How to Add Planner to Microsoft Teams Channel Chat?

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Managing Tasks in Microsoft Teams

Are you struggling to keep track of team tasks within your Microsoft Teams conversations? Our project deadlines are approaching fast, but important action items keep getting lost in the endless scroll of chat messages, making it increasingly difficult to maintain productivity and accountability. How can we efficiently organize, assign, and track tasks directly within Teams without constantly switching between different applications and losing valuable context in the process?

Integrating Planner with Teams: A Complete Guide

Microsoft Planner offers a visual task management solution that integrates seamlessly with Teams, allowing you to transform chaotic conversations into structured, actionable workflows. Here’s how to add it to your personal or channel chats with minimal effort:

Adding Planner to a Teams Channel

  1. Navigate to the Teams channel where you want to add Planner and make sure you’re in the appropriate team space.
  2. Next, go ahead and click the “+” icon at the top of the channel tab bar, which will open up additional app options for your workspace.
  3. In the “Add a tab” dialog box that appears, search for “Planner” in the search field to filter available applications.
  4. Select the Planner app from the results that appear in the dialog window.
  5. Choose either “Create a new plan” or “Use an existing plan” option, depending on whether you’re starting fresh or connecting to ongoing work.
  6. If creating a new plan, give it a descriptive name that clearly reflects your team’s objectives and project context.
  7. To finish, click “Save” to finalize adding the Planner tab to your channel, making it accessible to all channel members.

Adding Planner to a Chat Conversation

  1. Open the Teams chat where you want to add Planner, which can be either a one-on-one conversation or a group chat with multiple participants.
  2. Click the “+” icon located at the bottom of the chat window, which allows you to enhance the conversation with apps and services.
  3. Search for “Planner” in the apps search field that appears in the popup menu.
  4. Select the Planner app from the search results to begin the integration process.
  5. Click “Add” to integrate Planner with your chat, creating a shared task space for all conversation participants.
  6. Follow the on-screen prompts to create a new plan specifically for this chat or link an existing one that you’ve previously established.

Creating and Assigning Tasks

  1. Once Planner is added, click on the Planner tab in your channel or chat to access the full task management interface.
  2. Click “+ New task” to begin creating a task that needs to be completed as part of your team’s workflow.
  3. Enter a descriptive task name and set appropriate details such as due date and priority level to help with task management and filtering.
  4. Use the “Assigned to” field to delegate the task to specific team members who will be responsible for its completion.
  5. Add any relevant notes or checklists to provide additional context and break down complex tasks into manageable steps for clearer understanding.
  6. Click “Save” to create the task and make it visible to all relevant team members in the shared plan.

Organizing Your Plan for Maximum Efficiency

  1. Create appropriate buckets (columns) by clicking “+ New bucket” to categorize tasks based on their status, project phase, or any other logical grouping that makes sense for your workflow.
  2. Use labels to color-code tasks by project, priority, or department, making it easier to visually scan and identify related work at a glance.
  3. Set up due dates with reminders to keep everyone on schedule and ensure important deadlines don’t slip through the cracks during busy periods.
  4. Utilize the “Charts” view to visualize task progress and identify bottlenecks, giving you valuable insights into your team’s work patterns and potential issues.
  5. Regularly review completed tasks and archive them to maintain a clean workspace while still preserving your team’s accomplishment history for future reference.

Common Issues

What if i can’t find Planner in the apps list? Ensure your organization has enabled Planner as part of your Microsoft 365 subscription and that you have the necessary permissions to access it. Contact your IT administrator if it’s not available or appears to be restricted in your environment. The app might also be named “Tasks by Planner and To Do” in newer versions of Microsoft Teams, so try searching for that alternative name if you don’t see the standard Planner app.

And if some Planner Tasks not appearing for team members? Check that they have proper permissions to the channel and plan, as restricted access might prevent them from seeing assigned tasks. Also verify they’re properly assigned to the tasks in question and that they haven’t accidentally filtered their view to exclude certain categories of tasks.

Notifications not working? Review your notification settings in Teams and ensure Planner notifications are enabled in your account preferences, as they might have been disabled during previous customizations of your alert settings.