Project Organisation with Microsoft Planner
What will this topic cover?
This topic is part of the wider Organisation & Management pathway. The topic will introduce you the fundamentals of MS Planner and how it can be used to help define and monitor key projects and any associated tasks.
Microsoft Planner is a versatile task management and collaboration tool designed to help teams organise their work more efficiently. Integrated within the Microsoft 365 suite, it allows users to create, assign, and track tasks using intuitive boards and cards. This tool enhances productivity by providing clear visibility into task progress, facilitating seamless communication, and ensuring that no task is overlooked. With features like file attachments, integrated chat, and real-time updates, Microsoft Planner promotes effective teamwork and streamlined project management, making it an invaluable asset for both small and large teams.
The Kanban approach in Microsoft Planner enhances task management by visually organising tasks into columns, allowing you to easily track tasks and progress.
Buckets and tags allow you to easily identify task types and progress along your workflow
Planners are easy to share and collaborate on with colleagues, supported by the ability to easily assign tasks to a certain person or people.
How to use this topic page
This topic page is split up into different sections. Each section has a step and an activity to complete. These include scenarios and links off to instructions to try elements for yourself. Each learning unit also has a reflective section to think about how this will be used within your own practice.
Step 1: Creating a plan and sharing with colleagues
When should I use MS Planner?
MS Planner should be considered when you are working with longer-term complex projects or processes that required monitoring and detailed oversight.
Team Collaboration:
Use Planner when you need to manage tasks collaboratively with a team. It allows you to assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress collectively.
Project Management:
Planner is ideal for projects with multiple tasks, dependencies, and deadlines. Its Kanban-style boards help visualise the workflow and ensure tasks are on track.
Detailed Task Management:
If your tasks require detailed descriptions, attachments, labels, and comments, Planner provides these features to enhance task management.
Activity 1: Try it yourself
Visit the link below, read the instructions to learn how to create a Plan in Planner and share it with your colleagues. You may want to create a test Planner for yourself so that you can practice the skills you will learn in this topic.
If you wish to share your test Planner, please check whether colleagues are happy to be added before doing so.
Step 2: Creating and Using Buckets
What should I label my buckets?
When choosing titles for buckets in Microsoft Planner, aim for clarity and relevance to the tasks they will contain. Titles should be concise yet descriptive enough to convey the purpose of the bucket at a glance. For example, use titles like “To Do,” “In Progress,” or “Completed” to indicate the status of tasks. Alternatively, you can categorise by project phases, such as “Planning,” “Execution,” and “Review.” Ensure the titles are intuitive for all team members, facilitating easy navigation and understanding of the workflow. Consistent and meaningful titles help maintain organisation and improve productivity.
Activity 2: Try it yourself
Visit the link below and learn how to set up the buckets in your plan. If you are using a test planner, have a go at creating or renaming the buckets within it.
Step 3: Adding and Setting Up Tasks
What essential information do I need to add to a task?
To make the most of tasks in Microsoft Planner, start by clearly defining each task with detailed descriptions, due dates, and assigning tasks. Regularly update task progress and ensure details are accurate to allow your team to have a clear perception of which tasks require attention and when.
Task Progress:
Using task progress in Microsoft Planner helps you track the status of tasks efficiently, ensuring that everyone on the team is aware of what is being worked on, what is completed, and what still needs attention.
Start & Due Dates:
Using start and due dates in Microsoft Planner helps you manage timelines effectively, ensuring tasks are initiated on time and completed by their deadlines.
Assigning a task:
Assigning tasks in Microsoft Planner ensures that each team member knows their responsibilities, promoting accountability and efficient task management.
Activity 3: Try it for yourself
Visit the link below, read the initial page about adding a task to your plan. Once you have understood this step, read about the different details you can add to the task:
- Add and customise a task.
- Setting and updating task progress.
- Adding start and due dates.
- Assigning someone to a task.
Step 4: Adding further context to tasks
How can I add further detail and context to tasks?
MS Planner has a range of features and elements that can be added to tasks to provide further context beyond the basic details of a task. This step introduces you to labels, checklists and adding media that can be used to provide your team with more information and relevant resources that can support their productivity and help them with prioritising and completing tasks.
Labels:
Using labels in Microsoft Planner helps you categorise tasks effectively, making it easier to identify and prioritise different types of work at a glance.
Checklists:
Using checklists in Microsoft Planner helps you break down tasks into smaller, manageable steps, ensuring nothing is overlooked and making it easier to track progress.
Files, photos & Links:
Adding files, photos, and links in Microsoft Planner helps centralise all relevant information, making it easily accessible for team members and enhancing collaboration.
Activity 4: Try it yourself
Return to the main page about adding tasks into your plan and read some of the additional pages about adding further context to your tasks:
- Adding labels to tasks.
- Adding checklists to task.
- Attaching a file, photo or link.
Step 5: Accessing and Navigating the Dashboard
What can I do with the dashboard?
With dashboards in Microsoft Planner, users can gain a comprehensive overview of their projects and tasks. Dashboards provide visual insights into task progress, upcoming deadlines, and team workload distribution. You can customise the view to highlight key metrics, such as the number of tasks in each status category or the performance of individual team members. This helps in identifying bottlenecks, reallocating resources, and ensuring that projects stay on track. Dashboards make it easier to monitor overall productivity and make informed decisions based on real-time data.
Activity 5: Scenario
Read through this scenario and think about the question below. Click on the answer button to find out an example solution.
Amari is feeling overwhelmed because they can’t get a clear picture of their team’s workload and the status of various projects. Tasks are scattered across different tools, and team members are constantly asking for updates, leading to confusion and inefficiency. Deadlines are being missed, and Amari is struggling to identify which tasks need immediate attention.
What could Amari have done differently?
To improve this situation, Amari could start using Microsoft Planner and its dashboard feature. By consolidating all tasks into Planner, they can assign tasks to team members, set start and due dates, and add detailed descriptions and checklists. The dashboard will provide them with a visual overview of task progress, upcoming deadlines, and team workload distribution. This will help Amari quickly identify bottlenecks, reallocate resources as needed, and ensure that projects stay on track. With Planner, Amari can enhance their team’s productivity and maintain better control over their projects.
Step 6: Reflection
What have I learnt from this learning topic?
This step is designed to help you think about what you have learned and how this applies to your own practice and context. Learning Activity 6 will ask you some questions to help you with this reflection.
Activity 6: Reflect
Use the following questions to help you think about your own practice.
- How do you currently track the progress of your tasks and projects?
- Do you think you can improve your practice and how?
- Are there any specific features in Microsoft Planner that you think could be particularly useful for your work or team?
- In what ways could the dashboard feature in Microsoft Planner help you gain better insights into your projects?
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