Key Features of Microsoft Teams

Purpose

The article will explain the minute differences between the Microsoft Teams features such as Teams, Channel, Membership, Roles, and Settings. 

Feature Details

Teams

• The Teams icon or feature on the Microsoft Teams application enables collaboration among people to share content and tools in different projects and outcomes within an organization.
• A team on Microsoft Teams can be private to a few invited users or public with up to 10,000 members within an organization. 
• To access the various teams, you are included in - select the Teams icon on the left side of your screen, as shown below. 

Channels

• A team can consist of many channels that enable group members to have an open conversation. The channel is usually dedicated to a specific discussion, whether a topic, department, or project.
• Channels are usually open to all team members unless the moderator limits a member’s access and permissions. 
• A group member can access multiple/all the channels present in the team by navigating through the list of channels as shown below.

• A user will be able to access all the shared files under the Files tab, and they will be automatically stored in SharePoint. 

• Channels are most valuable when extended with apps that include tabs, connectors, and bots that increase their value to the team members. 
• To learn more, see apps, bots, & connectors in Teams.

Chats

• While channel conversations are public, chats are instant messages between individuals (or a small group of people) like Skype for Business or other messaging apps.

Team Roles

• There are two main roles in Microsoft Teams: a team owner, the person who manages the team, and team members, the people who they invite to join their team. 
• Team owners can make any team member a co-owner when they invite them to the group or after they have joined the team. 
• Having multiple team owners enables you to share managing settings and membership responsibilities, including invitations. UTD recommends at least two owners on every Team.
• To make another team member an owner – Right-click on the three dots on a team and select Manage Team.

• As shown below, you can use/make changes to the various functions of a Team by selecting options in the banner. You can directly add a member by selecting the Add member button.

Team Settings

• Team owners can manage team-wide settings directly in Microsoft Teams. 
• Settings include the ability to add a team picture, set permissions across team members for creating channels, add tabs and connectors, @mentioning the entire team or channel, and the usage of GIFs, stickers, and memes.