Microsoft Teams: Help and Resources

by Jaumarro Cuffee | 2020-04-10

In our current telework status, NASA is go for Teams. We knew that Skype for Business is to be decommissioned (date TBD), but working away from the office, many more of us have adopted Teams to keep in touch by posting in Chat or enjoying virtual visits with audio and video. To overcome audio obstacles, some meeting organizers have gone all in with Teams audio.

With myriad NASA people doing the Teams thing, where do we go to get help and training? Some answers:

Office 365 Support Portal – Internal NASA site with videos, how-to articles, solutions, user guides, help request and the inside scoop on features specific to the Office 365 subscription we have at NASA. Note: Public sites may highlight features that are not available in NASA’s Office 365 subscription.

O365 User Group – This public team has members from across NASA who ask and answer questions, exchange ideas and enjoy being part of the NASA Teams community. You can search for information in this group to see if your question has already been answered, or to find an update on when a new feature will become available for NASA. (To search: Enter a simple term or phrase in the Search field and press enter (top center in Teams app – “Search or enter a command”). Next, click the filter to narrow search results to a specific Team and Channel.

Request Help – This feature on the Office 365 Support Portal enables people to get help when something goes wrong, or get answers to the odd question they couldn’t find in the O365 User Group. At the top of the Office 365 Support Portal, click “Request Help,” then select the O365 tool with which you need assistance.

NASA People – The coronavirus page of NASA People is continuously being updated with information, including teleworking tech tips pertaining to Teams and other services. Check this page frequently for new and updated information. (Popular – O365 Common Questions, which includes data handling.)

JSC Telework Ready – This Channel of the JSC Enterprise Services Integration Meeting (ESIM) public Team is used by the Information Resources Directorate (IRD) Customer Relationship Managers to share telework resources and information (including Teams) with organization Information Technology points of contact and others at JSC.

Enterprise Service Desk (ESD) – For technical issues and to ask about apparent service interruptions, contact the ESD. Be sure to provide the best contact information they should use to contact you, especially as most of us are working remotely.

A big thank you to IRD in helping the Johnson Space Center community navigate these tools, successfully work from home and support the mission.