With the growing prevalence of remote work or team collaboration from different locations, the need for effective communication platforms has become increasingly significant. Microsoft Teams is a popular teamwork hub used by countless businesses and organizations around the globe. As an administrator, effectively managing these teams, including overseeing team creation and removal, is essential. Additionally, the successful completion of the MS-700 exam composing team management will require a comprehensive understanding of these processes.
Understanding how to properly monitor and report team creation and deletion in Microsoft Teams is more than just a useful ability—it’s a crucial part of the MS-700 exam and your role as an administrator.
Monitoring Team Creation
Let’s start by talking about monitoring team creation. As an administrator in Teams, you have access to the Microsoft 365 admin center. Here, you can monitor all of your organization’s Teams activities, including team creation.
The Microsoft 365 admin center presents a range of ‘cards’ that display information about Teams activities. One of these cards is titled ‘Active teams’, which displays the total number of active teams in your organization over a set period. From this card, you can navigate to ‘View more’ to see a thorough list of all the active teams.
For more granular oversight, you can enable auditing in the Security & Compliance Center. Once this is done, you’ll be able to see a log of team creation events alongside the name of the maker, the team’s name, and the timestamp of creation.
Reporting Team Deletions
Much like team creation, team deletion can also be overseen from the Microsoft 365 admin center. If a team is deleted, it will disappear from the ‘Active teams’ list.
Yet, for more oversight, enabling auditing is a must. In the Security & Compliance Center, you can keep an eye on deletion events much as you would with creation events. When a team is deleted, it will appear in the audit log, along with the details of who deleted it, when it was deleted, and what the team’s name was before deletion.
Reporting via PowerShell
PowerShell provides another way to report on team creations and deletions. With the Audit Log Search Cmdlet, you can set up an automated script that runs at regular intervals, providing you with granular data about team creations and deletions. Here’s a basic example of how such script may look:
#Import necessary modules
Import-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement
Import-Module Teams
#Connect to Teams and extracts all Teams in your org
Connect-IPPSSession
$Teams=Get-Team
#Loop through Teams array and log each team's data
ForEach ($Team in $Teams)
{
$AuditData = Search-UnifiedAuditLog -StartDate (Get-Date).AddDays(-90) -EndDate (Get-Date) -RecordType Teams -Operations "Team Created", "Team Deleted" -ObjectIds $Team.GroupId -ResultSize 5000
#For each action in AuditData, print action details
ForEach ($Action in $AuditData)
{
Write-Output "$($Action.CreationDate) - Team: $($Team.DisplayName) - Operation: $($Action.Operations) - User: $($Action.UserId)"
}
}
This script will effectively scan your Teams environment and report on every single creation and deletion event that took place in the last 90 days.
In closing, with the right knowledge and tools, monitoring and reporting on the creation and deletion of teams in Microsoft Teams is an achievable task for any administrator. With Microsoft 365 admin center, Security & Compliance Center, and PowerShell at your disposal, you’ll be well-equipped to handle these tasks as they come. As you master the usage of these resources, your preparation for the MS-700 exam gets more thorough and more focused.
Practice Test
True/False: To monitor and report on creation and deletion of Microsoft Teams, you will need Microsoft 365 or Office 365 audit log search.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The Microsoft 365 or Office 365 audit log search helps you monitor and manage Teams by tracking activities such as creation, deletion, and modifications.
Single Select: Which tab will you go to create a report on Teams usage in the Microsoft 365 admin center?
- a) Billing
- b) Teams
- c) Reports
- d) Users
Answer: c) Reports
Explanation: You can create a report on Teams usage by going to the “Reports” tab in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Multiple Select: Which of the following can you monitor with the Microsoft Teams analytics and reporting?
- a) User activity
- b) Team activity
- c) Both a) and b)
- d) None of the above
Answer: c) Both a) and b)
Explanation: With Microsoft Teams analytics and reporting, you can monitor both user and team activity.
