Leveraging SharePoint for Project Management Success

Dux Raymond Sy, PMP Managing Partner, Innovative-e, Inc.

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Activity: The Reality of Project Inefficiencies

  On a sheet of paper, identify three challenges in managing project information

  For example:  Multiple tools used  Cannot keep track of document versions  Cannot define access control

  Swap this sheet of paper with another person   Edit their challenges  Add your challenges

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Objectives

  After completing this class, you will be able to leverage the benefits of utilizing SharePoint as a Project Management Information System (PMIS)

  In addition, you will be able to   Build a SharePoint PMIS   Identify relevant PMIS components   Customize project stakeholders’ access requirements   Monitor and analyze project schedule, risks and milestones   Generate on-demand project status reports   Synchronize common project management tools

Dux Raymond Sy, PMP

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  Managing Partner, Innovative-E, Inc.   Author, “SharePoint for Project Management” by

O’Reilly Media   Contract Author & Instructor, Learning Tree

International

  For more information, connect with Dux   E-Mail: dux.sy@innovative-e.com   LinkedIn: meetdux.com/li   Blog: meetdux.com   Twitter: twitter.com/meetdux

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Agenda

Why SharePoint? Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS Adding PMIS Components Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS Supporting Team Collaboration Project Tracking and Reporting Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment Summary

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Share

+

Point

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What’s SharePoint?

  Allows individuals in an organization to easily create and manage their own collaborative Web sites   Simplifies how people find and share information across boundaries,

and enabling better informed decisions   Seamlessly integrates with Windows and MS Office

  Does not refer to a specific product or technology   Using the word “Microsoft SharePoint” is like using the word

“Microsoft Office”   Refers to several aspects of Web-based collaborative solutions

  Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0   Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007

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What if SharePoint is a Car?

Car SharePoint

Purpose:

What’s required?

Purpose:

What’s required?

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WSS vs MOSS

  WSS is the core technology of Microsoft SharePoint   If SharePoint is a car, WSS can be considered the “engine”   Provides the core technology that supports document management

and team collaboration   WSS is available for free as long as your organization is utilizing

Windows Server 2003 or above   MOSS extends the capabilities of WSS

  Going back to our car analogy, MOSS provides extended capabilities such as GPS, a DVD system, Voice Commands

  Extended features include Enterprise search, Personalization, Enterprise Content Management, etc.

  Unlike WSS, MOSS is not available for free

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SharePoint Geek Vagen

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What’s a PMIS?

  A standardized set of automated project management tools available within the organization and integrated into a system

  Used by the project management team to  Support the generation and maintenance of project artifacts   Facilitate communication and feedback  Monitor project activities  Control project changes  Analyze and forecast project performance

  Contains real-time information essential for initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing a project

What’s Out There?

  Microsoft SharePoint   Microsoft Project Server   Clarity   Primavera   Web-based

 Google Team Site  Basecamp  Zoho

SharePoint as a PMIS?

  Individual projects can have a collaborative web site   Access can be limited to the project team and

appropriate stakeholders   Project artifacts can be centrally stored and maintained   Project communications can be streamlined   Relatively easy to use

 IT intervention is minimal  Based on familiar tools and

technologies: Web, Windows, Microsoft Office

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Agenda

Why SharePoint? Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS Adding PMIS Components Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS Supporting Team Collaboration Project Tracking and Reporting Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment Summary

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Laying the Foundation

  As soon as the project gets started, a PMIS should be created   In SharePoint, the first step is to create a site

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SharePoint Site Hierarchy

  SharePoint sites are organized in a hierarchy   Top-level site   Sub-site

Site Collection

Top-level site

Sub-sites

Deciding PMIS Hierarchy

  With your organization, choose one of the two high-level PMIS hierarchy options:   Single site collection that includes a top-level PMO site and all

project sites are sub-sites   Multiple site collections where each

project site is an independent site collection

Site Creation

  Two main ways of creating a SharePoint sub-site   Directly from a top-level site using a Web browser   From any Microsoft Office application

