In part-1of this topic, which is linked here, we covered effectively using MS Teams for Content and Communication. Continuing on, in this article, we have detailed the benefits of MS Teams on Integration, Planning, and Organization
Integration
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Integration with Active Directory: This integration enables quick and seamless access to a team member’s contact information, organizational charts, and other personal information. Instead of having to navigate and negotiate several core HR-related systems to locate the information about project stakeholders, MS Teams has made it available at your fingertips so that you can quickly begin to collaborate with people once they are located.
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Integration with other applications: Just because an application is not part of the Microsoft suite, it does not mean you cannot integrate it and surface this information within your MS Teams space. Smartsheet is a good example of that. If used to manage your project schedule, RAID logs, and Team Rosters, you can easily assemble/access it via your Teams space.
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Additional Integrations: To leverage the project affinity concept, additional integrations with other information assets via the channel tabs can be leveraged. Some worth noting are:
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Project Schedules (Smartsheet)
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Dashboards
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Risk Registers
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Planning
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Tasks within Planner: Effectively manage, track, and communicate project action items while effectively leveraging the tagging capabilities which reduce follow-up efforts.
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Shared Calendars: All project-related calendar events, meetings, holidays, and PTO can be collated centrally and exposed via Teams. This centralization enables visibility across the team and improves communication greatly.
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OneNote: Using a flexible notebook model, project managers can effectively manage information such as:
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Meeting Minutes
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High-Level Timelines
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Architectural Diagrams
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Budget Tracker (Estimated vs Actuals)
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Team Roster
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Organization:
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Private Channels: As needed, additional channels can be leveraged to focus the communication and collaboration on specific project streams such as:
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Leadership
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Sponsors
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Technical Stream
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Validation
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Organizational Change Management
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These are a few important areas of the positive impact on your project by increasing productivity and communication across your teams. In a future article, we will explain how to go about leveraging these capabilities by outlining proven best practices proven across Spotline-managed Life Science IT projects. If your organization needs project management, contact us here:
