To use Microsoft Planner, create a plan with New plan, then add buckets for stages of the work. Add tasks to each bucket, give them due dates and assign them to people. Drag tasks between buckets as they progress, and use the progress setting to mark them done.
Planner is the simplest project tool in Microsoft 365, and its simplicity is the selling point: a board of columns, tasks as cards, people assigned to each. It won't replace a full project management system, but for a small team it's often all you need. Here's how to set up a plan, what to put in it and how to stop it turning into a graveyard of ignored tasks.
What Planner is for
Microsoft describes plans as a way to manage your team's workload, track work towards goals, organise work into sprints with agile planning, and track dependencies on a timeline view. You'll see that language used about the newer version, which has Basic and Premium plan types. For most small teams, the basic board is plenty.
Create a plan
- Select New plan in the left navigation pane.
- Choose Basic or Premium to start from scratch, or pick one of the templates.
- Name your plan, and choose whether to pin it to the left navigation.
- Optionally add it to an existing group so you can share it.
- Select Create plan.
One detail from Microsoft that matters for tidiness: if you don't add the plan to an existing group, creating a plan also creates a new Microsoft 365 Group, and the plan's email address goes to Outlook Group Conversations. Decide whether you want that. You can share a plan at any time.
Add a plan inside Teams
If your team already works in Teams, select + on a channel, choose Planner, then either Create a new plan or Use an existing plan from this team, and select Save. The board then sits next to your conversations.
Set up buckets
These are the columns. Select Add new bucket and name it. Microsoft suggests names that make sense for your project, such as phases or types of work. The simplest setup that works for many teams is To do, In progress, Waiting and Done. You can add an emoji by pressing the Windows key plus the semicolon.
Add tasks
- Select + in a bucket and give the task a name.
- Select Set due date and choose a date.
- Select Assign and choose a team member.
- Select Add Task.
Add detail to a task
| Detail | What it does |
|---|---|
| Progress | Not started, In progress or Completed |
| Description | Explains what needs to happen |
| Checklist | Breaks the task into small steps |
| Attachment | A file, a link or a file from the plan's SharePoint site |
| Comments | Discussion that goes to the group's inbox |
Comments go to the group's inbox, and you can choose to get them in your own email as well. That's useful for a team who live in Outlook.
How to keep a plan alive
- Give every task exactly one owner. A task assigned to everyone is owned by nobody.
- Set a due date or delete the task.
- Review the board for ten minutes at the same time each week.
- Archive finished work so the board stays readable.
- Keep tasks small enough to finish within a few days.
Planner or something bigger?
Planner suits straightforward team task tracking. If you need heavy reporting or complex dependencies between tasks, you'll want a stronger project tool. My comparisons of Microsoft tools for small businesses and how to use a monthly planner might help you decide how much tooling you really need.
A starter board for a small project
Say you're organising a customer event. Create a plan called 'Customer event' and four buckets: Planning, Booked, In progress and Done. Add tasks such as 'Confirm venue', 'Send invitations' and 'Order materials'. Give each a due date and one owner. Attach the venue contract to the booking task so nobody has to hunt for it, and add a checklist to the invitations task for the stages of the mailing. Within a week the board tells everyone what's done, what's stuck and who's waiting on whom, without a single status email.
Using the progress setting
Each task has a progress setting: Not started, In progress or Completed. It's tempting to rely on moving the card between buckets and ignore progress, but the setting is what gives you a quick picture of how much of the plan is finished. Make it a team habit to update it when you start and finish work, and don't wait until the end of the week. A quick weekly look at the numbers shows you if the project is on track.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Common mistakes
- Creating a new plan for every small job. Keep one plan per project or team.
- Leaving tasks unassigned.
- Writing vague task names such as 'Sort website'. Say what 'done' looks like.
- Forgetting to share the plan with everyone who needs it.
Keeping the team engaged
A plan only works if people open it. Mention the board in your regular meetings and use it as the agenda: go bucket by bucket, ask what's blocked and update the cards there and then. Avoid chasing people for updates by email, because that trains them to ignore the tool. When the board is visibly current, people check it. When it's stale, they stop.
My verdict
Create a plan, add four or five buckets, assign every task to one person with a due date and review weekly. Attach files to the tasks instead of emailing them, and keep it simple enough that people use it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I use Microsoft Planner?
Create a plan, add buckets, add tasks with due dates and assignees, and move tasks across buckets as they progress.
What are buckets in Planner?
Buckets are the columns on the board. You name them after phases or types of work.
Does creating a plan create a group?
If you don't add the plan to an existing group, Microsoft says creating a plan also creates a new Microsoft 365 Group.
Can I use Planner in Teams?
Yes. Select +, choose Planner, then create a new plan or use an existing one from the team.
What can I attach to a task?
A file, a link or a file from the SharePoint site associated with your plan's group.
