Mauro Cardarelli : Doing a SharePoint Assessment. I’ve had the opportunity to do several SharePoint assessments over the years and while each customer/scenario was different the assessments often centered around “we don’t know what we don’t know… help!” That is, there was a sense that SharePoint might be a good solution fit but external assistance was requested for validation and insight.
While I can attest to starting every assessment document (typically the deliverable in this type of project) with a blank piece of paper, I do always follow a (personal) methodology. It centers on answering (and justifying the answers to) 3 key questions: (1) is this worth it? (2) is SharePoint the right tool?” (3) how “big” is this? Focusing on these 3 questions helps me have very specific conversations with users and decision makers.
Is this worth it? · Would the new system fill a void that is currently not offered today? · Is there a willingness from content owners to “invest” in this new system? · Will customers use the new system? How “big” is this? Running an effective SharePoint Pilot/Proof of Concept. Running a SharePoint Pilot or Proof of Concept is the first step into the world of SharePoint for many organizations. The reasons behind doing this are varied and most are well intentioned. In some cases an organization may want to expose SharePoint out to its user community in a tightly governed environment. For others it’s a technical initiative to ensure that SharePoint can satisfy the needs of the business effectively.
For more risk adverse organizations it’s a great way to start small with the product in case things do not go well. A SharePoint Pilot/POC is not to be taken lightly. Even the most well-intentioned projects can spin out of control and become unmanageable, actually doing more harm than good. It is not uncommon to see a SharePoint collaboration pilot originally planned for 10-20 people quickly blossom to 100 users without any additional resources. Get Executive Buy In In my mind this is absolutely critical for success. Use Sufficient Hardware Effective Communication. Why Leveraging SharePoint Blog Features For Intranet News Is A Great Idea. Microsoft SharePoint: Three Deployment Challenges - CIO. CIO — Enterprise adoption of SharePoint is rapidly on the rise: A new survey from document management company Global 360 reveals that 90 percent of the survey's 886 respondents currently use SharePoint, with 8 percent using SharePoint 2010.
Moreover, 67 percent of those that use SharePoint spread it out enterprise-wide, indicating that SharePoint is not just for the IT department — it's for all departments. The survey also highlights how SharePoint is used at organizations. It commonly starts out as a content repository but then transitions to something more dynamic. Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents have extended SharePoint's use to manage document workflows; 66 percent use it for portal and web content management; and 56 percent use it to support business processes.
The idea of using content in SharePoint to improve the business is a major theme of the survey. Out-of-the-Box User Experience Not Great Building Business Applications Takes Time and Effort Continue Reading. Successful SharePoint builds teamwork | Originally published May 16, 2010 at 10:01 PM | Page modified May 17, 2010 at 7:20 AM NEW YORK — If Office was the Will Ferrell of the Microsoft launch event at the "Saturday Night Live" studio last week, then SharePoint was its Tina Fey. Microsoft debuted 2010 versions of both for business customers on Wednesday in New York. Like Ferrell, Office 2010 and all its cowbells and whistles overshadowed just about everything else. The hype started a year ago, when Microsoft released a mock trailer called "Office 2010: The Movie. " SharePoint, like Fey, may not be an attention hog, but it deserves a show of its own. The Web collaboration software has become the little code that could at Microsoft.
Starbucks uses SharePoint to train baristas how to make peppermint Frappuccinos. "We've got everything from guys doing Velveeta to guys doing 599s [Ferrari GTOs]," said Jeff Teper, corporate vice president of the SharePoint business. Its success has bred competition. Organizational tool Features added. 5 Reasons to Use SharePoint on IT Projects | CIO - Blogs and Dis. BuckleyPLANET: How to Jump Start SharePoint Governance. One of the most common questions surrounding metadata and taxonomy management is ‘How do you begin?’ As with most user-driven technologies, SharePoint is often “unleashed” without proper planning or governance structures, and most administrators find themselves needing to retroactively apply standards across their environment. Companies tend to hoard information and may find themselves overwhelmed by the disorganization – and how to even begin the process to get things under control.
