Organize Teamwork With Microsoft Planner

Where to begin with a project can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. When there is an idea, and there is the work to figure out how to make it happen such as defining the scope, determining who can approve the work, assigning resources, sticking to the budget, etc…there are so many pieces to consider and plan!

Take the chaos out of teamwork and get more done. Planner makes it easy for your team to create new plans, organize and assign tasks, share files, chat about what you’re working on, and get updates on progress.

Planner is part of your Microsoft 365 business subscription, so you are already paying for it. You can login via your Microsoft account, and use the desktop client or install the app on your smartphone.

Here are a few of our favorite features in Planner:

Schedule View: This feature allows users to easily see the status of the project, and the ability to view the task schedule. This can allow users to plan ahead and meet deadlines. Weekly and monthly task views allow drag-and-drop scheduling. Easy!

Assigning tasks to multiple people: These days, we may be wearing multiple hats, and need to be able to easily swap out our human resources. Previously, in Planner, we were only able to assign a single person to a task. Now, we can assign a task to as many people as we like. The feature allows each person assigned to still see the task on their My Tasks page.

Group and Filter options: Sometimes when we look at project plans, it helps to be able to easily group and filter results. For example, you can filter tasks based on due dates to get a clear picture of approaching deadlines and plan your work accordingly.

External (guest) user access: Something we love about Microsoft is the ability to securely share documents with the project team. Someone within your organization can control their permission, but once the person has access, they are able to interact with the plan. They can create and delete buckets and tasks, and edit task fields.

Get notifications about your tasks and plans: Stay informed about changes and updates to your Planner plans with notifications sent in email to your Office365 group or through your mobile app.

Integration with other apps: While Microsoft is rolling out apps to suit specific business needs, they are allowing easy integration along the way. You can integrate your Microsoft Planner document with other applications such as Outlook or Teams. This allows visibility to the plan while allowing the project team to collaborate on specific tasks.

Microsoft Planner is included in your Microsoft 365 subscription. If you have any questions, please give us a call!