Customizing Lists best practices [guest blog and video]

by Contributed | Oct 20, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Hello, my name is Norm Young, and I am Microsoft MVP from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. I am a 20 plus year data professional who has recently made the shift to the collaboration space using Microsoft Lists, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. Microsoft asked if I would share both the way I approach leveraging technology and highlight a few recent custom solutions I put together. I’m thrilled to be here, so – here, we go.

Background

Many of the solutions I have built using Microsoft Lists reflect the current state of a business process. When I worked in higher education, we used Lists to track student exchange program information (school name, start/end dates, current student counts etc.). In my current role we use Microsoft Lists to track our new customer onboarding program (client name, contact information, products to onboarding, major milestones etc.). Business processes tend to have multiple stages with start and end dates, persons responsible, and other forms of supporting metadata that make the execution of the business process possible. Additional value is brought to the Lists experience through the integration with other apps and services like the Power Platform with list data serving as the foundation for applications developed using Power Apps, workflows using Power Automate and reporting using Power BI.

Approach

When I develop solutions using Microsoft Lists, I take a configure-first approach where the existing out-of-the-box functionality is evaluated to see if the minimum viable product can be achieved without customization. If this is not possible then extending functionality is undertaken.

In the not so recent past, if I needed to hide or rearrange columns in the list new/edit form I had use Power Apps and by doing so I created technical debt that someone would have to own and maintain. Don’t get me wrong, I think Power Apps is a great development platform but not all solutions require customization. In the current state of the new/edit form hiding columns or rearranging columns is as simple as deselecting a checkbox or dragging columns into the desired order with no Power Apps customization required.

In contrast, if the solution requires customization and the value of that customization outweighs the cost the technical debt then customization is the right choice. While working in higher-ed, I developed a Microsoft Lists based solution that was used to track multi-factor authentication token assignments to users. The token identifier was a very long string of numbers with an associated barcode. If we implemented a no-customization solution the user would be forced to manually enter the identifier. This implementation would be prone to data entry error and would be unnecessarily mundane. Integrating Power Apps meant we could use the barcode scanner control to eliminate data entry errors and improve the user experience. In this case the cost of technical debt is outweighed by better data quality and improved user experience.

Because of their availability and low barrier to use, Microsoft Lists are leveraged in many ways. Below are the use cases shown in the above video – with additional context and a few tips and tricks along the way for why and how I customized lists to create business solutions.

Use case | Application submission solution using Forms, Microsoft Lists and Power Automate

Lists can be used to store response data from Microsoft Forms using Power Automate allowing for additional information tracking or analysis using Power BI. Integrating these tools helps to create a self-service platform for enhancing and modernizing business processes. Check out this blog article to learn more: Get responses from Forms to Microsoft Lists using Power Automate.

Connect Microsoft Forms to Power Automate flows to capture and populate Microsoft Lists list items.

Tip | When integrating apps and services into Microsoft Lists, it is important to remember that not all list column types will translate to the destination data types and some concessions in functionality may be required. Complex data types like the person column include additional information like email address, mobile phone number, department name, job title, first name, last name and many more that may need to be split into separate columns to store the additional person information (email, first and last name) or handled in some programmatic way like an expression in a Power Automate.

Use case | Organization specific project management tracker using Microsoft Lists.

If you have created a list-based solution, why not share it with others in your organization using

Custom List Templates? Custom List Templates are a great way to extend the value of one solution to others with similar needs by giving users a well-thought-out starting point that brings value to them in a very quick manner. Read more at: A first look at Templates in Microsoft Lists.

Microsoft Lists now supports custom lists design by your organization.

Use case | Issue tracking management using Microsoft Lists, Microsoft Teams and Power Automate.

Microsoft Lists solutions that leverage a target date or end date will find value added through reminders prior to the date. Value comes in the form of users not having to manually look for items that are coming due, it is pushed to them. Get started with List reminders in teams with this blog post: Send reminders to Teams from Microsoft Lists using Power Automate.

Use adaptive cards populated with Microsoft Lists list item data to push actionable requests into Microsoft Teams chats.

Tip | Another point of consideration are how column names are referenced internally with Microsoft Lists. Depending on how the column was created will influence the internal column name. As an example, if we create two similarly name columns, we will get two different internal names as shown in the table below:

Trick | A simple way to view the internal column name is to Edit Column (click on the column name) while in List Settings and check the Field value at the end of the URL.

Trick | Go to List setting > Edit Column to view an internal column’s name.

Caution

Lists are great for centralizing and collaborating on data with teams but there are situations where lists are not the right fit. Solutions requiring complex data relationships and/or high-volume transactions should look to other offerings like Dataverse or Azure SQL Database as a more suitable platform.

Another caution when using lists as a data source is exceeding the List View Threshold – when apps and services attempt to fetch more than 5,000 items from a list. This doesn’t mean a list can only store 5,000 items – in fact a list can have up to 30 million items – but it does mean that any single call to a list must be 5,000 or fewer items. Be sure to check out the Living Large with Large Lists and Large Libraries article for more information on the List View Threshold issue, and how to design within it.

Final thoughts

Microsoft Lists are a great platform for collaborating on data using a single, low-barrier platform where solutions, can start modestly and grow as requirements, experience, and features increase. When deciding to customize lists be sure to take a configure-first approach and when it makes sense then customize using app and services like the Power Platform. To learn more be sure to check out the Microsoft Lists Resource Center for the latest blogs, videos, demos, and access to learning resources.

If you want to see more examples of how to extend functionality in Microsoft Lists be sure to check out my blog at https://normyoung.ca/. If you want to keep the conversation going lets connect on LinkedIn or following me on Twitter.

