Everything You Need to Know About Notion Projects

In early June 2023, Notion made one of its major annual releases: Notion Projects.

Unlike previous launches such as Better Databases last year, this isn't just a product update – it represents a broader strategic shift. Let's explore what this means for Notion's direction and its implications for users.

The context behind Notion Projects

Context is everything, especially for a launch as significant as Notion Projects.

As we predicted in our newsletter earlier this year, Notion's 2023 direction focused on attracting more Business and Enterprise clients.

This strategy becomes particularly relevant in the current bear market, where investment funds are more cautious, forcing companies to prioritize revenue generation over funding.

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The Enterprise Challenge

Notion's recent appointment of a Chief Revenue Officer in March 2023 signals their focus on developing new revenue streams.

While NotionAI was one such attempt, its pricing model sparked debate and hasn't achieved the expected revenue growth. Of course, I might be completely wrong, but that's my take.

Now, Notion has redirected its focus toward enterprise clients who can drive substantial company growth.

Notion vs. Traditional Project Management Tools

Notion's traditional strength lies in its flexibility – it's a blank canvas where users can create anything from simple project management systems for small businesses to complex logistics management systems for large enterprises.

However, this flexibility creates an interesting challenge when competing with more structured tools like Jira and Asana.

While Notion can handle large-scale projects, it typically requires specialized knowledge and dedicated Notion architects to build and maintain these systems.

This requirement can be challenging for enterprise clients who might lack in-house Notion expertise or prefer not to engage external consultants.

Notion Projects: what's new?

The launch includes several significant features:

• Auto-incrementing IDs
• AI properties for databases
• Enhanced dependencies and subtasks management
• Connected properties for Google Drive and Figma
• Slack notification automation
• GitHub PR Connected Property
• Integration ecosystem with 70+ tools
• Pre-built templates with Sprint functionalit

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The strategic shift: pre-built templates

Perhaps the most significant change is Notion's introduction of pre-built templates, particularly the Projects, Tasks & Sprints template. This template includes:

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• Three integrated databases (tasks, projects, and sprints)
• A Sprint board (a hybrid between page and database)
• Predetermined views and properties
• Locked features and relationships

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Adapting to change

This release marks a fundamental shift in Notion's approach. We're witnessing a transition from complete user empowerment to more structured, opinionated solutions.

The introduction of specific database types (first with Wikis, now with Sprint boards) represents a departure from Notion's traditional flexibility-first approach.

The Ford Analogy

Henry Ford famously said, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."

Notion appears to be following a similar path, building more structured, less flexible systems targeted at specific enterprise clients.

While this might appeal to some large organizations, it raises questions about serving Notion's diverse global user base, from startups to SMEs across various industries.

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In any case, Notion still is the best tool out there to run your entire business, and if you want some help to do so, please reach out!