02 — Manage Teams, Channels, Chats & Apps 20–25%


🗺 Domain Overview

mindmap
  root((Domain 2 20–25%))
    Create & Manage Teams
      Advisor for Teams
      Create from Admin Center
      Create from M365 Group
      Team Templates
      Template Policies
      Membership & Roles
      Privacy & Sensitivity
      Frontline Teams
    Channels & Chats
      Standard Channels
      Private Channels
      Shared Channels
      Channel Settings
      Channel Policies
      Messaging Policies
    Apps
      Org-wide App Settings
      App Setup Policies
      App Permission Policies
      App Store Customization
      Custom App Upload
      Extensibility Options

🏗️ 2.1 Create and Manage Teams

Advisor for Teams

A built-in tool in the Teams admin center that helps plan a Teams rollout:

  • Creates a deployment team with channels for each workload
  • Provides Planner tasks for rollout steps
  • Covers: Chat, Teams & Channels, Meetings & Conferencing, and Calling

Ways to Create a Team

Method Best For
Teams admin center Admin-created teams for org-wide initiatives
Teams client End-user self-service creation
PowerShell (New-Team) Bulk creation, automation, scripting
Microsoft Graph API Application-driven creation, workflows
From existing M365 group Converting a group that already has members and content
From existing SharePoint site Linking a team to a SharePoint team site
From existing team Cloning settings, channels, tabs (not content)
From a template Standardized team structures

Team Templates

Pre-built structures with predefined channels, tabs, and apps:

Template Use Case
Manage a Project Project planning with Planner tab
Manage an Event Event coordination channels
Onboard Employees New hire onboarding structure
Organize Help Desk Ticketing and support channels
Incident Response Crisis management structure
Hospital Ward Healthcare team structure
Store Operations (Retail) Retail frontline teams

Template policies control which templates are visible to specific users or groups.

Team Roles and Membership

Role Capabilities
Owner Manage settings, add/remove members, manage channels, delete team
Member Post messages, add tabs, create channels (if allowed), use apps
Guest Limited access — can post, view files, join meetings (permissions configurable)
Setting Options
Max owners Recommended: 2–5; max: 100
Max members 25,000 per team
Org-wide team Auto-includes all users; max 10,000 members (5 org-wide teams limit)

Privacy and Sensitivity Settings

Setting Options
Privacy Private (invite-only) or Public (anyone in org can join)
Sensitivity label Controls privacy, guest access, sharing, and unmanaged device access
Team settings @mentions, fun features (GIFs, stickers), member permissions

Frontline Teams and Experiences

Feature Description
Frontline teams Deploy teams at scale for shift-based workers
Shifts Schedule management built into Teams
Walkie Talkie Push-to-talk communication
Tasks Centralized task management published from HQ
Approvals Request and approve workflows in Teams

⚠️ Exam Caveat:

  • Creating a team from an existing M365 group converts the group but does NOT clone content from another team
  • Org-wide teams are limited to 10,000 members and 5 teams per tenant
  • Template policies determine which templates users see — not which templates exist
  • When a team is created, a M365 group, SharePoint site, Exchange mailbox, and OneNote notebook are all auto-provisioned

💬 2.2 Manage Channels and Chats

Channel Types Comparison

Feature Standard Private Shared
Visibility All team members Invited members only Invited members (incl. external)
SharePoint site Team’s site Separate site collection Separate site collection
Owner Team owners Channel creator + designated owners Channel creator + designated owners
Guest access Yes (if team allows) Yes (if team allows) No guests — uses B2B direct connect
External users Via guest access Via guest access Via shared channels (B2B direct connect)
Max per team 1,000 (incl. deleted) 30 1,000
eDiscovery Yes Yes Yes
DLP Yes Yes Yes
Tabs/apps Full support Partial (some restrictions) Partial
flowchart TD
    DECISION{"Who needs access?"}
    STANDARD["📢 Standard Channel\nAll team members"]
    PRIVATE["🔒 Private Channel\nSubset of team members"]
    SHARED["🔗 Shared Channel\nCross-team or external users"]

    DECISION -->|"All team members"| STANDARD
    DECISION -->|"Subset within team"| PRIVATE
    DECISION -->|"Cross-team or\nexternal org"| SHARED

Channel Settings

Setting Description
Moderation Control who can start new posts (owners vs. everyone)
Connectors Incoming webhooks and third-party integrations
Tabs Pin apps, documents, or websites at the top
Auto-favorite Show channel in members’ channel list by default