  Steps to create a sub-site: 1.  Go to the Create page 2.  Select Sites and Workspaces 3.  Specify Site Creation Settings

Workshop 1: Creating a SharePoint PMIS

Please refer to the Workshop Manual

Refining the PMIS

  Determine if any organizational standards exist for   PMIS look and feel   Navigation   Usability

  Project-specific needs   Regional settings   Site usage

  Auditing needs   Regulatory compliance

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Agenda

Why SharePoint? Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS Adding PMIS Components Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS Supporting Team Collaboration Project Tracking and Reporting Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment Summary

PMIS Should Enable the Project Team to

  Centralize project information   May include project contacts, calendar, documents, templates,

forms, and checklists   Maintain history & define access privileges

  Facilitate project communication and collaboration   Collaborative activities such as scheduling a meeting, jointly

developing a proposal or informally brainstorming on project strategies should be supported

  Automate project processes   In SharePoint, information is stored and organized in lists and libraries

SharePoint Lists

  A collection of shared information items   Most of the information in a SharePoint site is organized and stored

in lists   Everyone who has access to the site is able to view lists

  Viewing a list is comparable to viewing information in a spreadsheet

Common Lists in a SharePoint PMIS

  Calendar   Contacts   Project task   Issue tracking   Custom Lists

  Resource List   Budget

Components of a List

  Lists are composed of two key sections 1. List toolbar

–  New –  Actions –  Settings –  View

2. List item(s)

List Creation

  Two types of lists that can be created   Out-of-the-box list   Custom list

  Steps to create a list: 1.  Go to the Create page 2.  Select the type of list to be created 3.  Specify the list settings

Workshop 2: Creating and Populating Lists

Please refer to the Workshop Manual

Libraries

  Files are stored and organized in libraries   Similar to storing files in folders

  Provides a centralized location   Document storage   Controlled access of documents

  Libraries are advanced lists   Features and functionalities in lists are mostly applicable to libraries

  There are four types of libraries   In a PMIS, you would typically use a document library

Library Creation

  Multiple ways to create a document library   From the browser   From Microsoft Office

  Steps to create a list: 1.  Go to the Create page 2.  Select Document Library 3.  Specify the list settings

Workshop 3: Creating a Document Library

Please refer to the Workshop Manual

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Agenda

Why SharePoint? Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS Adding PMIS Components Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS Supporting Team Collaboration Project Tracking and Reporting Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment Summary

Adapting Communications Requirements

  Time and effort are invested in planning project communications   Project communication plan should map to SharePoint access

requirements   Information needs of stakeholders

  Identify the type of information a stakeholder would need   What is the frequency?   Will they retrieve the information or should it be sent to them?

  Stakeholder influence and interest defines PMIS access   How much access would a stakeholder have?

Example: Project Kona Communication Needs

  Chief Executive Officer   Regular e-mail updates on project milestones and risks

  Chief Financial Officer   Access to project budget information   Reviews and updates any change to project finances

  Chief Compliance Office   Monitors project process compliance   Reviews and updates project risks

  Program Manager   Reviews project tasks, milestones, and risks

  Other Project Managers   All project managers will review and update project information from

other teams to share lessons learned and satisfy continuous improvement process

SharePoint Site Access

  SharePoint sites are intended for a community of users   It is the responsibility of the site owner to define who the site

members are   Typically, site membership is defined when the site is being created

  Site membership also defines what the member can do   How are site members added?

