If you’re using the GravityOps Asana Integration plugin for Gravity Forms, you’re already automating task creation in Asana. But what if you want to go further—automatically adding subtasks based on how the user fills out the form? This post shows how to do just that using a custom field value and an Asana rule to trigger the subtask creation.
Use Case: Marketing Request Form
Let’s say you have a Gravity Form titled “Creative Request.” It asks users to select a request type—Marketing, Design, or Development. When someone submits a request and selects “Marketing,” you want Asana to not only create a task but also add subtasks like “Write copy,” “Design graphics,” and “Schedule social posts.”
Step One: Add a Custom Field in Asana
In your chosen Asana project, create a single-select custom field named “Request Type” with values like “Marketing,” “Design,” and “Development.” This field will later determine which automation rule should fire.
Step Two: Set Up the Gravity Forms-Asana Feed
In your Gravity Forms feed (via the BrightLeaf plugin), map the dropdown field for “Request Type” to the corresponding Asana custom field. Make sure the feed is connected to the right Asana project and includes all necessary fields like task name, assignee, and description.
Step Three: Create an Asana Rule for Subtasks
In Asana, open the Customize panel in your project and go to Rules > Add Rule > Create Custom Rule. Set it up as follows:
- Trigger: Task added to this project
- Condition: Custom field “Request Type” is “Marketing”
- Action: Add subtasks
You’ll now be prompted to define the subtasks. Add subtasks like:
- “Write copy”
- “Design graphics”
- “Schedule social posts”
Each can have its own assignee, due date relative to the parent task, and even description. You can use variables to reference fields and data from the parent form and task when setting any field on the subtask like task name, description, assignee or custom fields.
Step Four: Save and Enable the Rule
Click Create Rule and ensure it’s toggled on. From now on, any task added to this project with the custom field “Request Type = Marketing” will automatically receive these subtasks.
Step Five: Test the Flow
Submit the Gravity Form with “Marketing” selected. After a few seconds, you should see a new Asana task created in the correct project with the correct field value—and the predefined subtasks added automatically.
Expanding to Multiple Values
You can repeat steps 3–5 for each value of the custom field. For example, create another rule where “Request Type = Design” and add subtasks like “Sketch concepts” or “Finalize mockups.”
Advanced Tip: Prevent Rule Collisions
If multiple rules share overlapping triggers, be sure to include specific enough conditions to prevent duplicate or incorrect subtasks. Optionally, you can also include a hidden “Automation Group” field to further refine rule logic.
Conclusion
Using a custom field trigger and Asana’s “Add subtasks” rule action, you can create powerful task trees without writing any code. Combined with the GravityOps integration with Asana plugin, your users’ form submissions become structured, actionable project items—automatically.