Skip to main content

Lists

Use Microsoft Lists when a team needs to maintain structured records over time. Give each record the fields the team needs to find it, follow its status, and decide when it needs review.

Best For​

Use Lists for request trackers, asset registers, issue logs, and content inventories. Choose it when people need to find, filter, and update the same set of records after the first entry.

Choose The Record's Home​

Put a team-owned list in the SharePoint site for that process, or create it in the relevant Teams channel. Lists created in Teams are stored in SharePoint. Name a business owner for the records, use the site's access model, and agree who reviews outdated items and closes the list when the process ends.

When Another Tool Fits Better​

  • Use Forms when people only need to submit answers. Decide separately whether a response should become a list item.
  • Use Planner when the main thing to track is work with an assignee, due date, and progress. A record can lead to a task without becoming the task itself.
  • Use Excel for calculations, models, or one-off analysis. Keep a shared operational register in Lists when people must maintain its records over time.
  • Use a SharePoint document library when each item is primarily a file rather than a record.
Own The Handoff

If a form starts a process, decide who transfers the response to the list or owns the automation that does it. Assign someone to check that no request is lost between submission and follow-up.

Official Microsoft Documentation​