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Successful SharePoint

A guide to getting the most from Microsoft SharePoint

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Contents

About this eBook

SharePoint OverviewWhat is SharePoint?

Why SharePoint?

What is the key to a successful SharePoint implementation?

SharePoint DeploymentSharePoint Evolution

SharePoint Online versus On-Premise

SharePoint and Office 365

SharePoint StrategySharePoint Strategy Overview

What can you do with SharePoint?

Adoption Strategies

SharePoint BrandingSharePoint Branding & Methods

Why invest in branding?

SharePoint Governance SharePoint Governance Benefits

Example Governance Questions

SharePoint TrainingSharePoint Training Overview

SharePoint Training Methods

SharePoint Support

SharePoint Support & Considerations

SharePoint 2016Why SharePoint 2016?

SharePoint 2016: What’s new?

The Future of SharePoint

SharePoint Adoption

SharePoint Adoption Checklist

About Chorus

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Microsoft SharePoint is one of the most widely

used business applications and has greatly evolved

over the past 15 years since its release. What began

as a document management system has grown

to become a powerful and complex platform with

endless possibilities. These possibilities however,

have also brought confusion, misuse and poor

planning, which is why SharePoint implementations

can have a negative perception.

About this eBook

Unappealing design, lack of strategy and

disorganised content have caused SharePoint

implementations to receive poor user adoption and

usage. This all leads to an ineffective system and

ultimately, a poor return on investment (ROI).

Recent AIIM research showed that only 11% of

those surveyed felt that their SharePoint project

was a success.

We believe that SharePoint can be an extremely

beneficial and simple solution that helps to solve

complex business challenges. With the right

approach and support, SharePoint can be an integral

part of your business that is both easy and enjoyable

to use. This eBook outlines the key steps to achieve

SharePoint implementation and adoption success.

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One of the hardest things is explaining exactly what

SharePoint is because it can be different things

depending on what you want it to do.

SharePoint is generally known as a secure web

application for document management and

collaboration but as a platform it can be developed

and extended to become anything. At its simplest,

SharePoint is a secure way of finding and sharing

information and most companies will use it for

document management but it is worth knowing that

it can be developed and extended to address a wide

variety of business challenges.

Key Purposes of SharePoint

Document storage and

management

Securely deliver content

Allow users to search and find

information

Improve efficiency through

workflows and automation

Enable collaboration

Allow information sharing

Be a key communication tool

Support the business culture

What is SharePoint?

of Fortune 500 companies use SharePoint

78%

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Why SharePoint?

Highly progressive

Microsoft are heavily investing in SharePoint

to ensure it is progressive and future-proof and

offers a transparent roadmap.

Large community and support

As such a widely used platform, SharePoint

has a strong online community for support

and resources.

Mobile focused

SharePoint is focused on being mobile accessible

and simple to use on different devices, including

iOS and Android.

Extremely flexible

As a platform, SharePoint can be fully

customised through development, allowing

branding, integration and new functionality.

Integration capabilities

SharePoint integrates seamlessly across the

Microsoft stack but can also be integrated

with other systems thanks to its open API.

.NET Platform

SharePoint is built on the powerful and

familiar .NET platform so there is no reliance

on bespoke developers.

Scalable

SharePoint can be used by small companies

up to Fortune 500 corporations and can easily

grow as your organisation does.

Security and compliance

Built-in security and compliance tools allow

strict control over sensitive data.

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What is the key to a successful SharePoint implementation?

What? How?

Correct deployment

Clear strategy in place

Users enjoy SharePoint

Content is easy to find

Clear plan for ongoing use

Staff can use the system

The system is supported

Deployment research

Strategy workshops

Beautiful design

Intuitive UX

Governance strategy

Clear training plan

Clear support plan

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SharePoint was originally released by Microsoft in 2001 and since then Microsoft have continued to invest in

SharePoint to improve the platform and increase its features and functionality. Over the years, SharePoint has

evolved to meet the changing needs of the digital and mobile workplace and Microsoft’s investment will ensure

that it continues to be a progressive and advanced platform.

