Smart Task Management with Teams × Power Platform

Introduction

Hello, I'm Angela Wang from the Group Core Systems Division at KINTO Technologies.

Recently, I had the opportunity to explore Microsoft Power Automate and was impressed by how easily systems can be built using low-code. I'd like to introduce one solution example.

Do you ever face these challenges in your daily work?

• Task instructions scattered across chat messages
• Progress reporting is person-dependent and difficult to track
• Unable to get an overview of the situation at a glance

These challenges can be solved by combining Microsoft Teams with Power Platform (Power Automate/Power Apps/Power BI) to create a task management system that anyone can easily automate and visualize.

1. Architecture Overview

Here is the basic concept of this solution:

Achieve end-to-end task management from creation to progress tracking and report analysis, all centered around Teams.

Components

Component	Role	Description
Microsoft Teams	Entry point & notification hub	Execute task creation, updates, and notifications within channels
Power Apps	Task management app	Register and update tasks with an intuitive UI
Power Automate	Automation workflow	Automate notifications, reminders, and report generation
Power BI	Visualization & analysis	Visualize task completion rates and delay trends in real-time
SharePoint List	Data storage	Store task data

2. Feature Design

Task Creation and Assignment (Power Apps)

Create a form in Power Apps to input the following information:

• Task name
• Assignee (MS user)
• Status
• Priority
• Due date
• Created by
• Completion date
• Details

After creation, the data is recorded in SharePoint List.
Screens for viewing and editing the task list and task details are also created.

Process Automation (Power Automate)

Here are typical automation scenarios:

Scenario	Processing	Implementation	Comments
Task creation	Notify assignee via Teams	Trigger on "When an item is created" and send to assignee via Teams	Implemented
Status change	Update log	Update event to SharePoint	Example
Past due	Remind assignee and supervisor	Conditional branching + Teams message	Example
Weekly report	Send task summary to Teams	Scheduled trigger	Example

Data Visualization (Power BI)

In Power BI, create reports such as:

• Task status and progress rate
• Due date distribution
• Task count by assignee (*)

*: Retrieving assignee information requires editing in Power BI Desktop, but this was not implemented this time.

3. Integrated Experience Through Teams Integration

By centering operations around Teams, the following experience can be achieved:

• Display Power Apps as a tab within Teams channels
• Automatic notifications via Power Automate Bot
• Direct viewing of Power BI dashboards

In other words,

Users can complete task management without ever leaving Teams.

This is the true strength of Microsoft 365.
*Adding Power Apps and Power BI dashboards as tabs to Teams channels requires permissions, but this was not implemented this time.

4. Data Structure (SharePoint List)

Column Name	Data Type	Description
ID	Auto number	Unique task ID
Title	Text	Task name
Description	Multi-line text	Details
Assignee	User	Assignee
Status	Choice	Status: Not Started / In Progress / Completed / Delayed
Priority	Choice	Priority: High / Medium / Low
DueDate	Date	Due date
CreatedBy	User	Created by
CompletedDate	Date	Completion date

5. Implementation Steps

1. Prepare SharePoint List (Task List)
   Create "TaskList" in SharePoint.

2. Build Power Apps (Task Management App)
   Use the convenient "Start with an app template" feature to quickly build the app.

3. Build Power Automate (Task Management Flow)
   Implement notifications to be sent to the assignee's Teams when a new task is created.

4. Create Power BI (Task Management Dashboard)
   Create visuals for "Task Progress" and "Due Date Distribution" on the dashboard.

5. Teams Integration Settings
   Add Power Apps and Power BI tabs (requires permissions, but this was not implemented this time).

6. Conclusion

By leveraging Power Platform, you can create a task management solution that anyone can build, is immediately usable, and seamlessly fits into your team. Please consider implementing this in your work.