SHAREPOINT STRATEGY

By Sharon RichardsonJoining Dots Ltd

A Quick Guide

NOTESThis presentation is an expanded sub-set from a SharePoint governance workshop delivered by Joining Dots. A webcast has also been recorded and is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH2q-5i9oUs

The talk is focused on helping articulate (as simply as possible) the strategy for a SharePoint deployment, assuming the intention is an information platform servicing a variety of needs

The method can also be applied to other technology platforms

All product names, logos, brands and other trademarks referred to within this presentation are the property of their respective trademark holdersSharePoint Strategy – A Practical Approach© Joining Dots Ltd. All rights reserved

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

SHAREPOINT’S GROWING PAINS

There have been reports announcing that many SharePoint deployments have no strategy or financial business case…

…ill-defined, misaligned and poorly communicated, maybeSharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

Is the strategy about deploying the capabilityor the activities it enables and adapts to

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

SHAREPOINT IS (JUST) A PLATFORM

THE THREE CATEGORIES OF IT

Category Definition Characteristics

Function IT

Assists with the execution of discrete tasks

Makes standalone tasks more efficient, can be adopted ‘as is’, complements can add value

Network

IT

Facilitates interactions without specifying parameters

Doesn’t impose complements, they emerge over time (influenced by culture of the org)

Enterprise IT

Specifies the business processes and integration

Does impose complements – process flows, data formats, standards. Use is mandated

Source: Mastering The Three Worlds Of Information Technology by Andrew McAfee, Harvard Business Review, publ. Nov, 2006

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

SharePoint

FOUR STEPS TO A CYCLE

1. Have a vision

2. Outline the strategy

3. Tactics to deliver

4. Adapt to changes

Vision

Strategy

Tactics

Adaptions

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VISION

A NEED OR DESIRE

“We need to change…”

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

AN IDEA

“I attended this event last week and saw the most amazing...”

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

AN INEVITABILITY

“We’ve paid for the licences, we want to implement it.”

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

THE VISION

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

A need

An idea

An inevitability

A destination involving SharePoint

STRATEGY

START WITH A GENERAL STATEMENT

• Broad enough to evolve/adapt with use

• Specific enough to provide focus

Example:

“To improve information management and knowledge sharing within the organisation. To improve efficiency of document-centric processes. To enable the quick creation of web-based solutions to meet specific content-driven needs that cannot be achieved within enterprise systems.”

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

BEWARE THE IMPLICATIONS

Goal Are you prepared to…

Information

Sharing

Relax controls over content publishing,devalue information, reduce security

Efficiency Gains

Reduce complexity, standardise processes,lose flexibility for managing exceptions

Capture Knowledge

Remove barriers to voicing opinions,reward contributions as well as outcomesCulture always trumps technology

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

OUTLINE THE SCOPE

Direct when SharePoint will and will not be used

Examples:• All business-critical documents are to be stored on SharePoint

sites using templates that meet our compliance needs (we’re managing risk!)

• SharePoint will provide all authenticated access to content (not the web site)

• All paper forms and documents will be moving online (we’re reducing costs)

• All customer, supplier and product information will reside in our EDRMS, CRM and ERP systems (SharePoint is not the answer to everything)

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

EVALUATE THE BASELINEWhere are you starting from?

• Effectiveness of current information systems, networks, communication channels and processes

• Health of dependent technology investments

• Commitment to leveraging SharePoint

• Morale and motivation

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

TACTICS

SHAREPOINT AS AN ADAPTIVE PLATFORM

• Always start with an initial set of target solutions

• Expect business needs and priorities to change

• New opportunities will be created as people become aware about what the platform help deliver

• Functional vs Network vs Enterprise projects

• Don’t forget to check SharePoint is the right solution

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

PERSPECTIVE

Import

ance

Practicality

Dashboard

Compliance

News

‘Know How’

Schedule Fit in

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Resource constraints

CONFIDENCE

Project Tech Content

Process

People

Conf

Decision Notes

Compliance

? Y N NSchedul

e

Urgent planning required around process and roles to manage

Dashboard

Y Y ? YSchedul

e

Some testing required to confirm integration points for data

Know How ? N ? N Re-thinkPilot recommended to better understand requirements

News Y N ? YSchedul

e

Role identified within Comms to format content for news feeds

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BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT DECISIONS

Plot all requests submitted, queued or in progress:Project Size Imp. Prac. # Status Reason Sponsor

News Updates S L H 1 In Prog

Can be completed whilst compliance planning in prog..