SharePoint Evolution

SharePoint 2001

SharePoint 2003

SharePoint 2007

SharePoint 2010

SharePoint 2013

SharePoint Online

SharePoint 2016

On-Premise

Online

New Ribbon UI

New social profiles & social networking features

Central Administration redesigned

Drag and drop support for file uploads

OneDrive for Business replaces MySites

Introduction of Follow/ Share buttons

Rolling release model with changes being released continually

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As a part of Microsoft’s broader ambition to reinvent productivity, we are on a mission to make SharePoint more simple, mobile, intelligent and secure to help customers unlock the value of having it as an integrated part of Office 365.

Seth Patton

General Manager for SharePoint and OneDrive Product Management Team

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The first decision when using SharePoint is your licensing choice, as there are three main options to choose from:

SharePoint On-Premise vs Online

All organisations will need to determine the best fit for their specific requirements and situation. For a few

organisations there can be legal requirements to keep information on-site but for those without these constraints

it can be worth considering SharePoint Online. This could be as a standalone licence or as part of Office 365 to take

advantage of the benefits that come with a cloud technology.

On-Premise Online

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The best deployment option will entirely depend on your organisation, the way it works and what it wants to

achieve from SharePoint. The major difference between Online and On-Premise is the impact to your resources,

which include servers, hardware and the staff to maintain it.

Top Deployment Considerations

What is your current SharePoint investment?

Do you have any existing hardware?

Would you prefer Capex or Opex spend?

Do you have the available internal resources to support the system?

Do you want to maintain SharePoint, or Microsoft to maintain it?

How will you manage data backups and disaster recovery (DR)?

Do you have to follow any data sovereignty and compliance laws?

How will you manage security?

What are your future growth plans?

SharePoint On-Premise vs Online

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SharePoint Online & On-Premise Compared

Feature SharePoint On-Premise SharePoint Online

Cost Model Large initial capital investment (CapEx) Monthly subscription (OpEx)

Data Location All data remains on-site Data stored in Microsoft data centre

Administration Requires in-house or partner admin Minimal internal administration required

Space Dependent on internal resources and space 1TB per site collection

Deployment Time Longer to deploy Quicker to deploy

Hardware Server investment required No hardware required

Maintenance Cost Requires servers to be maintained Minimal maintenance costs

Uptime Less reliance on internet connectivity Reliant on connectivity – 99.9% SLA

Backups and DR Internal responsibility Microsoft’s responsibility

Security Dependent on your in-house security Benefit from Microsoft’s security

Updates Internal responsibility Microsoft’s responsibility

Mobility Dependent on SharePoint version Fully responsive mobile experience

Internal Resources Internal IT support structure required Less impact on internal resources

Integration Full access to back-end Slight limitations

Customisation Fully customisable Customisation limitations

Scalability Dependent on available storage Highly scalable

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SharePoint Online is included with Microsoft Office

365 and can be an extremely cost effective option

for businesses.

If you’re considering SharePoint Online then we

would recommend that you look at Office 365,

especially if you are already paying for email

software, Microsoft Office or cloud storage. Office

365 is a complete platform so if you are already

paying for these services then it could help to

reduce costs while also giving employees access to

some incredible new applications.

If you are only interested in SharePoint and do not

want any access to any of the applications that

Offices 365 offers, then a standalone SharePoint

Online plan may be more suitable for you.

SharePoint and Office 365

There are a number of different Office 365 plans to

consider, all of which include different features and

different costs. This allows you to ‘mix and match’ to

choose the best features to suit your organisation,

so you only pay for what you will use.

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Office 365: What’s Included?

Outlook

Business-class email and calendar

with 50GB storage per user, email

management tools, built-in anti-malware,

security and anti-spam filtering.

Yammer

Social collaboration platform for

employees to work together and share

ideas in a central location.

Skype for Business

Instant messaging, online status

availability (which integrates with

Outlook), screen sharing and enterprise

HD video and audio conferencing (with

up to 250 people).

Office Suite

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote,

Publisher and Access. Each user can

install the full Office suite on up to 15

devices including iOS and Android.

