Every software rollout, every new internal tool, every customer-facing portal generates a steady stream of problems. A user cannot reset their password. A report fails to load on mobile. An approval workflow stalls halfway. These incidents arrive unpredictably, often in bursts, and if teams handle them through email threads or scattered Excel sheets, disruption follows quickly. People duplicate effort, critical details slip away, and managers lose sight of recurring patterns that quietly erode productivity.
Businesses that treat these reports seriously, that is, recording them properly, assigning ownership, and analysing trends, turn frustration into improvement. An effective issue tracking system does exactly that. It captures every request in one place, routes it to the right person, and keeps an audit trail that teams can mine for insights later. The result? Faster fixes today and fewer headaches tomorrow.
This article explains why SharePoint is an ideal foundation for building such a system, what organisations gain from it, and, most importantly, the steps to build a scalable issue tracking system in SharePoint that matures alongside your operational needs.
Let’s begin.
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Issue Tracking in SharePoint: What it Really Means
At its core, issue tracking in SharePoint transforms a simple list into a full-fledged ticketing engine. Microsoft provides an out-of-the-box issue tracker template inside Microsoft Lists, and most organisations quickly customise it into a proper helpdesk or IT support portal using SharePoint lists, Power Automate flows, and Power Apps interfaces.
Businesses choose SharePoint for issue tracking because it already lives inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem that most companies use daily. No new logins, no extra licences for basic setups, and rock-solid integration with Teams, Outlook, and Power BI.
A well-built SharePoint issues tracker gives you:
- Version history on every ticket change
- Built-in permissions so only the right people see sensitive incidents
- Automated notifications and reminders
- Real-time dashboards that update without manual intervention
- Attachment support for screenshots, logs, and documents
- Metadata tagging that makes searching effortless
The platform handles everything from simple employee IT requests to complex project risk registers without forcing you into rigid third-party tooling.
How to Set Up an Issue Tracking System in SharePoint
Setting up a technically sound issue tracking in SharePoint requires a structured approach. SharePoint’s flexibility means there are several ways to build such a system, but the steps below outline a reliable and scalable path.
Step 1: Create the Core Issues List
Navigate to your chosen site → Site contents → New → List → Choose “Issue Tracking” template (or start blank if you want full control). Name it clearly, e.g., “IT Service Desk” or “Corporate Issues Tracker”.
Step 2: Customise Columns to Match Your Workflow
Remove or hide fields you don’t need and add the ones you do. Typical columns include:
- Title (the short description)
- Issue Type (dropdown: Bug, Request, Incident, Change)
- Priority (High/Medium/Low/Critical)
- Assigned To (Person or Group column)
- Category & Sub-category (Choice columns)
- Related Project/Service (Lookup column if needed)
- Due Date
- Root Cause (filled after closure)
- Customer Impact (Yes/o or scale)
Step 3: Create Status Workflow Columns
Add a Choice column called “Status” with values such as New → Assigned → In Progress → Waiting on Customer → Resolved → Closed. Enable “Require content approval” if you want a final review step.
Step 4: Build Views That People Actually Use
Create at least these four views:
- My Open Issues (filtered Assigned To = [Me] and Status not Closed)
- All Open High-Priority
- SLA Breaching (Due Date < Today and Status not Resolved)
- Closed This Month (for reporting)
Switch the default view to something friendlier than “All Items”.
Step 5: Automate with Power Automate
Build flows that trigger on item creation or modification:
- Send Teams/Outlook notification to assignee
- Email requester with ticket number and link
- Escalate if Priority = Critical and no update in 2 hours
- Update status automatically when assignee adds a comment
This stage shapes the operational discipline of the system.
Step 6: Build Issue Forms in Power Apps (Optional)
A Power Apps form can give your issue tracking in SharePoint interface a cleaner, app-like layout. Replace the default NewForm.aspx with a custom Power App to get a clean, mobile-ready interface with dropdowns, conditional fields, and file uploads
With this step, you can:
- Reorder fields
- Add conditional visibility
- Include drop-down menus
- Validate fields before submission
- Apply branding
- Upload files
Step 7: Create Dashboards using Power BI
Link your SharePoint list to Power BI to create visual dashboards. Show open vs closed trends, average resolution time by category, and top assignees.
Useful charts include:
- Issues by category
- Open vs. closed issues
- Resolution times
- SLA compliance
- Team workload
These dashboards give stakeholders a quick overview of system performance.
Step 8: Set Permissions and Governance
Define roles such as:
- End-users (submit only)
- Team leads (review and assign)
- Support agents (update and resolve)
- Administrators (manage configuration and reporting)
Setting up permissions help with maintaining data security and governance.
Step 9: Test, Refine, and Deploy
Once everything seems to be in place, test the issue tracking system in SharePoint thoroughly for issue before deployment.
You can:
- Test various issue types.
- Validate workflows.
- Confirm permissions.
- Adjust fields and categories.
Once complete, roll it out with training sessions and reference documentation so users adopt the system smoothly.
Following these steps delivers a professional SharePoint issues tracker in under a week for most small to mid-sized teams.
Benefits That Actually Move the Needle
Organisations that switch to a structured SharePoint ticketing system notice improvements almost immediately. Here are the gains that matter most:
Centralised visibility: Managers finally see the full backlog in one place instead of hunting through inboxes. They spot bottlenecks instantly and redistribute work before resentment builds.
Faster resolution times: Automation assigns tickets the moment they land. The right technician receives a Teams message or email within seconds, slashing the “who’s handling this?” delay.
Accountability without blame: Every action logs automatically. Team members know their contributions are visible, which gently encourages ownership while protecting everyone during audits.
Data-driven decisions: Recurring issues become obvious when you filter by component or error type. Development teams receive clean reports showing exactly where to focus the next sprint.
Reduced ticket volume over time: Root-cause trends reveal training gaps or process flaws. One financial services client cut password-reset tickets by 40 % after spotting a pattern and creating a short video guide.
Better customer and employee experience: Requestors track progress through a friendly Power App or SharePoint page. No more “Did you get my email?” follow-ups.
Compliance and audit readiness: Regulated industries love the immutable audit trail and retention policies that SharePoint enforces natively.
Cost control: Many companies already pay for Microsoft 365. Issue tracking in SharePoint avoids yet another SaaS subscription while delivering enterprise-grade features.
Conclusion
A reliable issue tracking system in SharePoint helps organisations bring order, clarity, and accountability to their operations. A well-engineered SharePoint issues tracker ensures that issues are not only resolved quickly but used as catalysts for long-term improvement.
With more than 25 years delivering SharePoint solutions across thethe world, we have built issue tracking systems that manage tens of thousands of tickets monthly for banks, government bodies, and large enterprises. Whether you need deep integration, automation, advanced reporting, or a completely bespoke workflow, our team of SharePoint experts collaborate closely with your teams to deliver a solution that standard SharePoint simply cannot match out-of-the-box.
Contact us today at info@neologix.ae or call +971-521043226. Let’s talk about the bottlenecks holding your team back, and build the robust issue tracking system in SharePoint that finally solves them.
