SharePoint Consulting Blog

Microsoft Planner is one of the task management tools included with Microsoft 365. It enables teams to create, assign, and organize tasks while fostering collaboration and providing clear visibility into project progress. With a visual, user-friendly interface, Planner offers a kanban-style experience similar to Trello or Asana but stands out for its deep integration with other Microsoft 365 apps like Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint.

What is Microsoft Planner?

Microsoft Planner is a visual task management application that tracks and arranges work using a kanban-style board. It allows users to:

Create task boards (called plans),
Organize tasks into buckets (categories),
Assign tasks to team members,
Set due dates and task priorities,
Monitor progress through status updates (Not Started, In Progress, Completed).

While it's not a full-scale project management solution like Microsoft Project, Planner is ideal for lightweight, team-based task coordination. It’s seamlessly integrated with Microsoft 365 Groups, making it an excellent fit for teams already working within Outlook, Teams, or SharePoint.

Why & When to Use Microsoft Planner

Why use it:

To visually organize team tasks and projects.
To assign responsibilities and monitor accountability.
To collaborate on shared tasks with comments and file attachments.
To track progress through visual indicators and charts.
To manage small-to-medium projects such as: Marketing campaigns, Employee onboarding, IT system upgrades.

When to use it:

When managing team-based projects, collaboration and transparency are essential.
When you need a simple, visual tool for tracking deadlines and progress.
When using Outlook, Microsoft Teams, or SharePoint in together with task tracking.
When full-fledged project management software is unnecessary or overly complex.

Benefits of Microsoft Planner:

Benefit	Description
Smooth Integration	Straightforward integration with To Do, SharePoint, Outlook, Microsoft Teams.
Visual Task Boards	Drag-and-drop interface with a kanban board layout
Notifications & Reminders	Alerts through email and Teams for due dates and task assignments
Team Collaboration	Tasks are shareable, comment-enabled, and can be updated by multiple users
Progress Tracking	Built-in charts give a quick overview of status and bottlenecks
File Attachments	Attach images, documents, or links directly to tasks
Ease of Use	Intuitive layout with minimal learning curve
Flexible Task Assignment	Assign tasks to one or more users, including external collaborators
Mobile & Web Access	Accessible via browsers and mobile apps, ideal for hybrid teams
Enterprise Security	Inherits Microsoft 365’s enterprise-level security protocols

Pros:

Integrated seamlessly with Microsoft 365 apps.
Simple, drag-and-drop interface.
Minimal training required for onboarding.
Real-time collaboration and file sharing.
Visual progress tracking (charts, boards, calendar view).
Built-in notifications and reminders.
Accessible via Microsoft Teams.
No extra cost for Microsoft 365 subscribers.
Allows multiple assignees per task.
Works on both web and mobile platforms.

Cons:

Requires a Microsoft 365 business subscription (not available for personal users).
No Gantt chart or task dependencies like advanced PM(Project Management) tools.
No dedicated desktop application.
Limited customization for fields or workflows.
Not suitable for managing large-scale, complex projects.
Some terminology (like “buckets”) may be confusing for new users.
Mobile app is functional but less capable than the web version.

Tips for Using Microsoft Planner Effectively:

Use Buckets Strategically – Define buckets based on task stages, priorities, or departments for clarity.
Switch Views Often – Use Board, Charts, and Schedule views to get varied insights into progress.
Add Task Details – Use checklists, due dates, attachments, and labels to keep tasks informative and actionable.
Integrate with Teams – Add Planner as a tab in Teams to enable centralized collaboration.
Monitor Charts View – Regularly check for overdue or blocked tasks to redistribute workloads.
Automate with Power Automate – Create flows to notify users or schedule events when tasks are updated.
Assign Due Dates – Ensure tasks trigger reminders and appear in schedules.
Group by Different Views – Use groupings such as “Assigned To” or “Due Date” to analyze task distribution.
Use Copy Plan – Reuse structure and task templates for recurring projects.
Archive Completed Plans – Keep your workspace clean and organized.
Use Templates – Start projects with predefined templates to save time and ensure consistency.

Final Thoughts:

Microsoft Planner is an intuitive and collaborative tool best suited for small to medium-sized teams already using Microsoft 365. It excels at visual task tracking, lightweight project planning, and seamless integration across the Microsoft ecosystem. While it lacks the sophistication of full project management tools, it is perfect for teams looking for simplicity, flexibility, and collaboration.

If you have any questions you can reach out our SharePoint Consulting team here.