Teams Project Structure

Microsoft Teams — Client and Project Structure

When a new client engagement begins, create a dedicated internal Microsoft Team for the client. This Team is used to organise internal squad communication, project meetings, recordings, and key project references.

Projects for that client are then organised as standard channels within the client Team.

Client-facing file sharing is handled through SharePoint folder sharing by default, not through a client-facing Teams channel.

Team Setup

Create a new Microsoft Team with the following configuration:

• Team name: Squad - [Client Name]
• Team visibility: Private Team
• Purpose: Internal Calab.ai collaboration for all active projects with that client
• Owner: Delivery Lead
• Additional owner: At least one backup owner (for example, the Solution Lead)
• Members: Internal squad members working across the client account

The Delivery Lead is responsible for creating the Team and confirming the setup is complete.

Channel Structure

Each client Team should contain:

• General — used for client-level internal coordination, announcements, and shared references
• One standard channel per active project

Project channels are the primary place for day-to-day internal project collaboration.

Default Internal Team Structure

Use the following default structure inside the client Team:

Squad - [Client Name]/
├── General
├── 12345 - [Project Name]
└── 23456 - [Project Name]

Where:

• Squad - [Client Name] is the internal Microsoft Team for that client
• General is the client-level internal coordination channel
• each project channel uses the preferred naming format: [ProjectWorks #] - [Project Name]

Example:

Squad - ACU/
├── General
├── 12345 - GenAI PoV
└── 12378 - Website Refresh

Project Channel Naming

Project channel names should be clear and easy to identify.

• Preferred format: [ProjectWorks #] - [Project Name]
• Fallback format: [Project Name]

Example:

• 12345 - GenAI PoV

For now, channels can be created manually. In future, this setup can be automated through a provisioning workflow.

Tabs and References

General Channel

The General channel should include quick access to client-level references such as:

Tab	Content	Source
Client Stakeholder Map	Loop page documenting key client contacts, roles, and reporting lines	Microsoft Loop
Sales Strategy	Loop page containing the sales strategy and commercial context for the client	Microsoft Loop

If these Loop pages do not already exist, create them at project kickoff.

Project Channels

Each project channel should include project-specific references as needed, such as:

Tab	Content	Source
GitHub Project Board	Link to the project’s GitHub Projects board for sprint tracking and backlog management	GitHub

Meetings and Recordings

Recurring project meetings should be scheduled as channel meetings in the relevant internal project channel.

This ensures that:

• meeting recordings
• transcriptions
• meeting chat files

are stored automatically in the correct project SharePoint location.

This is the default approach for sprint ceremonies and other recurring project meetings.

External Client Sharing

By default, clients are not added to the internal Microsoft Team.

If clients need access to files, create one externally shared SharePoint folder per client.

This folder is the default client-facing sharing location.

Default External Folder Structure

Use the following default structure:

[Client Name]/
├── 12345 - [Project Name]/
├── 23456 - [Project Name]/
└── Shared/

Where:

• [Client Name] is the top-level externally shared folder for that client
• each project folder uses the preferred project naming format: [ProjectWorks #] - [Project Name]
• Shared/ is an optional subfolder for client-facing material that is not specific to a single project

Additional subfolders can be created where different client stakeholder groups need access to different document sets.

Example:

ACU/
├── 12345 - GenAI PoV/
├── 12378 - Website Refresh/
└── Shared/

Recordings and External Sharing

Project recordings remain internal by default.

Only share recordings externally when needed, and only through the approved client-facing SharePoint location.

Access Model

• Internal squad members are added to the client Team and have access to its channels, tabs, meetings, and associated SharePoint files
• Clients are granted access only to explicitly shared SharePoint folders or files
• Sensitive client material must be stored in a separate restricted location, not in the default client-facing shared folder

Exceptions

A client-facing Teams collaboration space is not created by default.

If a client genuinely requires ongoing Teams-based collaboration beyond file sharing, this should be assessed separately and set up as an explicit exception.

Automation

The standard setup is manual for now.

In future, provisioning can be automated to:

• create the client Team
• create project channels
• create the client-facing SharePoint folder structure

Potential implementation options include Power Automate, Microsoft Graph, or SharePoint REST.