How to Use Office 365 Tools to Manage Projects Better?

If you are a project manager, you need a solid team that has accountability, visibility, and a sense of ownership for their respective tasks. Your team can accomplish great projects if they have the same mindset. Also, they should be provided with all the tools they need so they can implement their ideas, execute their functions, and stay on the same page.

Microsoft Office 365 is the best productivity tool for project managers. It can be a hub for all members involved in the project to search chats, emails, files, documents, calendar events, and all resources related to the project. Office 365 can be used in a variety of ways, specifically as a virtual operation center, which will be of great help in managing projects efficiently.

Using Office 365 Groups for project management

If you are using Office 365, all members of the project group can interact and have a good collaboration. Office 365 credentials can be used to access all the productivity tools of Office 365, such as Microsoft Office, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and more. With Office 365 Groups, the collaboration and communication between team members is transparent. This also increases the participation of all team members of the project. The most important tools are Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Project Online, and connections can be made even without a full setup.

Helps to stay focussed with SharePoint Wiki

Many times when people are provided excessive information, they can have a paradox of choice. This can affect their decision-making abilities and thereby loss of productivity. Therefore, Office 365 Groups create wikis to offer them answers for exactly what is required, cutting down all the unnecessary information. SharePoint Wiki tool helps the users get exactly what they require. This keeps the users focused, so they do not get lost in too many details.

Issues database instead of spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are still an efficient way to organize data. But shooting email copies of spreadsheets to team members can be quite confusing. Not everyone will be looking at the latest spreadsheet which can cause confusion. SharePoint Online offers a smart way to create an issues database. Instead of relying on emails, all the project issues can be tracked using a purposefully designed SharePoint Online database.

All members have equal access

Democratizing your team is the single biggest factor in keeping things transparent. All members of your team must be aware of project developments without exception. This way all members can stay on their agreed plan. Every member clearly knows what needs to be done and what is expected of them. All the jobs, functions, and goals of the project can be monitored and updated easily. There can be a library where all the resources related to the project can be stored and easily accessed by everyone.

When tasks are carried out, members can publish directly on SharePoint. All the action items present can have their status reports for everyone else to see. Since tasks are the fundamental blocks of any project, managing tasks efficiently determines the success of the project. All the stakeholders must be updated about the progress of the project.

Microsoft Teams for smooth collaboration

It is no wonder than Microsoft Teams grew over a thousand percent in 2020 which ushered an era of remote work. With Microsoft Teams, collaboration with all project members can be done through instant messaging, or video conferencing. It is available as a mobile application too. Remote working has been possible because of Microsoft Teams due to its simple, user-friendly communication features.

Managing projects using Office 365 is complex. But all the tools allow project managers to run and implement their projects seamlessly. With Office 365 project management tools, there is increased productivity among team members. Efficient collaboration tools have made it easier for everyone involved to share, brainstorm, and implement their tasks. Also, the progress of your project can be easily measured and documented which is there for everyone to see.

Get help from Project experts

If you are looking for project management tools, Microsoft offers standalone Project plans: Plan 1, Plan 3, Plan 5 which are part of Office 365. Get Office 365 or MS Project plans from Apps4Rent. Get 24/7 expert advice via phone, chat, and email. Contact us now!