Microsoft released Planner Service in 2016 June for subscriptions to Office 365 Enterprise. It is yet another mode by which for managing tasks and experience teamwork digitally.
In case, you have done online search for Microsoft Planner, typically you have come across comparisons regarding tools such as Trello. Majority of bloggers conclude that Planners is simpler compared to Project Online. As regards overall utility, features and simplicity, Planner lies in the middle between Project Online and Office task list.
The question is- when we happen to be in a situation which also uses Project Online, is Planner suitable? In case you are member of an organization which has a subscription to Office 365 Enterprise and the administrator has not disabled it, you will find Office 365 application featuring a Planning icon.
There happens to be no extra charge for Planner. Office 365 project online may be a distinct application which needs licensing on basis of kinds of users. Having said that, in case, you are simply interested in garnering a centralized projects list, each one featuring a dedicated library of documents and capability for tracking the completion of tasks, you must go for the Planner.
Project and Planner are two different projects but both deal with team work and project collaboration. They are not integrated and you cannot begin with one and move seamlessly towards the next item like how you can do with task lists of SharePoints to make Projects. It is easy for adopting and using Planner, without ability for customization.
Here is a list of comparison between Project and Planner.
Main Page
In case of Planner, main page consists of ‘Planner hub’ which contains simple list made of projects/plans. In case of Project, main page consists of Project Center. You can view only those projects to which one can gain access and there is much more controls of granular permission.
Basic Data Structure
This structure for Planner is mostly loose and makes use of terminology like: Plan- Bucket-Task. When you do clicking onto a Plan, there is a revelation of an interface, which is mobile-friendly featuring a drag and drop perusal of tasks.
In case of Project, Basic Data Structure is rigid or loose. Projects may be sub-projects to master projects. Configuration is: Project- Task- SubTask. When clicking onto a Project, it reveals a detail pages configuration which is not mobile friendly.
Single Task
Single tasks in Plan can be subject to editing through a dialog. Support for Custom Field doesn’t exist except for six colored labels.
In case of Project, in browser, it is possible to edit single tasks through Project Professional or task table. It supports Custom fields.
SharePoint Site
In case of Plan, every Plan will surely generate a site of SharePoint used to collect documents. But the disadvantage is that the SharePoint site will be generated only for the library of ‘Shared Documents’.
In case of Project, every Project can create a fully customizable and functional SharePoint site.
Conclusion
In case you possess Project online office 365 and may have been utilizing it for some time, it is likely that your company follows criteria about at what point a project has be submitted to Project Online. But, in case of minor or smaller initiatives, Planner is a superior alternative. If both Project and Planner are options, often a practical configuration of Project online will mostly provide more value.