OneDrive for Business

Easily access and share all your

documents from anywhere, on any device

with 1TB secure cloud storage per user.

... and SharePoint Online

SharePoint in the cloud with mobile

access and cross device functionality and

all the great features of SharePoint.

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Establishing a clear SharePoint strategy is vital

and needs to fit with the overarching business

strategy. While the strategy will be a driver for the

implementation, it must also continually evolve as

business needs and challenges also evolve.

The SharePoint strategy sets the vision, goals and

purpose of implementing SharePoint. An aligned

strategy will ensure an effective solution is created

that meets the organisations needs and avoids

the project being pulled in multiple directions by

different stakeholders.

Once the purpose is established, goals and success

measures should be defined to allow tangible results

to be measured and improved upon.

SharePoint Strategy

Example Strategy Questions

Why is SharePoint being implemented?

Who will be the main users?

What are the immediate challenges

that need solving?

How will user adoption be driven?

What is the long-term roadmap?

What are the key objectives and

desired outcomes?

How will success be measured?

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Today around 50% of all organisations trying to use SharePoint have no evident SharePoint strategy

50%

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Essentially, SharePoint can be what you want it to be! It’s a highly flexible and complex platform so it can be

developed to whatever solution you require, but you must remember to keep a clear vision and strategy in place.

While SharePoint’s complexity and extensive capabilities are a strength, it can mean that businesses try to use it do

everything at once and create a highly complex system instead of a simple solution.

All SharePoint implementations, migrations or revamps should begin by asking:

What can you do with SharePoint?

“What business challenge(s) do we want to solve?”

“We need staff to be able to

work on the same documents

together and collaborate easily”

“We want to save time by automating business

processes”

“We need to centralise our

documents so we don’t have multiple

versions in different places”

“We want staff to

find everything in one

secure location that is

easy to manage”

“Staff find it difficult to search for and keep

track of important files”

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What can you do with Sharepoint?

Document Storage

Policy Document Management

Real Time Collaboration

Company Announcements

Document Version Control

Wiki

Expenses management

HR portal

Business Intelligence

Workflows/ Automation

Portals

ExtranetIntranet

Calendar Management

Case Management

Supplier Extranet

Enterprise Search

Partner Network

Virtual Learning Environment

Jobs Board

Company Events Listings

Organisation Charts

Staff Directory

Video Library

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Adoption Strategies

User WorkshopsWorkshops give a better understanding of

users’ needs and challenges. By gaining a

thorough understanding, SharePoint can

be tailored to address specific company

challenges that will help its users.

Create Champions Internal SharePoint ‘Champions’ are

beneficial to provide a gap between end

users and technical support. Champions

become internal evangelists to help other

users to get the most from the system.

Show the BenefitShow users how the system will benefit

them by showing time-saving hacks or clever

automations that will make their lives easier.

Launch CampaignsLaunch campaigns help drive user adoption

and generate excitement. This could involve

sneak peeks, email countdowns, short video

clips or ‘Easter egg’ hunts on the site.

Make it EssentialStoring vital information solely within

SharePoint drives users to check

it regularly and enforces it as the

‘go-to’ destination.

Content StrategyCreating a content strategy engages users

with the system. From company news

to employee profiles and quizzes, your

SharePoint content should be interesting,

regular and useful to keep staff involved.

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When SharePoint is one of your integral applications

it’s vital to ensure your users can interact with a

vibrant, branded and familiar environment that is

easy (or even better, enjoyable) to use.

SharePoint is essentially a tool to find and share

information but if users struggle to find the information

then they will get frustrated and eventually abandon

the solution. It is exactly the same as any other website.

So, why do organisations invest so much design and

time into external facing websites for customers yet

often do none of this for their internal facing site?

Out of the box SharePoint provides the functionality

needed to increase productivity but that’s only half of

the story. Employee engagement and utilisation of its

benefits are the only way your business is going to see

real benefit. This is where SharePoint branding and

design come into play.

