How to Create and Manage Task List in SharePoint?

If your organization has implemented SharePoint Online, you should know how to manage tasks. In SharePoint Online, you can use the Tasks app to manage project tasks.

In Microsoft 365, users can also manage task lists in other applications, such as Planner.

In this tutorial, I will explain how to create a Task list in SharePoint Online and then add a task to that list in a classic SharePoint site. I will also cover how to create and manage tasks in the Planner app.

What is a SharePoint Task List

In SharePoint, a Task List is a type of list used to manage and track tasks within a team or organization. It provides a structured way to assign, monitor, and collaborate on tasks, making project and workflow management more efficient.

Here are a few key features of a task list in SharePoint:

• Task Creation: Users can create individual tasks with a title, description, due date, priority, and more.
• Assignment: Tasks can be assigned to one or more users.
• Status Tracking: Each task can have a status (e.g., Not Started, In Progress, Completed) and a percentage of completion.
• Timeline View (Gantt Chart): Visual representation of task timelines and dependencies (especially in classic SharePoint).
• Reminders and Alerts: Users can set alerts to receive email notifications on task updates.
• Custom Columns: You can customize the task list with additional columns such as department, category, or estimated effort.
• Integration: Can be synced with Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Project for enhanced task management.

Create a Task List in SharePoint Online

Let me show you how to create a task list in SharePoint Online. The same steps can also be followed to create task lists in SharePoint On-Premises versions.

To add a Tasks App to SharePoint, follow the steps below:

1. On the SharePoint Home page -> Click on the drop-down of the + New button -> Select App (Or) you can also select Add an app under the settings icon.

2. Then, My apps page will open -> Click on Classic experience link to navigate to classic experience of SharePoint.

3. From the “Your Apps” window, click on the “Tasks” app file.

4. In the Adding Tasks dialogue box, provide a name and click on the Create button.

5. Now, you can see that the Task list has been added successfully. It will also display on the Site contents page. Refer to the image below:

6. Open the Task List we created, and it will appear in the SharePoint site. As you can see from the image below, default columns like Task Name, Due Date, and Assigned To are already present.

7. You can also add, modify, and delete tasks in the SharePoint task list. On the Task List page -> click on +new task to add a task to that list.

8. The Create task wizard displays all the columns necessary to add a task to the task list.

Click SHOW MORE to display the advanced options.

9. The created tasks will appear on your page like in the screenshot below.

This is how to create a task list and add tasks to that list in a SharePoint site.

Check out Reset Id In SharePoint List

Create Tasks in Microsoft Planner

Microsoft Planner app is one of the best apps to manage tasks in Microsoft 365 instead of the SharePoint task list.

Follow the steps below to add tasks in the planner in Microsoft 365:

• Open your Microsoft planner. By default, columns like Task Name, Due date, Priority, Progress, and Quick look will already be present. Click on +Add column to add a new column to the tasks planner.

• In the My Tasks window, click on + Add new task to add a task. Enter Task Name, Task plan, Due date, and priority. By default, Progress will be selected as Not started.

• Then, the task will be added to the planner task, as shown in the image below:

This is how to create a task in the Microsoft Planner.

Conclusion

I hope from this SharePoint tutorial you have learnt how to create a task list in a SharePoint site. Along with this, you may also get to know how to add tasks to the created SharePoint task list. Also, you will know how to create and manage tasks in the Microsoft Planner.

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Bijay Kumar

After working for more than 18 years in Microsoft technologies like SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI), I thought will share my SharePoint expertise knowledge with the world. Our audiences are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. For my expertise knowledge and SharePoint tutorials, Microsoft has been awarded a Microsoft SharePoint MVP (12 times). I have also worked in companies like HP, TCS, KPIT, etc.