Without proper management, search becomes ineffective, content become silos hidden behind team sites (or even within team sites), and user satisfaction plummets. Unfortunately, there is no “easy” button to fix this problem – and its not a problem unique to SharePoint. Even the most proactive organizations struggle from time to time with managing their system governance.
Delivering SharePoint Success: Why Collaboration is More Than Ju. Greetings from Sacramento, CA! I’m attending The SharePoint Exchange conference and just finished presenting the session “Delivering SharePoint Success: Why Collaboration is More Than Just Technology”.Greetings from Sacramento, CA! I’m attending The SharePoint Exchange conference and just finished presenting the session “Delivering SharePoint Success: Why Collaboration is More Than Just Technology”. In the presentation, I discussed essential components of successfully delivering SharePoint as an enterprise platform. In addition, I shared key techniques in: - Gaining executive buy-in for SharePoint projects - Proper planning and appropriately managing expectations - Engaging the business for better adoption - Defining organizational SharePoint readiness - Iterative release of SharePoint solutions The good news is I recorded the presentation and you can watch it!
Here are the 2 templates I referenced in the presentation: Like this: Like Loading... A Matter Of Degree: The single most important ingredient in your SharePoint implementation. The usual suspects in the talk of how to build an oustanding SharePoint implementation, and how to encourage adoption, include the following:- top-down support- solid governance- proper training, support, and resources- useful, needed, and exciting functionality- an elegant interface- local evangelists All of which are important. But more and more I'm seeing that there's another element that may trump them all: Trust.
Even in a company that's doing well with all of the above (and I know some that fit this description), if the trust is broken, it's just as detrimental as missing any of the other critical factors. When SharePoint comes into an organization, it's a stranger. People are wondering, "What does it do? Why should I take time to get to know it? " Many organizations don't have the ability (or desire) to fully enforce its use, so it can be easy for folks to turn their backs on the newcomer and stick with what they know. CEO and Senior Leadership Team Steering Committee Content Owners. 5 Reasons Why Executive SharePoint Ignorance is Not Bliss (Part 1) The job of how to implement SharePoint in an organization should not be in the hands of the IT department.
It belongs with the business and the backing of executive decision makers. Here's why. Editor's Note: Vote for your favorite SharePoint 2010 topic. We'll adjust our SharePoint coverage to focus on what you, our readers, want to know (but do it now, we'll close the poll on November 30th). Our SharePoint implementation was unsuccessful because management just doesn't get it! …lamented a systems administrator after one of my recent talks. In a lot of organizations, it’s quite common to see IT getting the blame for poor SharePoint implementation and adoption. Here are five reasons why executive SharePoint ignorance is not bliss: 1.
Organizations today primarily utilize SharePoint as a file-sharing repository. In my experience, there is a lack of awareness amongst executives that SharePoint is an enterprise platform. SharePoint Empowers Users from Dux Raymond Sy on Vimeo. 2. How to Prioritize Business Needs Before Implementing SharePoint. "How do you like your SharePoint? Combo 1? Team site template with Wikis, Surveys and FBA on the side?
Would you like to super size it?” Taking a fast food ordering approach when implementing SharePoint is not effective in meeting business needs. The key is to initially engage with the business, understand their pain points and identify how SharePoint can provide the solution to address these needs. You do not want to throw a toolbox to the business and tell them to go look for a problem to solve. While facilitating “Delivering SharePoint Success” mentoring workshop last week, it was evident that two organizational challenges exist if SharePoint is truly implemented to meet business needs: The lack of proper skill sets to work with the business, identify their needs and map it to a SharePoint solution.Not assessing and prioritizing the relative importance of various business needs to determine which needs to be delivered first based on available IT capacity.
Why is this important? 1. 2.