SharePoint Branding

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SharePoint Branding Methods

SharePoint branding and design should be carried out in a very similar way to website UX design. Through

thorough research and agile iterations, wireframes and designs can be released and tested in stages. This allows

user testing feedback to be incorporated throughout SharePoint development for continual improvement.

It’s important to clarify that great branding and design does not mean adding some colours and a company logo.

Great design in SharePoint is about creating enjoyable and simplified experiences. This will be done through a

number of different design methods.

User Stories

These outline a high level

overview of the requirements

for the system according to

each type of user. By stripping

down the end aims into simple

statements, more detail can

then be added to ensure all

core objectives are met.

User Journey Maps

Once user stories are created

the user ‘journeys’ will be

mapped out. These are based

on scenarios of how they will

interact with SharePoint so that

they are encouraged to follow

mapped paths to achieve their

goals as quickly as possible.

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SharePoint Branding Methods

Sitemaps

Sitemaps give an overview of

the navigational structure of

your system. Content analysis

allows content to be classified

to give the simplest navigation

to users, as well as improving

search functionality.

Wireframes

The wireframes are the

‘skeletal framework’ of a

system and its pages and

focuses on the functionality

and priority of content to make

sure the most appropriate

content is displayed.

Prototypes

When wireframes are

completed prototypes are

created. These are interactive

visuals of the system, which

are ‘click-able’ to simulate the

interactions between the user

and the system.

Visual Design

This involves imagery, icon

design and all the visual

elements that will be applied to

improve the user experience,

increase visual appeal and to

align the system to corporate

brand guidelines for familiarity.

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The average mid-sized company could gain £3.8 million per year in employment productivity by improving its

intranet design.

Jakob Nielsen ”“

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Greatly increases user adoption

Ensures a great user experience and familiarity

Encourages user engagement and enjoyment

Allows better content organisation and classification

Allows bespoke responsive design for mobile access

Helps to create internal brand advocates

Ensures design consistency is continually applied

Makes it easier and quicker to find information

Allows a personalised SharePoint experience

Increases employee productivity

Builds positive team culture

Why Invest in Creative SharePoint?

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A SharePoint governance plan documents how

SharePoint will be managed by outlining policies,

processes and responsibilities to ensure continual

and consistent success.

The design, development and the implementation

of SharePoint can be overseen by a small number of

internal staff but normally SharePoint is built for the

whole business and all of its staff. For most of these

staff members, they will not know what to expect

from SharePoint or more importantly, how to use it.

If your staff doesn’t know why it’s been implemented,

what it does or how to use it then it how can you

expect it to be organised, maintained and useful to

your business?

SharePoint governance is not something that is

done at the end of a SharePoint project. An effective

governance strategy should be developed continually

throughout the project at every stage.

SharePoint Governance

By building and following a governance plan, your

SharePoint stays organised and consistent with a

well-documented ongoing strategy. It also ensures the

continuity and integrity of the system, which will lead

to a continued ROI and a long-term business plan.

Key Benefits

Provides a well-defined ongoing strategy

Sets clear expectations and guidelines

Allows consistent processes to be adopted

Protects against security and compliance

threats

Allows changes to be quickly implemented

Improves user experience and adoption

Ensures maximum return on investment

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Why is SharePoint being implemented?

Who is responsible for the governance plan?

Where will governance information be stored?

Who controls permission settings?

How are permissions correctly applied?

How will staff use SharePoint?

Who will receive training?

How will ongoing training be organised?

How will consistent design be applied?

Example Governance Questions

What is the process for creating new sites?

How will groups and sites be decommissioned?

How can new features be requested?

How will content be structured?

How are starters and leavers controlled?

Is everyone happy with using the system?

How are updates managed and communicated?

How will the system be supported?

How will security and compliancy be managed?

What is the content policy?

What are the policies for third party apps?

What are the archiving and deletion policies?

30%

of organisations felt that they still had “big issues” with SharePoint governance

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SharePoint training is one of the most important

stages of a SharePoint implementation to ensure

that users are comfortable with using the system.

As SharePoint can be fully customised, your

training plan will also have to be customised to your

business, focusing on how your business intends

to use SharePoint and how each department or

individual will engage with it.

