A pictorial comparison
Think of the Microsoft Teams environment as a company campus with
many different buildings on it. Each building is a team, and
within it there are different rooms (channels), which are furnished
differently depending on their purpose and authorization and have different
functions.
To help you build your team in a meaningful way, we start at the very
beginning β with the planning on the company premises.
𧱠Owner of a team
The team owners:
For the administration to work, the building needs at least two owners.
π’ Before construction: the type of building and
access rights
Before you create a team (building), you decide which building you
want to build β and who is allowed to enter.
ποΈPublic Building (Public Team)
A building that all internal employees on the company premises
are allowed to enter freely β without invitation.
Important: Guests (externals) can NOT enter a public building automatically.
β‘οΈ Guests MUST
ALWAYS be invited, whether a team is public or private.
π Private Building (Private Team)
A building that is only
accessible to certain people. Only those who receive an invitation are
allowed to pass through the front door.
π«Building with guests (guests enabled =
default)
External persons are allowed to enter the building β but only if
they are explicitly invited.
π«Building without guests (guests disabled)
The house is located in an area without visitation rights.
Very important decision: guests yes or no?
β οΈThis decision should definitely be made before building the team
. This is because changing this
setting is only possible by an administrator and involves additional effort.
πͺChannel "General" = The hallway
The canal in general is the large hallway directly behind the
front door.
πΊοΈPlanning of other rooms (canals)
Before you create new rooms in your building, you should decide how they
will be used β because each channel gets its fixed type when you create
it. This permanently determines who is allowed to enter the room and which
functions are available in it. Not everything works in every channel type
β for example, you can't add a planner in a private channel. Since the
channel type cannot be changed later , this decision is particularly important.
πͺStandard Channels = Open Rooms
Standard ducts are rooms without doors β and therefore without
locks.
πPrivate Channels = Locked Room
Private channels are rooms with locked door.
Only selected team members
and guests who are already allowed into the house can get a key to
the private room.
Everyone else doesn't even see
that this room exists.
π³Shared Channel = Room with Additional Exterior
Door
A shared sewer is a room within your building that, unlike the
other rooms, has a second door
directly out onto the company premises.
πͺDoor from the house
This
door can be used by all or selected team members who have access to the building. You
enter the room normally from the hallway.
πͺDoor from the company premises
Through
this door, selected employees or teams from your company can enter this
room directly from the outside β without entering the building.
You:
can only stay in this one
room
see no
other rooms
do not have access to the
hallway
βGuests never have access here ,
neither from the house nor via the outdoor area.
Guests
never have access to shared channels β neither
from the house nor via the outdoor area.
πExternal (from other organizations - B2B
collaboration)
If the
policies of both companies allow it, external people from other
organizations can also access the shared channel directly through the
outside door.
Important - These external people
are not
guests
do not become a member of
the team
only
see this one room
π―Why is this room so practical?
You can work with colleagues without opening the whole building to them
β they are only allowed to enter this one room, not the other rooms.
ποΈTabs in the channel = room dΓ©cor
Each room will be decorated differently depending on usage, which
corresponds to the tabs at the top of the channel.
π¬Posts = In-Room Conversations
The sofa or the large discussion group in the middle of the room.
Everyone in the room hears
everything and can join in the conversation.
No hidden exchange, everything
remains traceable.
In contrast to private chats (=
whispering on the company premises).
Special feature in the Teams House
πAll conversations are automatically logged in
a "conversation book". New people who come into the room later can
read all previous conversations there.
Anyone who is allowed to enter the room has access to the closet:
A large blackboard in the room to collect ideas, information or notes.
π
Planner = The Task Whiteboard
A board where tasks are collected, sorted, and assigned.
New work surfaces, tools or additional furniture that can be added to
the room.