Tutorial / Cram Notes
Microsoft Viva is an employee experience platform designed to create a more nurturing workplace by uniting communications, knowledge, learning, resources, and insights into the flow of work. Essential to Microsoft Viva are its core capabilities, which are comprised of Viva Topics, Viva Insights, Viva Learning, and Viva Connections. These capabilities are integrated with Microsoft 365 and Teams to provide users with a seamless experience.
Viva Topics
Viva Topics is an AI-driven knowledge management tool within Microsoft Viva that automatically organizes content and expertise across your organization, making it easy for employees to find information and put knowledge to use. When an employee comes across an unfamiliar term or project in their workflow, Viva Topics uses AI to surface a topic card with a summary, related resources, and experts who can help.
For instance, if an employee encounters a project code name they don’t recognize, Viva Topics can instantly provide a topic card with a summary of the project, recent documents, and the names of colleagues who are working on it.
Viva Insights
Viva Insights focuses on productivity and wellbeing by providing data-driven insights and recommendations. It offers personal insights to employees, helping them to keep track of their work patterns, like how much focus time they’ve managed to secure or reminding them to take regular breaks to avoid burnout. Meanwhile, managers and leaders get access to advanced insights and analytics to help them understand work patterns and trends within their teams, helping to foster a culture that promotes work-life balance.
An example of Viva Insights in action might be prompting employees to schedule daily focus time to work uninterrupted on their most important tasks or suggesting “virtual commute” time to wind down at the end of the workday.
Viva Learning
With Viva Learning, learning becomes a natural part of the day-to-day work. It aggregates learning content from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, third-party providers, and an organization’s own custom content, making it easy to discover and share learning within the flow of work. Viva Learning allows employees to easily search for and share learning content directly in Microsoft Teams.
For example, an employee could find and share a cybersecurity training module directly within a Teams channel and then discuss it with their team, facilitating team-based learning and progress.
Viva Connections
Viva Connections is essentially the gateway to the entire employee experience, providing a personalized feed and a dashboard within Microsoft Teams. It delivers a curated, company-branded experience that brings together relevant news, conversations, and the tools employees need to succeed. The dashboard can be customized to include commonly used applications and provide quick access to company resources.
An example use of Viva Connections could be the delivery of a personalized news article about a new company initiative directly into an employee’s Teams feed, allowing them to stay informed and connected to the company’s goals and announcements.
Table Summary of Core Capabilities:
| Capability | Description | Example Use-Case |
|---|---|---|
| Viva Topics | AI-driven knowledge organization | Surfacing information about an unfamiliar project name while working. |
| Viva Insights | Productivity and wellbeing analytics | Suggesting employees schedule daily focus time. |
| Viva Learning | Aggregating and sharing learning content within Teams | Sharing a cybersecurity training module in a Teams channel. |
| Viva Connections | Personalized feed and dashboard within Teams | Delivering company news and resources directly into an employee’s feed. |
Each of these core capabilities of Microsoft Viva plays a vital role in enhancing the employee experience, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing, continuous learning, and well-being within the modern workplace. As organizations continue to adapt to the evolving workplace dynamics, integrating these modules within their digital environments like Microsoft 365 and Teams can help pave the way for a more connected and engaging employee experience.
Practice Test with Explanation
True/False: Microsoft Viva is designed to provide a holistic employee experience platform, integrating engagement, learning, wellbeing, and knowledge discovery directly into the flow of people’s work.
- True)
Correct Answer: True
Explanation: Microsoft Viva is indeed a platform that focuses on improving the overall employee experience by integrating various aspects such as engagement, learning, wellbeing, and knowledge directly into their workstream.
Multiple Select: Which of the following are core components of Microsoft Viva?
- A) Viva Connections
- B) Viva Learning
- C) Viva Insights
- D) Viva Sales
Correct Answers: A) Viva Connections, B) Viva Learning, C) Viva Insights
Explanation: Viva Connections, Viva Learning, and Viva Insights are core components of the Microsoft Viva platform. Viva Sales is not a core component of Microsoft Viva.
True/False: Viva Insights provides personalized insights for team leaders only, not individual employees.
- False)
Correct Answer: False
Explanation: Viva Insights offers personalized insights for both individual employees and team leaders, helping them to stay connected and make data-driven decisions.
Single Select: What is the primary function of Viva Connections?
- A) Employee wellness
- B) Learning management
- C) Knowledge discovery
- D) Employee engagement and communication
Correct Answer: D) Employee engagement and communication
Explanation: Viva Connections is designed to boost employee engagement and communication by providing a single-entry point for employee resources and conversations.
True/False: Viva Learning is an AI-powered knowledge management tool within Microsoft Viva.
- False)
Correct Answer: False
Explanation: Viva Learning is not a knowledge management tool, but rather a component that integrates learning opportunities into the flow of work, making it easy for employees to discover, share, and engage with learning content.
Single Select: What aspect of employee experience does Viva Topics enhance?
