Microsoft Teams Naming Convention

1. Core Principles

Consistent schema: [Type]-[Location]-[Name]-[Suffix]
Language: German, except for established technical terms
Separators: Hyphen - between blocks, spaces within name components
No special characters: No ä/ö/ü/ß → use ae/oe/ue/ss instead (avoids issues with SharePoint URLs, email aliases, and integrations)
Length: Team name max. 50 characters (readability in the app)
Uppercase for prefixes, standard casing for descriptive names

2. Prefix Catalogue (Type)

Prefix	Meaning	Target Audience
`ABT`	Department / Organisational unit (Abteilung)	Internal staff only
`PRJ`	Project (time-limited) (Projekt)	Internal, optionally with externals
`AG`	Working group (Arbeitsgruppe)	Internal, optionally with externals
`GRM`	Committee / Board (Gremium)	Internal or mixed
`EXT`	Team with external members	Always when externals are involved
`ORG`	Cross-location / organisational team	Internal staff only

Decision Rule: When to Use EXT?

As soon as at least one person without an @nsi-hsvn.de account is a member of the team, EXT is used as the first prefix, followed by the functional type:

EXT-PRJ-...     → Project with externals
EXT-AG-...      → Working group with externals
EXT-GRM-...     → Committee with externals

This preserves both the security indicator (external!) and the functional classification.

3. Location Codes

Code	Location
`H`	Hannover
`BS`	Braunschweig
`OL`	Oldenburg
(omit)	Cross-location

4. Externals — Subcategories

NSI collaborates with various groups of external stakeholders. The type of external is documented in the team description (not in the name). An optional abbreviation can be added to the name:

Code	External Group	Example Team Name
`DOZ`	Lecturers / External instructors (Dozenten)	`EXT-AG-H-DOZ Verwaltungsrecht`
`FK`	Subject coordinators (Fachkoordinatoren)	`EXT-AG-FK Ordnungsrecht`
`PA`	Examination boards (Prüfungsausschüsse)	`EXT-GRM-H-PA AVD 2025`
`DL`	Service providers (Dienstleister)	`EXT-PRJ-DL Druckerei`

5. Name Components in Detail

[EXT]-[Type]-[Location]-[External Code] [Descriptive Name] [Year/Period]
        │         │             │                │                │
     Required  Optional      Optional        Required         Optional

Examples by Team Type

Departments

ABT-H-IT                          → IT Department Hannover
ABT-H-Lehrgangsbuero              → Course Administration Office Hannover
ABT-Geschaeftsfuehrung             → Executive Management (cross-location)
ABT-BS-Verwaltung                  → Administration Braunschweig

Projects

PRJ-Digitale Pruefungen            → Internal project
PRJ-H-Umbau Seminarraeume          → Internal project Hannover
EXT-PRJ-DL Lernplattform 2026      → Project with service provider

Working Groups

AG-QM Lehrevaluation               → Internal working group
AG-Personalentwicklung             → Internal working group
EXT-AG-H-DOZ Verwaltungsrecht      → Working group with lecturers, Hannover
EXT-AG-FK Ordnungsrecht            → Working group with subject coordinators

Committees

GRM-Institutsleitung               → Internal committee
GRM-H-Auswahlkommission            → Internal committee Hannover
EXT-GRM-H-PA AVD 2025              → Examination board AVD, Hannover
EXT-GRM-PA VFA 2026                → Examination board VFA, cross-location

Cross-Cutting / Organisation

ORG-Alle Standorte                 → All staff across locations
ORG-H-Kollegium                    → Staff body Hannover

6. Rules for Teams with Externals (EXT)

EXT prefix is mandatory for every team with guest access — no exceptions
Team description must include:
- Type of externals (lecturers, subject coordinators, examination board, service providers)
- Notice: "This team contains external members. Do not share internal or confidential information."
Private channel named Intern (nur NSI) should be created if internal coordination is needed
Review guest access regularly: Remove externals after project/committee completion or archive the team
Sensitivity label (if configured in M365): Set to "External"

7. Lifecycle and Archiving

Phase	Action	Naming
Creation	Apply naming convention, maintain description	`PRJ-H-Digitale Pruefungen`
Active	Regular operation	—
Completed	Archive team, add prefix	`_ARCHIV-PRJ-H-Digitale Pruefungen`
Deletion	Review 12 months after archiving	—

Notes:

Hide archived teams in the Teams app — they remain searchable
For EXT teams: Remove guest access before archiving
Department teams (ABT) are generally not archived

8. Team Description Template

Every team should include the following in its description field:

Purpose of the team (1 sentence)
Responsible person (team owner)
Time period (for projects/committees)
Type of externals and warning notice (if EXT)

Example internal:

IT Department, Hannover location. Team owner: [Name]. Permanent team.

Example external:

Examination board AVD cohort 2025, Hannover location. Team owner: [Name]. Duration: 01.03.2025–30.09.2025. Contains external members (examination board) — do not share confidential internal information.

9. Quick Reference

Schema:     [EXT]-[Type]-[Location]-[Code] [Descriptive Name] [Year]

Types:      ABT | PRJ | AG | GRM | ORG
Externals:  EXT- always as first prefix, then functional type
Ext. codes: DOZ | FK | PA | DL
Locations:  H | BS | OL | (omit = cross-location)
Archive:    _ARCHIV-[Original-Name]
Umlauts:    ae oe ue ss instead of ä ö ü ß
Max:        50 characters

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