Begin by creating a custom list within your SharePoint Online tenant. Microsoft provide a detailed overview of custom lists here and we recommend you familiarize yourself with this feature of SharePoint before continuing.

From the settings menu choose Add an App and then pick the Custom List from the application you can add section.

You will then be prompted to name the list. In this example we have called the list CompanyOrgChart.

Once the list has been created we need to add Columns. This process is fully documented here and if you have never created custom lists we recommend you take some time to review this documentation.

To create the column select the List tab from the control ribbon and then the Create Column button.

This brings up the create column dialog where your can define the column type. In this example we add a column called FullName.

To draw an organization chart the list needs to contain a column that can be used as the primary key. This is a value that uniquely identifies a person within the organization. This could be any type of value but common options include using the person's email address, or a role identifier or a staff or employee number.

The person's name can be used however we caution against this as it is not always guaranteed to be unique.

Continuing this example we have chosen to use email as the primary key column and have added an email column to the list.

To complete the list definition TeamOrgChart needs a column that holds the primary key value of the person's manager. In our example we have added a column called ManagerEmail that is a look-up field that looks up the existing email addresses from the list.

Using a look-up to find the primary key is a useful technique to ensure data consistency.

Finally we add a column called PictureUrl that is a Hyperlink to hold a reference to the picture of each person.

And our simple list definition is complete.

Please note that this is a simple example, you can create a list that contains any number of fields and types to hold the information that you wish to show on your organization chart. The only hard rule is that it must contain a primary key and manager column.

Once the list has been created we can then populate it using the standard SharePoint features.

Once the list has been created and populated we can begin the task of creating the organization chart.

To do so access TeamOrgChart by going to site Contents and selecting the TeamOrgChart application.

From the home page select the Create New Chart option. If you cannot see this option then you do not have administration rights to TeamOrgChart. You will need to contact your administrator and ask for rights to be granted to you.

Give your chart a name and click the "Choose this source" button for the SharePoint List data source option.

The next step is to select the list. The custom list that was created can be picked from the SharePoint List drop down.

Next we select the primary key and the manager columns. These are the columns that uniquely identify each person in the chart and tell TeamOrgChart who their manager is.

In our example we used email as a primary key and ManagerEmail as a manager column.

Once we have defined the primary key and manager column the configuration is complete. You can then further configure the chart to adjust the colour, appearance and to define which columns will be shown in the chart boxes and on the search and information screens.

The chart can now be viewed, searched and navigated by people within your organisation. The "View List" button ( highlighted in the picutre ) allows you to quickly access the list in your SharePoint tenant.