How Do You Apply SharePoint IT Strategies?...

Once again, I joined the New Jersey SPUDD (SharePoint Users, Designers, and Developers) User Group, this time to hear Peter Ward speak about Applying SharePoint IT Strategy.  Per usual, I would like to talk a bit about the speaker.  Peter's sense of humour, was very similar to that of a Geico commercial, no, not because of his accent... because he could make you laugh in spite of yourself.
 

Peter Ward, Listening to a Question

Peter was not there, to talk about his contribution to three books, Professional Workflow in SharePoint 2010, Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Business Performance Enhancement, or the upcoming Microsoft SharePoint for Business Executives: Q&A Handbook.   He was there to inform the group about how to apply working SharePoint Strategies to their organizations.

His approach was to explain Why You Need It, then he supplied the Strategy Tools and Strategy Musts, Signs It's All Going Wrong, and lastly What It Takes For It To Succeed.  His key points were that SharePoint is constantly underused, uploading documents is the common, unfortunate end of collaboration.  Put simply, the power of SharePoint is frequently not realized.


One main reason, is the difficulty in getting C-Level executives to buy into SharePoint initiatives. What is the solution? Understanding how to communicate with them, by speaking their language, alleviate all SharePoint terminology and explain the benefits and the business value. This might prove to be difficult without a solid plan, because the business impact can be hard to define. One good suggestion, was to create a list of up to 15 foreseable problems within an organization, and ask, the question, "What are the top three you would like to talk about?" Now, you can plan from there.

One statement, I haven't heard too often was when Peter proclaimed, "The key is adoption NOT under budget delivery." Under budget, delivery usually doesn't give business value. The focus should be to increase productivity, while always remembering you have to invest in order to save money. Well said Peter.

So how do you this? You have to declare the future. When you declare the future, you have a good chance of getting there. You have to develop a roadmap. And this I believe, was one of the most helpful tools Peter provided.  A visual RoadMap to use as a template for your own business case.

SharePoint IT Strategy RoadMap

A couple of other key takeaways:

1. Include a SharePoint Role responsible for continuous SharePoint Improvement in your list of titles of who will support your SharePoint platform. 
2. Acknowledge failures versus spending months and months trying to fix something that should just be stopped in its tracks.
3. SharePoint may not always be the right choice for all of your processes, but it doesn't hurt to explore the possibility. 
4. Ask and answer the question,  Build vs. Buy?
5. Don't forget to ask a question that many organizations do not ask, "How do we support this initiative?"

There were some, who felt that it is too difficult to implement SharePoint strategies from the top levels down to lower levels, and have found the grassroots approach tends to provide more user adoption.  However, this approach though great because users are making use of the platform, usually lacks in strategy and consistency.  I do believe, that if you think, plan, strategize and present a RoadMap similar to Peter's example, it can make it that much easier to create a buy in, keep the progression  moving, as well as capture results.

Thanks Peter, I believe you helped those who are willing, take a step in the right direction in realizing the true power of the SharePoint platform.  View, Peter's Blog and Applying a SharePoint IT Strategy  Presentation Slides.

End of Peter's Talk, Still Answering Questions!

Governance, everyone is talking about it...

Governance, everyone is talking about it...but what I found out at the NJ SharePoint Users Designers and Developers User Group (NJ SPUDD) is that most aren't doing it.

Someone in the crowd said, "That looks simple enough." :)

NJ SPUDD invited Jason Gallicchio, Premier Field Engineer at Microsoft to talk about SharePoint Governance during their February meeting. Throughout Jason's talk, I thought one of the most telling moments was when he asked who was working for an organization that actively practiced SharePoint Governance. At that moment, we heard the birds living on the Seton Hall Campus begin to chirp.

No one could definitively say that they were practicing the tried and true definition of Governance.  This was a great introduction to Jason' s talk.

He took the opportunity to define Governance before taking a deeper look at SharePoint Governance. Governance is the Policies, Procedures, Roles/Responsibilities and Processes of your Information Architecture (Site Structure & Permission), IT Services (Hardwares, Search Management), Applications Management: Customizations, Branding, and Training.

He then made a key point, stating that Governance is Organic, it should live within your organization and cultivate as your organization develops and grows. So not only should you practice Governance at the beginning of your SharePoint projects, but it must be an ongoing attempt.  So how do you make this happen?

Mr. Cool Presented like an Old Pro

Every organization should have a Governance Committee consisting of Executive and Finance Stakeholders, IT Leaders, Business Leaders and Compliance Directors along with Users and Trainers.

Then Jason informed the group that Governance is measurable. I thought that was great news, from my own experience, I have learned it is much easier to create a buy-in and foster improvements when you can measure the results.



Jason asked a final question that triggered thought processes in the right direction. He asked, "Do you know what you're going to do with SharePoint in the next months, how about a year or two?" This question was once again received with an answer of silence.  This thought alone was well worth Jason's talk, there should be constant development around your SharePoint environment. Jason defined it as Keep It Clean/Keep Your Governance Policy Going with set quotas. He also mentioned some quick suggestions like having 3-4 environments, code reviews and code documentations.

The front podium didn't hold Jason back as he worked the room.

The audience wanted examples around Governance and how to make it a success within one's organization, and Jason was able to deliver.  However, I thought Jason's thought-provoking questions were the most effective part of his presentation.  It seems to me that Governanance is all about asking the right questions. As Jason shared, "SharePoint is just a tool, and you must ask how does it fit in with our business objectives?"