Internal Comms

Compliance B H L 2 In ProgLegal requirement. Deadline to implement is…

Head of Legal

Dashboard B M M 3 QueuedStrategic Business Initiative – Improve decision making

CIO/CMO

Know How B M H n/a EvalStrategic business initiative – Increase skills and knowledge

CMO

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COMMUNICATE THE BIG PROJECTS

Project Priority

Status Start (Est)

Sponsor

Notes

Compliance 1

In progre

ssOct 12

Head of Legal

New legislation announced that we must comply with by April 2013

Dashboard 2 Queued

(Mar 13)

CIO/CMO

Strategic business initiative to improve analytics and data-driven decisions

HR Forms 3 Queued

(Jun 13)Head of

HR

Strategic business initiative to replace all internal paper forms with online processes

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… AND PROMOTE THE SMALL WINS

“New activity stream now available on the Intranet home page. See all the latest updates across the organisation.”

“Pilot underway evaluating new social networking tools. Sign-up if you want to be involved”

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ADAPT

In 2009, there were 850,000 incidents reported in the UK relating to poor clinical handover of patient care leading, directly or indirectly, to 3,500 deaths

Doctors ranked Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) 31st of 34 London hospitals

CASE STUDY

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A NEW TARGET

The goal: Improve the handover process and patient safety by filling in the gaps between systems: teams working on different shifts, with different IT systems, and on different locations

The solution: eHandover - using SharePoint as the portal connecting different patient care systems and providing a single view

All systems were already deployed. SharePoint was originally being used for basic document managementSharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

MEASUREABLE OUTCOMES

• 98% completion rate of tasks

• Speed of the ‘end of shift’ handover meeting reduced from 45 minutes to 20 minutes

• Weekend mortality rates have begun to fall

• Within 12 months, doctors ranked BHRUT 1st out of 34 London hospitals

Could not have been accurately predicted in advance

Source:

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=710000001699

WRAP-UP

DEFINING YOUR SHAREPOINT STRATEGY

• It’s OK to have broad objectives to direct the overall strategy for the platform (what is it capable of) and when to consider using SharePoint versus alternatives for projects

• Go into specifics when creating a business case for projects throughout the lifecycle of the platform – the tactics for delivering solutions

• Not all changes should need a business case: Functional vs Network vs Enterprise IT. Evaluate based on importance and practicality

• Don’t guess RoI. Do identify target outcomes that can be measured

• Communicate, often

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GOVERN THE CYCLE

Vision

Strategy

Tactics

Adaptions

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

GOVERN THE CYCLE

Vision(Idea)

Strategy(Purpose

)

Tactics(Delivery

)

Adaptions

(Reality)

Intention

DirectionGrowth

Change

SharePoint StrategyJoining Dots

NEXT STEPSIf you’d like help filling in the blanks with your SharePoint strategy, tactics and governance, please get in touch. Full contact details can be found at www.joiningdots.com or email info@joiningdots.net

Sessions can be delivered onsite and online

You are welcome to use these slides for non-commercial purposes within your organisation provided they are kept in the original format. Available at http://www.joiningdots.com/materials/presentations/ SharePoint Strategy – A Practical Approach© Joining Dots Ltd. All rights reserved

Sharon RichardsonJoining Dots

For more info and contact details, please visit www.joiningdots.com For more SharePoint-specific articles, www.sharepointsharon.com