Teams Policies for Channels

Policy Area Controls
Teams policy Who can create private channels, who can create shared channels
Channel creation Allow/block members from creating channels
Channel sharing Allow/block shared channels with external orgs

Messaging Policies

Setting Description
Delete sent messages Allow users to delete their sent messages
Edit sent messages Allow users to edit after sending
Read receipts User-controlled, on for everyone, or off for everyone
Chat Enable or disable private chat
Giphy Allow animated GIFs (with content rating filter)
Memes Allow meme creation in conversations
Stickers Allow stickers in messages
URL previews Auto-generate previews for pasted links
Translate messages Allow inline message translation
Immersive Reader Enable reading mode for accessibility
Priority notifications Urgent messages with repeated notifications
Voice messages Allow recording voice messages in chat

⚠️ Exam Caveat:

  • Private channels have their own separate SharePoint site collection — not the team’s default site
  • Shared channels do NOT support guest access — they use B2B direct connect exclusively
  • Standard channels — max 1,000 per team (including soft-deleted channels within 30-day retention)
  • Private channels — max 30 per team
  • Messaging policies are assigned per-user, not per-team — a user’s policy follows them across all teams

📱 2.3 Manage Apps for Teams

App Management Hierarchy

flowchart TD
    ORG["🏢 Org-wide App Settings\n(Master switch)"]
    PERM["🔐 App Permission Policies\n(Allow/Block apps)"]
    SETUP["📋 App Setup Policies\n(Pin & install apps)"]
    USER["👤 User Experience"]

    ORG --> PERM --> SETUP --> USER

Org-wide App Settings

Setting Description
Third-party apps Master toggle — enable or disable all third-party apps
Custom apps Allow or block uploading of custom (LOB) apps
Default apps Microsoft-published apps (always available unless blocked)

App Permission Policies

Control which apps users can access:

Scope Options
Microsoft apps Allow all, block all, or allow/block specific apps
Third-party apps Allow all, block all, or allow/block specific apps
Custom apps Allow all, block all, or allow/block specific apps

App Setup Policies

Control how apps appear for users:

Setting Description
Pinned apps Force-pin apps to the Teams sidebar (app bar)
Installed apps Pre-install apps (users see them without manual install)
User pinning Allow or prevent users from pinning their own apps
App bar order Set the order of pinned apps
Consent Type Description
Resource-specific consent (RSC) App requests permissions to specific team resources
Admin consent Admin grants permissions on behalf of all users
User consent Users can consent to apps themselves (if allowed by policy)

Teams App Store Customization

Customization Description
Logo Custom org logo on the app store
Background Custom background image
Text color Brand-aligned text color
Featured apps Highlight specific apps for users

Extensibility Options

Option Description Best For
Tabs Embed web apps or content in channels/chats Dashboards, tools, documents
Messaging extensions Search and share content from within compose box Quick lookups, ticket insertion
Bots Conversational apps for automation Q&A, notifications, workflows
Connectors Push notifications from external services Alerts from Jira, GitHub, etc.
Workflows Power Automate flows triggered in Teams Approvals, notifications
Meeting extensions Apps that enhance the meeting experience Polls, Q&A, whiteboarding

Upload Custom Apps

Method Description
Sideloading Upload app package directly (must be enabled in policy)
Org app catalog Publish to your organization’s app store
Microsoft Partner Center Publish to the public Teams app store

⚠️ Exam Caveat:

  • Org-wide settings override permission and setup policies — if third-party apps are disabled org-wide, no permission policy can allow them
  • App permission policies control what apps users CAN use; app setup policies control what apps users SEE by default
  • Custom app upload (sideloading) must be enabled in both org-wide settings AND the user’s app setup policy
  • Purchasing apps from the Teams store requires admin approval if cost is involved — configured in the Teams admin center

📝 Domain 2 — Quick-Reference Scenarios

Scenario Answer
Need a channel visible only to 5 team members Private channel
Need to collaborate with users in another M365 tenant Shared channel (B2B direct connect)
Standardize new team structures across the org Team templates + template policies
Block a specific third-party app for all users App permission policy — block the specific app
Force-pin an app to every user’s sidebar App setup policy — add to pinned apps
Prevent users from deleting their sent messages Messaging policy — disable delete sent messages
Deploy teams for 5,000 retail store workers Frontline team deployment
Convert an existing SharePoint site into a team Create team from existing SharePoint site
Allow users to upload custom-built apps Enable custom apps in org-wide settings + app setup policy
Control which templates users see when creating teams Template policies

← Previous: Configure & Manage Environment Next → 03 — Meetings & Calling

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