I hope you found some value in this post and thanks for reading!

Cheers, Norm

Microsoft HLS Viva Four Part Webinar Series

by Contributed | Oct 19, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

  Recently Microsoft HLS put on a webinar “Enhance Your Employee Experience with MS Viva.” This all up, high level webinar, led by Microsoft’s Michael Gannotti, covered all four of the current Microsoft Viva modules. Covered were Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Viva Topics, and Viva Learning. To provide deeper insight into each of the Viva modules, and to help customers test and investigate these modules, Microsoft HLS is putting on a 4-part webinar series “Microsoft HLS Viva Webinar Series.” You can read about each of the deep dive webinars below as well as download the individual calendar invites for each. Each session will be delivered by Michael Gannotti, Principal Technical Specialist, Microsoft HLS. 

• Webinar Calendar Invites:
  
  
  
  • October 27^th. Microsoft Viva Connections – The Personalized Next Gen Intranet for Engaging Employees. Click here to download.
  
  
  • November 10^th. Microsoft Viva Insights – Improving Employee Productivity and Well Being. Click here to download.
  
  
  • November 23^rd. Microsoft Viva Topics – Automatically Organize Content/Expertise Across Your Organization Improving Ease of Information Discovery/Use. Click here to download.
  
  
  • December 7^th. Microsoft Viva Learning – Bringing Together the Continuum of Learning from AdHoc Projects to LMS hosted Compliance Training. Click here to download.
  
  
  
  

Microsoft Viva Connections – The Personalized Next Gen Intranet for Engaging Employees

October 27: Microsoft HLS Viva Webinar Series – 1

Microsoft Viva Connections delivers a role based “curated, company-branded experience that brings together relevant news, conversations, and resources in the apps and devices you use every day.” – Viva Connections. Microsoft Viva Connection is designed not only to inform employees but to also engage them in a meaningful fashion that help reduce feelings of disconnectedness that can arise in a hybrid workplace.

Agenda:

• Overview of Microsoft Viva Connections


• Instructions around its setup (Step by step walkthrough of standing up Viva Connections. Yes, it’s that straightforward and we will show you how.) including configuring the Connections Dashboard and Feed.


• Opportunities for extension of the Microsoft Viva Connections experience to add additional value and employee engagement.


• Open Q&A – Bring your questions, comments, concerns. Wondering what to do if you are still on premise or in SharePoint classic, maybe even another Intranet technology altogether? This will be a great opportunity to ask.


• Resources to get started on your journey to better employee engagement.


• Wrap up/Next steps

Microsoft Viva Insights – Improving Employee Productivity and Well Being

November 10: Microsoft HLS Viva Webinar Series – 2

Microsoft Viva Insights provides powerful, actionable, insights to “improve productivity and wellbeing with data-driven, privacy-protected insights and recommendations.” – Viva Insights

Microsoft Viva Insights enables employees to get personal insights in the flow of work as well as assists employees in managing their day, priorities, breaks, and more. Microsoft Viva Insights also helps managers address team stressors, productivity, and avoid employee burnout. Finally, Microsoft Viva Insights generates valuable insights and reports for business leaders that address challenges within the workplace. In all of these scenarios Microsoft Viva Insights is designed to keep employee data safe, private, while helping to enable organizations to maintain compliance with industry and regional requirements.

Agenda:

• Deep dive into Microsoft Viva Insights capabilities


• Learn how Microsoft Viva Insights can provide deep actionable insights while delivering privacy and ensuring organizational compliance.


• Address areas for expansion, customization, potentially leveraging data from additional non-Microsoft resources.


• Open Q&A


• Resources for Microsoft Viva Insights


• Wrap up/Next Steps

Microsoft Viva Topics – Automatically Organize Content/Expertise Across Your Organization Improving Ease of Information Discovery/Use

November 23: Microsoft HLS Viva Webinar Series – 3

Microsoft Viva Topics “automatically organizes content and expertise across your organization, making it easy for people to find information and put knowledge to work.” – Viva Topics

With Microsoft Viva Topics you can turn content into knowledge using AI to reason over your organization’s data and automatically identify, process, and organize content. You can organize knowledge, improving topics by combining AI and human expertise. Finally, make knowledge easy to discover by automatically displaying topic cards across Microsoft 365 apps to enable knowledge discovery in the context of your work.

Agenda:

During the Microsoft Viva Insights webinar attendees will:

• Deep dive into Microsoft Viva Topics capabilities


• Learn how Microsoft Viva Topics can improve information and expertise discovery within the context of work.


• Address areas for expansion, customization, of Microsoft Viva Topics pages.


• Open Q&A


• Resources for Microsoft Viva Topics


• Wrap up/Next Steps

Microsoft Viva Learning – Bringing Together the Continuum of Learning from AdHoc Projects to LMS hosted Compliance Training

December 23: Microsoft HLS Viva Webinar Series – 4

“Empower employees to discover, share, recommend, and learn from content libraries across your organization with this center for learning in Microsoft 365” – Viva Learning 

With Microsoft Viva Learning employees can easily discover, recommend, and share all learning within and organization including Sharepoint content, 3^rd party learning/training packages, Microsoft public resources, formalized Learning Management Systems (LMS), and more.

Agenda:

During the Microsoft Viva Insights webinar attendees will:

• Deep dive into Microsoft Viva Learning capabilities


• Learn how Microsoft Viva Learning can improve organizational readiness and skilling.


• Address areas for expansion, customization, of Microsoft Viva Learning content.


• Open Q&A


• Resources for Microsoft Viva Learning


• Wrap up/Next Steps

Thanks for visiting – Michael Gannotti   LinkedIn | Twitter

Michael Gannotti