Tailored training must be considered when creating

your Governance strategy, as different user groups

will require different levels of training and this

needs to be clearly defined for a successful

ongoing strategy.

User roles can vary with each organisation

depending on the scale of their SharePoint

investment, the complexity and its uses.

SharePoint Training

Typical User Roles

End Users

End user training will need to be bespoke to job

function or department to demonstrate specific

tasks and the benefits of using the system.

Super Users

Super user courses will be much more in-depth

to gain a full understanding of the system

functionality and features.

Site Administrators

Site administrators are responsible for ensuring

the platform is working as it should and the

overall management of the system.

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SharePoint Training Methods

In-Class Training

The most popular training method delivered in a

classroom style with interactive collaboration and

exercises for immediate answers and help.

Online Learning

Access and watch training videos on demand so users

can learn at their own pace and whenever

(and wherever) suits them.

Blended Learning

50% online learning and 50% classroom training for

questions and exercise completion to combine the

best of classroom and online learning.

Virtual Training

Receive training virtually through web conferencing

software, such as Skype for Business, removing travel

time and costs.

Ongoing Training

As well as training before go-live, ongoing training

needs to be considered so that users continue to use

the system effectively and easily. This can include

larger-scale training for new updates and features

but also ongoing training and support for users when

they are using the system and need any guidance.

Quick guides

Videos

User groups

How-to documents

Don’t forget SharePoint guides and

training resources are widely available

online to complement your training. !

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Research shows that 52% of organisation users are introduced to SharePoint without any training or communication plan to drive internal adoption.

52%

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Once your system is live, you need to consider how

it will be supported. For some organisations, this is

supported in-house by their internal IT department,

while other organisations choose to outsource their

support to a SharePoint support specialist or their

SharePoint implementation partner.

SharePoint Support

Support Considerations

Do you have the available staff?

Do your internal IT staff have the right skills?

What hours do staff need to be able to contact support?

How will upgrades be managed?

How will future customisations be made?

How will integrations be supported?

What are your future SharePoint roadmap plans?

How will new features and improvements be communicated?

What are the potential costs and what is the budget?

Supporting a SharePoint environment requires

extensive knowledge of SharePoint and the Microsoft

stack, so you will have to consider which option is

most appropriate to your current IT setup and future

plans. You should consider the possibility that there

will be a high demand for SharePoint support after

go-live and that this should be prioritised to ensure

your organisation gets the best first impressions and

dedicated support when adjusting the to system.

Inhouse? Outsource?

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SharePoint 2016 builds upon the functionality of SharePoint 2013 to offer a range of new features and

improvements. If you are not currently using SharePoint then now is a great time to consider it to access the

latest version available. If you are already using SharePoint then you may want to start thinking about your

migrations plans to see if it is worth migrating to SharePoint 2016.

Why SharePoint 2016?

SharePoint Online

Anyone using SharePoint Online (either

as standalone or as part of Office 365) will

automatically see these updates rolled out to

their SharePoint environments.

SharePoint On-Premise

SharePoint On-Premise systems follow a

Microsoft support lifecycle, which provides

product support including security patches

and warranty claims. As mainstream support

has ended for SharePoint 2010, it is worth

considering migrating to SharePoint 2016 as you

have to migrate to 2013 before 2016.

If you are currently using SharePoint 2013 then

migration is much simpler.

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SharePoint 2016: What’s New?

Improved Navigation

SharePoint 2016 will have an updated user interface

to align with Office 365 for consistent user experience.

The top ribbon will include the App Launcher to allow

you to quickly navigate to other applications. You can

even build customised tiles and show these through

the launcher.

Increased File Size Uploads

SharePoint 2016 will allow files up to 10GB to be

loaded, which is a great increase from the previous

2GB file limit.

Mobile First

As mobility becomes more important today,

SharePoint 2016 has a strong focus on improving

mobile experiences through:

New SharePoint Mobile app

Touch-friendly interface designs

Cross device switching

Improved mobile navigation

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SharePoint 2016: What’s New?