- A) Employee wellbeing
- B) Knowledge discovery and expertise
- C) Learning and development
- D) Productivity tracking
Correct Answer: B) Knowledge discovery and expertise
Explanation: Viva Topics uses AI to organize content and expertise across the company, making it easier for people to find information and put knowledge to work.
True/False: Microsoft Viva requires a separate license from Microsoft
- True)
Correct Answer: True
Explanation: Microsoft Viva is often an add-on to Microsoft 365 and may require a separate license beyond the standard Microsoft 365 licensing.
Multiple Select: Which features does Viva Insights include?
- A) Personal well-being recommendations
- B) Learning course recommendations
- C) Meeting insights
- D) Data protection and privacy controls
Correct Answers: A) Personal well-being recommendations, C) Meeting insights, D) Data protection and privacy controls
Explanation: Viva Insights provides personal well-being recommendations, meeting insights to improve productivity, and has built-in data protection and privacy controls. It does not directly provide learning course recommendations; that’s a feature of Viva Learning.
True/False: Viva Topics automatically generates topic cards from conversations in Microsoft Teams.
- False)
Correct Answer: False
Explanation: Viva Topics uses AI to identify and organize content from a variety of sources, but topic cards are not automatically generated from Teams conversations. They are created from content within an organization’s Microsoft 365 environment.
Single Select: Which Viva module is primarily focused on the well-being of employees?
- A) Viva Connections
- B) Viva Insights
- C) Viva Learning
- D) Viva Topics
Correct Answer: B) Viva Insights
Explanation: Viva Insights is the module that offers features to help employees focus on their well-being, with personal insights and recommendations to promote a healthy work-life balance.
True/False: You can integrate third-party learning resources with Microsoft Viva Learning.
- True)
Correct Answer: True
Explanation: Yes, Microsoft Viva Learning allows integration of third-party content providers as well as learning management systems, making it a versatile tool for employee development.
Multiple Select: What benefits do employees gain from using Microsoft Viva?
- A) Centralized communication
- B) Streamlined workflow
- C) Non-AI powered analytics
- D) Enhanced learning opportunities
Correct Answers: A) Centralized communication, B) Streamlined workflow, D) Enhanced learning opportunities
Explanation: Employees using Microsoft Viva benefit from centralized communication (Viva Connections), streamlined workflow (Viva Topics), and enhanced learning opportunities (Viva Learning). Viva Insights provides AI-powered analytics, not non-AI powered.
Interview Questions
What is Microsoft Viva?
Microsoft Viva is an employee experience platform that provides personalized and relevant content, knowledge, learning, and insights across the Microsoft 365 applications.
What are the core capabilities of Microsoft Viva?
The core capabilities of Microsoft Viva are Insights, Topics, Learning, and Connections.
What is MyAnalytics in Microsoft Viva?
MyAnalytics is a personal productivity and wellbeing tool that provides insights on how people spend their time, collaborate with others, and disconnect to help them be more productive and effective.
What type of data does MyAnalytics collect?
MyAnalytics collects data from the Microsoft 365 suite of tools including email, calendar, Microsoft Teams, and other work-related tools.
What kind of insights does MyAnalytics provide?
MyAnalytics provides insights on email and meeting habits, focus time, work patterns, and communication trends.
What is Insights in Microsoft Viva?
Insights in Microsoft Viva is a feature that provides managers with visibility into how their teams are working, and helps them identify trends, spot areas of improvement, and drive better business outcomes.
What kind of insights can managers get from Insights in Microsoft Viva?
Managers can get insights on employee engagement, teamwork, productivity, and work patterns.
What is Topics in Microsoft Viva?
Topics in Microsoft Viva is a feature that uses AI to automatically organize content and expertise across the organization and surfaces it in the right context.
What is Learning in Microsoft Viva?
Learning in Microsoft Viva is a feature that provides personalized and relevant learning experiences that help employees acquire new skills and knowledge.
What is Connections in Microsoft Viva?
Connections in Microsoft Viva is a feature that provides a central place for employees to stay connected and informed, and enables them to discover and join communities, share ideas, and participate in company-wide initiatives.
How does Microsoft Viva improve employee experience?
Microsoft Viva helps employees stay connected, informed, and engaged with personalized and relevant content, knowledge, learning, and insights.
How can Microsoft Viva help organizations drive better business outcomes?
Microsoft Viva can help organizations drive better business outcomes by providing managers with insights into how their teams are working, and by empowering employees with the knowledge and skills they need to be more effective and productive.
Is Microsoft Viva available to all Microsoft 365 users?
Microsoft Viva is available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 plans.
Can Microsoft Viva be customized to suit the needs of different organizations?
Yes, Microsoft Viva can be customized to suit the needs of different organizations.
How can employees access Microsoft Viva?
Employees can access Microsoft Viva through the Microsoft Teams app or the Microsoft Viva app in the Microsoft 365 portal.
Can anyone explain what Microsoft Viva Connections is?
What are the learning features in Microsoft Viva Learning?
Appreciate the blog post.
How does Viva Insights help improve productivity?
Thanks for the helpful information!
What security measures are in place for Microsoft Viva?
The blog misses detailed info on Viva Topics!
Could someone explain Viva Topics?