Microsoft Planner- Overview, Logging in and Training Articles

Overview

Microsoft Planner (MS Planner) is a web planning app used to visually assist teams on managing and tracking progress on simple projects (plans).  Planner assigns tasks, shares information, and collaborates with the plan’s members.

Why use MS Planner?

• At RPI, MS Planner is part of the Office 365 group and is free to all Students, Faculty, and Staff with an active RCS account.
• Planner integrates with other Office 365 apps such as Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint
• Email notifications are sent to help the team members keep track of their tasks.
• The Mobile app can be downloaded to stay connected when on the go.

NOTE: Planner does not include Gantt charts, track dependencies, use subprojects or forecast the completion date like Microsoft Project. Project is used for larger more detailed projects. MS Planner is free and part of the Office 365 suite. You can import your plans from Planner into MS Project.

Example of what a simple project plan may include:

• Project name, summary, and objective.
• Define the team members who will drive the project, along with their roles and responsibilities.
• What are the key outcomes and due dates.
• Project elements, that may not be in the scope categories.
• Milestones, milestone owners, and a project end date.
• Reference material or Training relevant to the project.

Details

NOTE: Before starting a new plan, you will need to Submit a request to the help desk so they can create your team. 

1. Who should be the administrator(s) for the group.
2. Group name should be RPI_Teams_GroupName  (no spaces)

Logging into MS Planner

1. Type portal.office.com – You may have to login with your RPI email and RCS password.
2. In the top search bar type Planner.
3. Click the Planner app icon

Microsoft Plan and Task limits

Microsoft Planner- Training Articles

• Planner Hub, Create and Delete a Plan
• Add/Remove Plan Members, Adding Guests to the group, Adding another owner
• Creating Buckets and Tasks
• Tracking progress and Schedule
• Connecting to Apps and Integration (Outlook/OneNote/Teams/Import plan to Excel

References/Links 

Microsoft Planner - Getting Started

Percipio -  Microsoft Planner

Microsoft Planner Guide - Kennesaw State University

How to Use Microsoft Planner Tutorial - Simon Sez IT

Planner Mobile App Training

Announcing the Microsoft Planner mobile app for iphone and android 

Microsoft Planner on iOS mobile app review - video

Intro to the Office 365 Planner Mobile App

When to use MS Project vs MS Planner

Microsoft Project vs Microsoft Planner - which one to use

Last Reviewed:  12-Sep-2023