Connecting an Accolade Project to Microsoft Teams

Important! You must have the Microsoft Teams connection functionality installed before proceeding. See the Accolade Installation Guide > Installing the Accolade Application > Configuring Accolade, for more.

You can connect a Accolade project with a Microsoft Teams channel, allowing team members to go to, post in, and email members of the connected Microsoft Teams channel.

Note:  The option to connect to a Microsoft Teams channel is only available to Project Managers, Process Managers with Manage Process rights for the access group of a project's main data, or a team member who has extended rights for a project.

To connect an Accolade project to a Microsoft Teams channel:

1. In an Accolade project, click next to the in the upper right corner of the page.
2. Click on Connect Accolade Project to Teams Channel.
3. Click on Select a channel. The teams available to you are listed from Microsoft Teams.
4. Select a team. The channels in the selected team are listed; select the channel you want.
5. Click on Connect.

   Once successfully connected, the communication menu icon changes to one with a green dot , and the name of the selected Microsoft Teams team and channel is displayed, along with the options to Go to Channel, Post in Channel, Email Channel, Schedule Meeting with Channel, Change Channel, and Disconnect Channel.

   Note:  The options to change and disconnect a channel are only available to Project Managers or Process Managers with the relevant edit or access rights. Team members without these rights will only see the options to Go to Channel, Post in Channel, Email Channel, and Schedule Meeting with Channel.

To create a new Microsoft Teams team and connect it to an Accolade project:

1. In an Accolade project, click next to the in the upper right corner of the page.
2. Click on Create Team & Connect.

   Note:  To do this, you must have rights on Microsoft Teams to create a team.

3. In the Create a Team dialogue:
   • Enter a team name.
   • If this team is to be private, click on the Private Team check-box, else your team is public.

   • Ensure the Copy team members into new team check-box is ticked, to copy Accolade project team members into the new Microsoft Teams team. Accolade team members with email addresses matching Microsoft Teams users will be added as members of the new Microsoft Teams team.

   • Select the Accolade layouts you require for your team. These will appear as Microsoft Teams tabs on your new team.
4. Click on Create Team.

   Microsoft Teams opens, displaying your newly created team with a link back to the connected Accolade project. In Accolade, once successfully connected, the communication menu icon changes to one with a green dot , and the name of the connected Microsoft Teams team and channel is displayed, along with the options to Go to Channel, Post in Channel, Email Channel, Schedule Meeting with Channel, Change Channel, and Disconnect Channel.

   Note:  The options to change and disconnect a channel are only available to Project Managers or Process Managers with the relevant edit or access rights. Team members without these rights will only see the options to Go to Channel, Post in Channel, Email Channel, and Schedule Meeting with Channel.

To create a new Microsoft Teams channel and connect it to an Accolade project:

1. In an Accolade project, click next to the in the upper right corner of the page.
2. Click on Create Channel & Connect.

   Note:  To do this, you must have rights on Microsoft Teams to create a channel.

3. In the Create Channel dialogue:
   • Select a team from the drop-down.
   • Enter a channel name.
   • Specify the channel's visibility type from the drop-down.
   • Select the Accolade layouts you require in your channel. These will appear as Microsoft Teams tabs on your new channel.
4. Click on Create Channel.

   Microsoft Teams opens, displaying your newly created channel with a link back to the connected Accolade project. In Accolade, once successfully connected, the communication menu icon changes to one with a green dot , and the name of the connected Microsoft Teams team and channel is displayed, along with the options to Go to Channel, Post in Channel, Email Channel, Schedule Meeting with Channel, Change Channel, and Disconnect Channel.

   Note:  The options to change and disconnect a channel are only available to Project Managers or Process Managers with the relevant edit or access rights. Team members without these rights will only see the options to Go to Channel, Post in Channel, Email Channel, and Schedule Meeting with Channel.

To switch the Microsoft Teams channel connected to an Accolade project:

1. In an Accolade project that is connected to a Microsoft Teams channel, click next to the in the upper right corner of the page.
2. Click on Change Channel.
3. Click on the team and channel name. The Microsoft Teams teams available to you are listed.
4. Select a team. The channels in the selected team are listed; select the channel you want.
5. Click on Connect.

To disconnect a Microsoft Teams channel from an Accolade project:

1. In an Accolade project that is connected to a Microsoft Teams channel, click next to the in the upper right corner of the page.
2. Click on Disconnect Channel.
3. In the dialog that opens, click OK.

Notes:    Once an Accolade project has been connected to Microsoft Teams, the Microsoft Teams collaboration options appear within the communication menu in the deliverable and activity dialogs as well. For more, see Collaborating on Deliverables and Activities in Projects. Integration to Microsoft Teams and web versions of the Word, PowerPoint and Excel Microsoft 365 apps is available with specific Accolade pricing models. For further information, contact Sopheon Customer Support.