SharePoint Work Queue Monitor: Stuck, Overdue and Bottleneck Reports
Your clone watches the SharePoint lists you use as work queues and tells you every day what is overdue, stuck, unassigned or piling up, plus a weekly throughput report.
Your clone reads SharePoint lists and views used as job trackers or department queues, then sends a daily digest (overdue, stuck, unassigned, bottlenecks, aging, cross-list mismatches) and a weekly throughput report. It starts read-only; drafted updates and approved updates are optional later phases.
At a glance
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Setup time
- 45–90 min
- Built for
- Ops, Leadership, Support
Version 1.0.0 · updated 2026-10-22
Overview
Work queues in SharePoint grow quietly. Items sit with no status change, due dates pass, nobody owns the new ones and one stage fills up while another is empty. People find out when a customer or manager asks. The monitor surfaces it every morning.
Many teams run their work from SharePoint lists: a job tracker, a department inbox, an intake queue. Lists do not nag. Items slip past their due date, sit in one stage for weeks, or never get an owner.
The SharePoint Work Queue Monitor works in three phases:
| Phase | What happens | Default? |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1: READ & ANALYZE | Clone reads lists and views, sends the daily digest and the weekly report | Yes |
| Phase 2: DRAFTED UPDATES | Clone also writes a "suggested updates" list for a person to apply by hand | Optional, after at least a week of Phase 1 |
| Phase 3: APPROVED UPDATES | Clone applies changes to list items, each one approved by you | Optional, only after you confirm your SharePoint operator can update list items in your org |
Daily digest flags:
| Flag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Overdue | Due date passed and the item is not in a done value |
| Stuck | No status change (or modified date) for more than {STUCK_DAYS} days |
| Unassigned | No owner |
| Bottlenecks | Item count per stage compared with normal |
| Aging | Days in the current stage |
| Cross-list mismatches | Done in one list but still open in a related list, matched on {MATCH_FIELD} |
Weekly report: items completed per week by stage or department, trend vs last week, average cycle time and the top aging items.
Out of scope: SharePoint admin work (list settings, Power Apps/JSON formatting). The clone does not change list design.
Who it’s for
- Ops leads who run intake or job queues in SharePoint lists.
- Leadership who want a daily and weekly view of flow without opening lists.
- Support teams using a SharePoint list as a request or case queue.
How it works
Trigger: {SCHEDULE} (daily digest + weekly throughput report)
or on demand: "Check my work queues"
│
▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ "SharePoint Queue Monitor" skill │
│ │
│ 1. Read {LISTS} / {VIEWS} on {SITE} (page through large lists) │
│ 2. Map columns: {STATUS_FIELD} {DUE_FIELD} {OWNER_FIELD} │
│ {STAGE_FIELD} ({DONE_VALUES} = finished) │
│ 3. Flag: overdue · stuck ({STUCK_DAYS}) · unassigned · │
│ bottlenecks · aging · cross-list mismatches ({MATCH_FIELD}) │
│ 4. Daily digest → {RECIPIENTS} or {TEAM_CHANNEL} │
│ Weekly report → throughput, trend, cycle time, top aging │
└───────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
│
Phase 1: stop here (read only)
│
Phase 2: + "suggested updates" list for a person to apply
│
Phase 3: + clone applies each change you approve
(Microsoft Share Point Actions; only after you confirm
the operator can update items in your org)Setup, step by step
- Check requirements (10 min)Open REQUIREMENTS.md. You need a Microsoft 365 connection with Sites.Read.All and access to the site and lists.
- Hand the instructions to your clone (2 min)Say: "Please set up this use case for me. Show me a plan before changing anything."
- Review the discovery table (5 min)Confirm the exact SharePoint operator names in your catalog.
- Answer the placeholder questions (10 min)See section 6.
- Confirm the columns (10 min)The clone lists every column with its internal name and display name. You confirm which is status, due date, owner and stage.
- Do your part (10–20 min)Connect Microsoft 365 with Sites.Read.All; make sure the connected account can open the site and lists (a dedicated clone account works well).
- Save the skill and schedule (5–10 min)
- Test on ONE list (15–30 min)Compare the clone's overdue and stuck counts with the list filtered by hand. Then add more lists.
- Stay in Phase 1 for at least a week before turning on Phase 2.
The full walkthrough is in the README. The Clone Instructions file tells your clone exactly what to do.
What you’ll need
Your clone matches these to the exact skill names in your workspace. Confirm exact operator names and capabilities in your catalog before saving the skill. Your clone will report the exact names it finds.
Skill names can differ slightly between orgs. Confirm the exact names in your skill catalog before saving the skill.
| # | Skill / operator (exact name) | What it's used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft Share Point Queries | Read lists, views, items and columns | Required. Phase 1 |
| 2 | Microsoft Share Point Actions | Write list items | Phase 3 only, optional, each change approved |
| 3 | Microsoft Share Point Admin | Not used | Admin work is out of scope |
| 4 | Outlook email operator or Google Gmail Operator | Email the daily digest and weekly report | One delivery method needed (or Teams/Slack) |
| 5 | SharePoint Queue Monitor (custom skill) | The workflow itself | Saved from CLONE-INSTRUCTIONS.md section 7 |
| 6 | Scheduled task (via the platform tool) | Daily digest and weekly report on {SCHEDULE} | Not needed for on-demand use |
| 7 | Microsoft Excel | Export weekly numbers | Optional |
| 8 | Teams or Slack | Post the digest to a channel | Optional (post only) |
Known gotchas
- "Access denied" usually means missing SharePoint permission. Delete the Microsoft connection and re-create it so it picks up Sites.Read.All. Also check the connected account can open the site and lists.
- Internal column names differ from display names. "Due Date" may be
Due_x0020_Date. The clone lists both at setup so you can confirm. - Large lists need paging. Lists with thousands of items are read in pages; the first run may take longer.
- A view can hide items. A filtered view such as a department inbox shows only some items. Choose
{VIEWS}on purpose, and the digest states which view it used. - Dates and time zones. Date-only values and UTC times can shift by a day. Tell the clone your time zone; verify near-boundary items.
- Keep Phase 1 for at least a week before drafting updates. You need time to trust the counts.
- Never bulk-change items without approval. Phase 3 is one approved change at a time.
- Phase 2 and 3 are not yet proven in every org. Reading lists is confirmed working; drafted/approved updates need testing in your org.
- Admin work is out of scope. List settings and Power Apps/JSON formatting are not handled by the clone.
Questions
Will it change my lists?
Not in Phase 1 or 2. Phase 3 only changes items you approve one by one.
Does it need SharePoint admin?
No. Read needs Sites.Read.All on the connection and access to the site and lists.
Can I use a dedicated account?
Yes, a dedicated clone account with access to the site works well.
Why do my counts differ from the clone's?
Usually a view filter, a done-value missing from {DONEVALUES}, or a time zone edge. Compare on one list first.
Can it watch several lists?
Yes. Test one first, then add more.
Can it post to Teams or Slack?
Yes (post only).
Does it work with Google instead of Microsoft?
SharePoint is Microsoft 365. You can still deliver the digest by Gmail or Slack.