Having an understanding of how to configure dynamic membership is essential if you are preparing for MS-700, the core exam linked to managing Microsoft Teams. This article takes an in-depth look into dynamic membership configuration.
Microsoft Teams offers dynamic membership which automatically adds or removes members from a Team based on the attributes defined for a particular user. This means the Team membership is automatically updated as per certain rules and criteria set by the admin. For instance, all users with ‘Sales’ as their department can be automatically added to a Team named ‘Sales Team’.
Before we delve into the steps needed to configure dynamic membership, it’s important to note that rules are based on user properties from Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), and dynamic membership is only available in Azure AD premium.
Setting up a Dynamic Team
A dynamic team can be set up from the Microsoft Teams admin center. Follow the steps below:
- Click on ‘Teams’ on the left side of Teams admin Center. Next, click on ‘Manage Teams’.
- Click ‘Add’ to add a new team and select ‘Dynamic membership’.
- Enter a team name and description, then select ‘Next’.
- Set up the rules for the dynamic team. As an example, let’s assume we want to add all users whose ‘Department’ attribute is set to ‘Sales’. Simply select ‘Add group’, followed by ‘Users’ in the ‘Category’ field, ‘Department’ in the ‘Property field’, ‘Equals’ in the ‘Operator’ field, and ‘Sales’ in the ‘Value’ field.
- Click ‘Validate rules’ to verify if the entered rule is created valid.
- Finally, save your settings.
After setting up the dynamic team, whenever a new user with the ‘Department’ attribute set to ‘Sales’ is added, they will automatically be added to the ‘Sales Team’. The same applies when a member no longer meets the dynamic membership rules (for example, if their Department attribute changes), they will be automatically removed from the Team.
Managing a dynamic group in Azure AD
A dynamic Microsoft 365 group in Azure AD is also necessary to enable dynamic membership in Teams. The Microsoft 365 group dictates the security policies and settings that Teams can have. It also ensures the Teams client syncs with the server and preserves data consistency.
Creating and managing a dynamic group in Azure AD involves a similar process:
- Sign in to the Azure portal.
- Select ‘Azure Active Directory’, then ‘Groups’, and finally ‘New Group’.
- In the ‘Group types’ field, select ‘Dynamic’ and define your membership rules as needed.
- Finally, review your settings and click ‘Create’.
In conclusion, understanding and configuring dynamic membership is extremely useful to automate team management. It helps to ensure everyone who needs to be included in a particular Team’s conversations and contents is included, without the need for manual input by an admin. This is particularly useful in larger organizations where manually managing team membership would be time-consuming. It’s sure to be a great help, especially when preparing for MS-700, managing Microsoft Teams.
Practice Test
True or False: Dynamic membership allows for team memberships to be updated automatically based on user properties in Azure AD.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Dynamic membership uses rules and user properties in Azure AD to add or remove members automatically, based on the properties configured in the rules.
In MS Teams, dynamic membership configuration is applied to every group and user by default.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Dynamic membership configuration is not applied by default. It is an optional setting that can be configured by an admin.
What do you need apart from Teams and Groups administrator roles to configure dynamic membership in MS Teams?
- a) SharePoint administrator role
- b) Azure AD Premium license
- c) Compliance administrator role
- d) Exchange administrator role
Answer: b) Azure AD Premium license
Explanation: To manage dynamic group membership, you would need an Azure AD Premium license.
True or False: You can configure dynamic membership rules only through the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Dynamic membership rules for groups can also be set or modified via Azure AD PowerShell or the Azure portal, not just the Microsoft 365 admin center.
How soon after a change in a user property in Azure AD is the dynamic team membership updated?
- a) Immediately
- b) Up to one hour
- c) Up to 24 hours
- d) None of the above
Answer: c) Up to 24 hours
Explanation: It can take up to 24 hours for Azure AD to process changes in user properties and update the dynamic membership.
True or False: Dynamic group membership only applies to user objects.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Dynamic group membership in Azure AD can include user objects, device objects, or a combination of both.
Can you use a dynamic group for Teams, Planner, and SharePoint?
- Yes
- No
Answer: Yes
Explanation: Yes, you can use dynamic groups for Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Planner, and SharePoint Online, and other Microsoft 365 or Office 365 apps.
True or False: The size of a dynamic group membership can lead to slower processing.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The larger the size of the dynamic group membership, the longer it will take to calculate the membership and apply changes.
You can establish dynamic membership rules for:
- a) Users’ job titles
- b) Users’ departments
- c) Users’ locations
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: Dynamic membership rules can be based on any attribute such as job title, department or location.
True or False: You need to recalculate dynamic membership manually after modifying the rules.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: After you modify the rules for a dynamic group, Azure AD automatically recalculates the members of the group.
Interview Questions
What is dynamic membership in Microsoft Teams?
Dynamic membership in Microsoft Teams allows teams to be populated based on user attributes such as department, location, etc. Memberships are automatically updated when a user’s attributes change.
What Azure AD plan do you need to have to utilize dynamic membership in Microsoft Teams?
To utilize dynamic membership in Microsoft Teams, you must have Azure AD Premium P1 or P2.
What is the primary use case of dynamic membership in Microsoft Teams?
Dynamic membership in Microsoft Teams is primarily used for large teams where members may frequently move around within an organization. It automates the process of adding or removing the team members based on user attributes like department, location, etc.
Can guests be included when configuring dynamic membership in a team?
No, currently the dynamic membership feature does not support guest users.
How often does Microsoft Teams perform a dynamic membership rules check?
Microsoft Teams performs a dynamic membership rules check every 24 hours. However, when a user’s attributes change, the changes are effective in the team within an hour.
Is there a maximum limit to how many members a group with dynamic membership can have?
Yes, an Office 365 group that includes dynamic membership can have a maximum of 50,000 members.
Can you configure both static and dynamic membership for the same team?
Yes, it is possible to add or remove members manually (static membership) in addition to configuring dynamic membership for the same team.
How do you create a team with dynamic membership in Microsoft Teams?
To create a team with dynamic membership, you create an Office 365 Group or security group in Azure AD, configure it with dynamic membership rules, and then create a team from this group.
What is an example of a rule for configuring dynamic membership based on user’s department?
A rule for configuring dynamic membership based on a user’s department might be: (user.department -eq “Sales”). This would include all users in the sales department.
Is there any additional cost for using dynamic membership in Microsoft Teams?
Yes, dynamic membership requires Azure AD Premium P1 or P2, which have additional costs.
What happens if I delete a person from Microsoft Teams who was added via dynamic membership?
If you manually remove a person who was added via dynamic membership, they will be re-added when the next dynamic membership update cycle runs if they still meet the conditions.
How can you view the membership rules for a dynamic group?
You can view the membership rules for a dynamic group by going to the Azure AD portal -> groups -> select the group -> Dynamic membership rules.
Can dynamic membership work for nested groups?
No, currently dynamic membership rule does not support nested groups.
Can you change a group from static membership to dynamic membership?
Yes, you can change a group from static membership to dynamic membership by applying the necessary rules in Azure AD.
How does dynamic membership work when a user no longer satisfies the conditions?
If a user no longer satisfies the conditions of the dynamic membership, they will be automatically removed from the team during the next update cycle.
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