Knowledge Article - University of Leeds IT

Microsoft Lists, Planner, Tasks in Teams, or To-Do, do not all do the same thing.

Lets start by giving an overview of the four apps:

Microsoft Lists

Lists is a major feature and interface upgrade to SharePoint lists, separated out into its own new app. While Lists can be really useful for task tracking and project management, that’s not the only thing it’s good for. You can use Lists to create custom tables and columns that make the most sense for your needs; perhaps to track inventory, build event schedules, manage travel plans, and more.

More information on KB article - What is Microsoft Lists?

Microsoft Planner

Planner is an easy-to-use, team-based project management tool. It uses Kanban boards to track tasks and provide rich information about each task. There is also a personal view of Planner so each individual can see all their Planner tasks across Groups and Plans.

More information on KB article - What is Microsoft Planner?

Tasks in Teams

Tasks is a recent addition to Microsoft Teams and is a central listing of your tasks in a Teams-friendly way. It’s essentially a combination of Planner and To Do within Teams. It doesn’t really do any work; it simply centralises your tasks in Teams, which is the app that Microsoft is putting the most emphasis on for their modern workplace vision.

More information on KB article - What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft To-Do

To-Do tracks personal tasks in lists and groups managed by you, the user. But the big connection To Do has with the other apps is it will show you your Planner tasks and any flagged emails from Outlook right in the app. Given its Power Automate connector, you can also add tasks from other apps, like Microsoft OneNote. To Do can centralise your tasks across your Microsoft account.

More information on KB article - What is Microsoft To-Do?

When to use Planner, Lists, Tasks or To-Do

The answer to this comes down to whether the app stores and manages your tasks or presents your tasks into a single frame.

Planner and Lists are great for adding and managing team-based tasks and task lists.
To-Do is great for adding and managing personal tasks and task lists.
Tasks in Teams is essentially a viewport to see all of your tasks in Planner and To-Do

The table below helps identify which tool will help based on your requirements:

	Planner	Lists	To-Do	Tasks in Teams
Store team-based tasks	Yes	Yes	No	No
Store personal tasks	Only from the perspective that you have a task in a team task list	Only from the perspective that you have a task in a team task list	Yes	No
Display planner tasks	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Display List tasks	No	Yes	No	No, but you can add the List to your Team as a tab
Display to-do tasks	No	No	Yes	Yes
Central listing of tasks in Microsoft 365	No	No	Yes	Yes

Now that we’ve covered the separation between storing tasks and viewing them, the real question of “Planner, To Do, Tasks in Teams, or Lists” breaks up into two questions:

1. Microsoft Lists or Microsoft Planner?

Use Planner: If you want quick, easy, and simple-to-understand project management. It works. It provides fields for your tasks, it integrates with To Do and Tasks in Teams, and it works great for both agile and waterfall project management, especially for small teams. You can view tasks in a board or calendar view and there is a nice dashboard overview included.
Planner is available as a web app, Teams tab, and mobile app.
Use Lists: If you want a customised experience where you can control the task fields, their options, their layout, their views, and more. You can view tasks (and other list items) in a list or calendar view.
Lists is available as a web app, Teams tab, and mobile app.

2. Microsoft To-Do or Tasks in Microsoft Teams?

Use To-Do: If you want a listing of your tasks in a central spot, especially one that has a great mobile app and is easy to set due dates and reminders with. To Do is great for managing your tasks on a day-to-day basis to help you build your personal schedule. To Do is good for granular task management.
It’s available as a web app, desktop app, and mobile app.
Use Tasks in Teams: If you prefer a larger view of your tasks, perhaps in a list with columns, you’ll probably prefer Tasks in Teams. Tasks in Teams also separates your tasks out by Plan and Team, which means you can home in on tasks by project and deliverable, not just an endless list of tasks that were assigned to you to be done today. Also, if you never leave Microsoft Teams and it’s your central hub for work, use Tasks in Teams. Tasks in Teams is good for big-picture task management.
It’s available via the Teams web app, desktop app, and mobile app.

Summary

When it comes to deciding what app you want to use, consider the information above and remember that if what you choose doesn’t seem to be working, it’s smart to sit down with your team, discuss what you want to see, and play with each app to see which one can get you closest to your end goal.

Which Tool When: Microsoft Lists, Planner, Tasks in Teams, or To-Do

When to use Planner, Lists, Tasks or To-Do

1. Microsoft Lists or Microsoft Planner?

2. Microsoft To-Do or Tasks in Microsoft Teams?

Summary