1. Site members can be manually added by the site owner 2. Site access can be requested by any user

Permissions

  Two ways to assign site permissions   SharePoint Groups   Individual user permissions

  Default permission levels in SharePoint include:   Full Control: has full site control   Design: can add content and customize pages   Contribute: can add content   Read: has read-only access to the site

  Multiple permission layers   Site   List or Library   Item-level

  Best Practice: vast majority of users will have Contribute permission

Example: Project Kona Communications Plan

Stakeholder Contacts Issues Tasks Change Control Calendar

CEO C R R C R

PMO

Other PMs

Finance

FC = Full Control D = Design C = Contribute R = Reader

Workshop 4: Adding Stakeholders

Please refer to the Workshop Manual

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Agenda

Why SharePoint? Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS Adding PMIS Components Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS Supporting Team Collaboration Project Tracking and Reporting Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment Summary

Collaboration Challenges

  Real-time   Developing or working with information among a group at the same

time   Need instant communication among group members

  Offline   Collaboration between varying time zones   Discussion and feedback mechanism is needed

  Remote access   Making information accessible anytime anywhere

Revisiting Lists and Libraries

  Apart from centrally storing documents, lists and document libraries provide several document management features   Check-out/check-in   Version history   Content approval

Workshop 5: Updating a Project Document

Please refer to the Workshop Manual

Collaboration Tools

  Wikis   A Web site in which users can easily edit any page   In project environments, it provides an easy way to record lessons

learned

  Discussion boards   Similar to online message boards on the Web   Like news groups or Web logs   Provides threaded discussion capability   Participants can reply to any message in the discussion

Example: Clarifying Requirements

Integrating Microsoft Office 2007

  Outlook   Synchronize calendars and contacts   Display tasks, libraries, discussion boards

  Excel   Synchronize spreadsheets to SharePoint lists

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Agenda

Why SharePoint? Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS Adding PMIS Components Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS Supporting Team Collaboration Project Tracking and Reporting Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment Summary

Project Tracking

  Making time to gather intelligence about the progress of the project is a significant priority for the project manager

  What critical elements of a project do you track?   Schedule   Risks / Issues   Changes   _____________________   _____________________

SharePoint Project Tracking Components

  Project Task List   Define project tasks, assignments, start date, & due date   Indicate task status   Track percentage complete   Display information in a Gantt chart view

  Issue Tracking List   Manage issues   Assign responsibilities   Specify progress   Identify solution

Workshop 6: Project Tracking

Please refer to the Workshop Manual

SharePoint Project Reporting Tools

  Custom Views   Views that are created to match user or group interest   For example, we are interested in viewing project documents that

were modified by the sponsor during project initiation

  Web Parts   Customizable software components that serves a particular purpose   Can be used to create project dashboards

Workshop 7: Creating a Project Dashboard

Please refer to the Workshop Manual

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Agenda

Why SharePoint? Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS Adding PMIS Components Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS Supporting Team Collaboration Project Tracking and Reporting Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment Summary

The Challenge of a Major Technology Rollout Is …

  Remember, people can change as   The change is worthwhile   It would bring great benefits primarily at a personal level then at

the organizational level

It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a

new order of things.

—Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian statesman and philosopher

Creating and Reusing Templates

  An existing SharePoint PMIS can be saved as a site template   All the lists, libraries, views, and Web Parts that were used will be

stored   The content can be optionally stored as well

  The site template can be used as a basis for the creation of a new PMIS

Provide User Support

  Training   Books   Web-based videos   Instructor-led

  Self-service help / FAQ   Checklists   Templates   How-to Guides

  Feedback mechanism  Gather user ideas, suggestions, comments

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Agenda

Why SharePoint? Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS Adding PMIS Components Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS Supporting Team Collaboration Project Tracking and Reporting Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment Summary

Summary

  You are now able to leverage the benefits of utilizing SharePoint as a Project Management Information System (PMIS)

  In addition, you are now able to   Build a SharePoint PMIS   Identify relevant PMIS components   Customize project stakeholders’ access requirements   Monitor and analyze project schedule, risks and milestones   Generate on-demand project status reports   Synchronize common project management tools

Thank You!

  For more information, connect with Dux   E-Mail: dux.sy@innovative-e.com   LinkedIn: meetdux.com/li   Blog: meetdux.com   Twitter: twitter.com/meetdux

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