rethinking sharepoint wss 2009
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Rethinking SharePoint
Web Strategy Summit, April 2009 Toby Spendiff | VP DevelopmentnForm User Experience
For the last two years, I’ve been rethinking this:
Into this:
this:
this…
and this:
So what is SharePoint?• Most widely deployed collaboration
software – 100 million licenses.• Basic version is free with Windows
Server.• Paid version adds (lots) more
features.
SharePoint is also the IT panacea because it can do everything...
It’s the worlds largest E2.0 Swiss Army Knife
It’s the worlds largest E2.0 Swiss Army Knife
DocumentManagement
RecordsManagement
Compliance
SocialNetworking
ExcelServices
BusinessIntelligence
BusinessForms
Workflow
CustomLists
Tasks
Calendars
EmailIntegration My sites
Communities
RightsManagement
Business DataCatalogue
ReportingServices
ProjectManagement
UserCustomization
EnterpriseSearch
KnowledgeManagement
BlogsWikis
Discussions
KnowledgeNetworking
Web ContentManagement
RSS
The story goes like this…• SharePoint is seen as a quick win.• Here you go…now you can collaborate! • Sites and data grow out of control.• Users need training.• IT support gets over whelmed.• Silos are created everywhere.• SharePoint officially becomes an enterprise
weed.
A North American bank reported more than 5,000 uncontrolled and unaudited instances of SharePoint
A major energy company reported finding more than 15,000 previously undetected instances of SharePoint
CMS Watch, ECM Suites Report, 2008
Re-think SharePoint
What is SharePoint good at?
Lots of great featuresPowerful set of development toolsEasy to deployScalableSecure
What is SharePoint not so good at?
Ease of use SilosControl
We can use SharePoint as a platform
• Leverage the great features of SharePoint.• Develop a solution on-top that meets needs.
SharePointSharePoint
We can use SharePoint as a platform
• Leverage the great features of SharePoint.• Develop a solution on-top that meets needs.
SharePointSharePoint
SolutionUserNeeds
BusinessNeeds
What do we get?• Enterprise class solution for a fraction of the
cost.• Full control of the end product.• Ease of use, silos and control dealt with.• Technology investment fully leveraged.• More efficiency all round.
We turn this…
Into this…
Isn’t that expensive?• I can just deploy SharePoint for free!
The Cost of Free• But, what’s the total cost of “free”?
– Training– Administration– Governance– Support– Finding Information
Re-think the process
Deploy Support
Re-think the process
Deploy SupportSolve Deploy
How do you “Solve” for SharePoint?
• Treat a SharePoint project like any other web project.
• Do a good job of the up-front work before deployment.– Requirements– Design– Development
Gather Requirements First• Understand your user’s needs:
– Tasks, goals, pain, expectations, abilities.
• Understand your business needs:– Goals, drivers, expectations, pain, capabilities.
Design the User Interface
• Create sitemaps, mock-ups and prototypes. Focus on interaction design and user testing.
Apply Visual Design
• Use a visual designer.
Apply Visual Design
• Use a visual designer.
Design the SharePoint Structure
• Put the SharePoint components together.
Site
Page LayoutsLists Page
LayoutsWeb PartsPage
LayoutsPages Page
Layouts
Business Rules
Page LayoutsSecurity Security
GroupsIntegration
Plan the Implementation
• Where will it be deployed?• What hardware resources are needed?• What availability is needed?• Who will own it?• How will adoption be achieved?• How will success be determined?• How can on-going value be provided?• What does the roadmap look like?
Develop the Solution• Use standard Microsoft tools to build the
solution for SharePoint.
Deploy• Deployment is easy, one command for
enterprise roll-out.
Deploy
Strategies to deal with…
• Ease of use • Silos• Control
Strategies for Ease of Use #1• Take away the complexity + support browsers.
Strategies for Ease of Use #1• Take away the complexity + support browsers.
Strategies for Ease of Use #2• Use clear naming and navigation
Strategies for Ease of Use #3• Help users sift through information.
Strategies for Ease of Use #4• Test designs with users to eliminate guess
work.
Strategies for Silos #1• Don’t hide sites & don’t make me remember URLs.
Strategies for Silos #2• Use Dashboards to roll-up information.
Strategies for Silos #3• Use activity streams to stay on the pulse.
Strategies for Silos #4• Use Email to keep everyone in the loop.
Strategies for Control #1• Keep users out of SharePoint admin!
Strategies for Control #2 - #6• Use business rules not people or admin tools
to control site and data creation.
• Deploy standardized sites that meet needs.• Get notified when sites are created.• Leverage SharePoint quotas to control space.• Leverage SharePoint reports to assess usage.
In Summary• Rethinking SharePoint is about:
– Leveraging SharePoint as a powerful platform not just settling for out of the box.
– Investing in up-front work to reduce total cost of ownership.
– Managing ease of use, silos, and control with good design.
– Turning SharePoint into a Samurai Sword!