True/False: As an admin, you cannot see who created a team or when they created it in Microsoft Teams.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: As an admin, you can see who created a team and when it was created from the activity section in the Microsoft Teams admin center.
Single Select: In which report can you determine the number of active teams over time in the Microsoft Teams admin center?
- a) Teams user activity report
- b) Teams device usage report
- c) Teams live event usage report
- d) Teams usage report
Answer: d) Teams usage report
Explanation: The Teams usage report in the Microsoft Teams admin center provides information about the number of active teams over time.
Multiple Select: What information does the Teams user activity report provide?
- a) The number of teams created per user
- b) The number of teams a user is a part of
- c) The devices a user is using to access teams
- d) Both a) and b)
Answer: d) Both a) and b)
Explanation: The Teams user activity report provides detailed information including the number of teams created per user and the number of teams a user is a part of.
True/False: You can find reports on deleted teams in the “Audit log search” in the security and compliance center of Microsoft
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The “Audit log search” in the security and compliance center of Microsoft 365 allows admins to track and report on deleted teams.
Single Select: To whom does Teams send a daily activity email notification?
- a) Team Owner
- b) Team Member
- c) Both Team Owner and Team Member
- d) None of the above
Answer: a) Team Owner
Explanation: Microsoft Teams sends a daily activity email notification to the team owner.
Multiple Select: Which of the following activities can you track in the audit log?
- a) Team creation
- b) Team deletion
- c) Team modification
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: All these activities, including team creation, deletion, and modification, can be tracked via the audit log.
True/False: It is impossible to monitor the number of teams that a user is a member of in Microsoft Teams.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Admins can monitor the number of teams that a user is a member of via the Teams user activity report.
Interview Questions
In Microsoft Teams, where can administrators monitor the creation and deletion of Teams?
Administrators can monitor the creation and deletion of Teams in the Microsoft 365 admin center or through the Microsoft Teams admin center.
What role should a user have to monitor and report on the creation and deletion of teams in Microsoft Teams?
The user should have an admin role like Global Administrator, Teams Service Administrator, or Teams Communications Administrator to monitor and report on the creation and deletion of teams.
How can an admin track the creation of a new team?
An admin can track the creation of a team using the Microsoft 365 audit log.
Is it possible to restore a deleted team in Microsoft Teams?
Yes, a deleted team can be restored within 30 days of deletion. After 30 days, the team is permanently deleted.
Can a deleted Microsoft Teams channel be restored?
Yes, a deleted channel can be restored within 30 days of deletion.
Where can you view reports on Teams usage?
You can view usage reports in the Microsoft Teams admin center under Analytics & reports.
Can an administrator monitor who created a team in Microsoft Teams?
Yes, an administrator can monitor who created a team by viewing the audit log in the security and compliance center.
What data is included in the Teams usage report?
The Teams usage report includes data such as the number of active users, channels, teams and guest users, the number of team messages, and the activity of users in teams and channels.
Can you track the deletion of a Microsoft Teams user?
Yes, the deletion of a Microsoft Teams user can be tracked through the Microsoft 365 admin center.
What PowerShell module should be used to manage Teams?
The PowerShell module “Teams PowerShell Module” should be used to manage Teams.
How long are audit logs retained in Microsoft 365?
Audit logs are retained in Microsoft 365 for 90 days.
What is required to view the Teams usage report?
To view the Teams usage report, you must have a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 A1, A3, A5, E1, E3, E5, F1, F3, Business Premium or Business Essentials license.
Can all team members view Team creation and deletion reports?
No, only administrators can view team creation and deletion reports.
How can an admin deter unwanted team creation in Microsoft Teams?
An admin can deter unwanted team creation by setting up policies that control who can create teams.
What action could be taken if a Team is deleted unintendedly?
If a team is deleted unintendedly, an Administrator can restore it within 30 days from the Teams admin center.