New Security Management Centre

SharePoint allows effective collaboration internally

and externally, while ensuring that all content is highly

secure without impeding how users work.

SharePoint 2016 will see a new unified security

management section to apply compliance policies,

document deletion policies, data loss prevention

(DLP) policies and in-place hold policies – all in one

place for simplified management.

Security Notifications

Documents in violation of any pre-defined security

and compliance policies will show an alert icon on the

document. When clicked, detail will be shown into

what needs to be changed in order to comply with

the set organisation standards.

Manage and Monitor

Set up triggers and alerts to ensure the relevant

team members are notified of any non-compliant

documents so that any issues can quickly be resolved

and any other actions made.

Hybrid Search

The ability to search across On-Premise and

Online environments and return a single search

result display for a unified search experience.

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Microsoft’s key focus is around Office 365, so

SharePoint Online users (standalone or Office 365)

will see regular improvements and updates but

this does not mean that SharePoint On-Premise is

being left behind. Microsoft understand that some

organisations are unable to move SharePoint to the

cloud and the release of SharePoint 2016 will see

great improvements to SharePoint On-Premise.

SharePoint 2016 also bring some great advances

towards a hybrid approach for those that want to

keep certain information on-premise but start taking

advantage of some of the benefits of cloud computing.

The Future of SharePoint

More hybrid and cloud focused

Improving mobile device

experiences

Delivering improved user

experience (UX)

Continual investment in security

Simplifying sharing and

collaboration

Increased investment in

SharePoint Online for Office 365

The Future of SharePoint

A hybrid approach combines on-premise

infrastructure and cloud technology

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SharePoint Adoption Checklist

Have a clear strategy

Review existing systems in place

Establish challenges SharePoint will address

Get executive support and buy-in

Establish a timeframe

Carry out stakeholder workshops

Determine metrics to measure success

Create a pilot group for testing releases

Invest in SharePoint branding

Train Super Users in detail

Train top management so they become evangelists

Create handover guides and documents

Ensure training documentation is easy to find

Plan how staff will be trained on system updates

Ensure staff are clear on what to do when they need training help or support

Establish online community support and help for proactive problem solving

Analyse current content

Establish Information Architecture

Create wireframe designs

Ensure templates for consistent branding

Carry out any user experience testing

Ensure staff know why SharePoint is being implemented

Show buy-in from the top

Create a go-live communication plan

Establish how updates will be communicated

Create a Yammer group

Plan what order features will be released

Select simplest and most effective changes to start to gain buy-in

Identify SharePoint Champions or Super Users

Test initial releases on a pilot group

Release functionality in phases

Create a communication plan

Create a training plan

Create a governance plan

Generate excitement

Create a governance strategy (you can use the example questions on page 25)

Store governance strategy in a central location

Schedule reviews of your governance plan

Release sneak peeks to staff

Create a countdown to go-live

Allow staff to create their own content

Have a plan so the homepage changes regularly

Show staff how it will save them time

Measure success metrics, such as usage

Allow staff to submit feedback and suggestions

Provide recognition for successful use and contribution

Send staff surveys to check user success

Establish how SharePoint will be supported (in-house or through partner)

Decide how updates will be managed

Have a dedicated contact for each page

Have a long-term roadmap in place

Measure success

Have a support plan

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About Chorus

UMBRACOCERTIFIED GOLD PARTNER

We provide the full range of Microsoft SharePoint services including migration, consultancy, development, design, integration, governance and support.

We have dedicated creatives, infrastructure specialists, UX designers and development teams specialising in SharePoint. Through our agile project methodology, we combine technical excellence with user-centred design to create cutting-edge SharePoint systems that integrate seamlessly with existing systems using .NET development.

As well as specialising in Microsoft SharePoint, we also help businesses with:

Office 365

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

IT & Cloud Services

Web Development

Bespoke Development

Creative Services

To find out more about Chorus, please visit www.chorus.co

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01275 398900 hello@chorus.co www.chorus.co Bristol, UK

IT Services Cloud SharePoint Training Web & Dev CRM Creative