log.

### Step 6: Send Notifications via Slack

– Use the **Slack node**.
– Authenticate via Slack OAuth.
– Configure the message to post to the relevant channel.
– Message includes summary and highlights urgent tasks.

### Step 7: Send Summary Email (Optional)

– Use **Email node**
– Configure SMTP credentials.
– Send a formatted report email to stakeholders.

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## Common Errors and Tips for Robustness

– **Authentication failures:** Ensure API keys and tokens are up to date and permissions are sufficient.
– **API rate limits:** Use pagination and respect API limits to avoid blocking.
– **Handling empty data:** Implement checks if no tasks are returned to prevent workflow errors.
– **Timezone considerations:** Set consistent timezone in Cron and date filters to match your team’s locale.
– **Error handling:** Add error workflow or catch nodes to notify admins of failures.

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## How to Adapt or Scale the Workflow

– **Add More Project Management Tools:** Extend by adding nodes for Jira, Monday.com, or ClickUp.
– **Multi-team Filtering:** Add filters to segment tasks by team, project, or priority.
– **Custom Alerts:** Trigger instant notifications for overdue tasks instead of batch reports.
– **Dashboard Integration:** Feed data into BI tools for visual dashboards.
– **Bi-directional Sync:** Add triggers from Slack or sheets to update tasks back into Trello/Asana.
– **Increased Frequency:** Adjust the Cron schedule for near real-time monitoring.

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## Summary and Bonus Tip

Automating task monitoring across teams with n8n simplifies tracking, increases operational visibility, and reduces manual reporting overhead. By integrating task platforms like Trello/Asana with Slack and optionally Google Sheets, operations teams get actionable insights delivered automatically.

**Bonus Tip:** Incorporate conditional logic to escalate notifications only if tasks become overdue beyond a threshold, preventing notification fatigue while ensuring critical issues get immediate attention.

By following this guide, you empower your operations to stay ahead of deadlines, improve inter-team communication, and maintain smooth project execution.