Microsoft Teams for SMBs (Concept)
By: Hamed Rabah
Tags: Startup, Google, Slack, Microsoft, Small Business

Use Cases

The following is a non-exhaustive list of 5 possible use-cases

A) Non-technical small business owner

As a non-technical small business owner, I want to set up my staff on Teams without a hassle.

Scenario 1 : Given that I’m in the coffee business and not as tech savvy, when I sign up for Teams, I should be able to easily and simply create an account with settings that match my industry expectations.

Scenario 2: Given that I’m in the coffee business, when I transfer my business onto Teams, then I should be able to quickly onboard only the features that will be useful for my business.

B) Medium Business Accountant

As an accountant on a team with other accountants and various external stakeholders, I want to be able to use Teams to help me get work done.

Scenario 1 : As an accountant at a SMB there are various tasks I find repetitive, there are certain templates I am accustomed to using for work, when using Teams I should have quick access to these templates.

Scenario 2: As an accountant at a SMB there are various tasks that require collaboration with other accountants, when using Teams, it should be easy to work with others in real time.

Scenario 3: In a small business setting, it is not unusual for the executive team to have my accounting team research new properties for possible expansion. I should be able to have quick access to local real estate listings, and industry trends, to increase the ease with which I can have a report to my boss.

C) Medium Business HR rep

As an HR rep at a medium sized company manage payroll, employee relations, and recruiting new staff.

Scenario 1 : As an HR rep at my company, I am used to interviewing various candidates and managing my interview schedule using a combination of tools such as LinkedIn, Email, and calendar. When keeping track of candidates I should have quick access to my normal toolkit for hiring.

Scenario 2: As an HR rep at my company, I manage the payroll of employees. I consult my calendar and organization’s time keeping platform to release pay schedules on time. When keeping track of payroll, I should have easily accessible information including normal schedules, logged hours, and employee disputes.

Scenario 3: As an HR rep at my organization, I gather feedback on employees and management, sometimes this feedback is transparent and other-times anonymous. When gathering feedback I should have an easy way for employees to log both types of feedback, as well as a way to collect this feedback and automatically sort them based on employee.

D) Sales & Marketing at an SMB

As a salesperson at a small-medium sized business, this sales and marketing teams are combined, so the responsibilities are shared.

Scenario 1 : As a salesman at a SMB I am used to keeping track of inventory and focusing my sales efforts on products that are popular with customers. When I use a service I want easy accessibility to my inventory and if need be access to my venders to follow up with orders.

Scenario 2: As a manager of a SMB, I like to keep track of how my salespeople are performing each month. This includes a monthly bonus to the top salesperson each month. When communicating with my salespeople I would like to be able to track their performance and gather valuable insights into their results.