From overwhelmed to organized: How subtasks transform project management

Former Employee

Jun 03, 2024

Do you often find yourself lost in a maze of tasks within your projects? Are checklists not enough for you to keep your projects organized? With the new Microsoft Planner, you can bring order to chaos with subtasks, enabling you to manage complex plans and projects with ease. Available in premium plans in the new Planner, subtasks are the key to unlocking a more organized and efficient workflow.

What are subtasks?

Subtasks are the building blocks that support your main tasks. They allow you to break down complex deliverables into manageable pieces, ensuring that every detail is accounted for without losing sight of the big picture.

Using subtasks, you can:

Organize complex projects so you can easily find what you're looking for.
Break down large deliverables into smaller, more actionable tasks, without losing sight of the big picture.
Assign responsibility of subtasks for efficient collaboration.
Monitor progress of your high-level deliverables based on the status of subtasks.

With Copilot in Planner (preview), staying organized becomes effortless! Using the power of AI, Copilot can help you break down your complex tasks into manageable subtasks, making it even easier for you to focus on what matters most. Learn more about Copilot in the new Planner.

How to use subtasks

When you use a premium plan in Planner, creating and managing subtasks is a breeze. Just follow these steps:

1. Add a task below the main task you wish to expand.

2. Open the task menu and select the option to convert it into a subtask. You can also use Alt + Shift + Right Arrow on your keyboard as a shortcut.

3. Enjoy the flexibility to assign, set dates, prioritize, and add attachments to your subtasks, just like any other task.

How to use Copilot to create subtasks

1. Locate the task number of the task you wish to expand.

2. Select the Copilot button to open the chat pane.

3. Enter the following prompt into the prompt area, replacing [task number] with the number you located in step 1: "Add actionable subtasks for [task number]."

4. Select the Send icon and relax as Copilot generates your subtasks.

5. If you are happy with the tasks Copilot generated, you are free to continue working with your plan. If not, select the regenerate button and Copilot will try again.

Ready to start using subtasks?

Subtasks in Planner are more than a feature; they’re a strategic tool that empowers you to tackle complex projects with confidence. Try premium capabilities of Planner today to experience the power of subtasks in the new Planner.

To preview Copilot in Planner, you can confirm whether you already have access by following the steps here.

Share your feedback

We appreciate all the feedback you've shared with us so far! We've fixed hundreds of bugs and we're adding many of your requests to our backlog and roadmap, so keep them coming. You can share feedback directly via the Planner app in Teams. You can also send us your feedback via the Planner Feedback Portal.

Resources

To get the inside scoop on the new Planner watch the Meet the Makers and our AMA.
Watch the new Planner demos for inspiration on how to get the most out of the new Planner app in Microsoft Teams.
Check out the new Planner adoption website.
We’ve got a lot more ‘planned’ for the new Planner this year! Stay tuned to the Planner Blog for news and announcements.
For future updates coming to Planner, please view the Microsoft 365 roadmap.
Learn about Planner and Project plans and pricing.
Read some of the frequently asked questions about Planner.

Updated Aug 12, 2025

Version 4.0

Former Employee

Joined May 09, 2023

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20 Comments

ArunC
Copper Contributor
Feb 13, 2025
David_HopkinsUnfortunately, the latest version of planner has removed subtasks. This is a BIG bummer! Product Management team - If you see this, please do your work and don't strand the users!
David_Hopkins
Former Employee
Sep 27, 2024
marcus_aurelius_ You can follow our roadmap for updates on the new Planner web at https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=Planner. We're currently targeting to start rollout in October. In the meantime, if you'd prefer to use a web app then you can find your premium plans in the Project for the Web app at https://project.microsoft.com.
David_Hopkins
Former Employee
Sep 27, 2024
MattInCN Victor-E-DNA javon7065 Subtasks are only available in premium plans. You can learn more about premium plans in Planner here: https://support.microsoft.com/office/6cdba2aa-da06-4e08-be4c-baaa4fda17ba.
marcus_aurelius_
Copper Contributor
Sep 27, 2024
I was able to create a premium plan through teams, but it doesent show up in my plans in the planner app. Is there a new planner app that this will be visible in? I was also not able to create a premium plan in the planner app. What is the time frame for planner for the web getting these updates and features David_Hopkins
javon7065
Copper Contributor
Aug 13, 2024
We have the A5 level of M365 and I recently purchased and applied to my account the Project Plan 3 for Faculty. I am not seeing the menu shown in the first video @ 28 seconds that shows the option to "make subtask", among other things. Menu shown below from video at 28 second mark:
Victor-E-DNA
Copper Contributor
Aug 02, 2024
We have a company-wide 365 account, Teams is showing just "Planner," yet no subtasks? Am I missing something?
MattInCN
Copper Contributor
Jul 31, 2024
I'm still a bit confused on how to get the subtask feature. I've searched for "Planner Premium", but the only options for a paid subscription upgrade that I could find are Planner Plan 1, Project Plan 3, and Project Plan 5 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/planner/microsoft-planner-plans-and-pricing). Where can I upgrade to Planner Premium to enable subtasks in Planner, as described in this article and video?
amylowery
Copper Contributor
Jul 30, 2024
Our organization is happy that Planner now offers the ability to assign subtasks. While everything stays together in Grid view (parent with the sub-tasks) there is no indication of the Parent task in Board view which is not useful. Is Microsoft able to quickly make this a functionality. This is the only way we'd be able to fully use Planner and discontinue using Asana.
colbourne25
Brass Contributor
Jul 30, 2024
David_Hopkins the start rollout in June for the premium capabilities seems wildly inaccurate it seems https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=Planner&searchterms=186968

Any further update?
atardif
Copper Contributor
Jul 24, 2024
Hello,
I am really looking forward to using subtasks, but i have difficulty to integrate it in my workflow.
1- I believe the task details should display subtasks. I feel it should replace steps, or at least have the option to.
2- We should have the option to select the task level in the board. When we are managing subtasks, the the parents still show in the board , which can be confusing.
3- I can see wanting to have the board filtered on only the tasks under a parent item.
I hope that feedback is useful and thank you for the updates. AT