Using SharePoint as a Collaboration Tool

Matthew ZimmermanUT Southwestern Medical

CenterMay 27th, 2011

Agenda

• What is SharePoint?• Goals• Before SharePoint?• Challenges/Issues Encountered• Assessment

SharePoint• Microsoft Web Application Platform• Intranet Portal• Content/Document Management• Blogs, Wikis, Discussion, Workflows.

Goals• Facilitate communication and access

to information• Provide a single, secure and reliable

access point to the Library’s internal information

• Streamline the management and distribution of documents

• Streamline internal workflows

Before SharePoint• Multiple logins• Need to learn multiple applications• Some applications difficult to use• Difficult/time consuming to find

information

Implementation• Task force formed January 2007• Survey Library staff • Environmental scan (e.g.

Confluence, Drupal, Joomla, SiteScape, SharePoint)

• Download and test products• Decided on SharePoint• Launch site on April 2008

Why SharePoint?• Top Five Staff Requests:– Search site and documents– Email notifications– Calendars– Integration with Windows Login– Site Directory

StaffWeb Site Map

Main uses• Staff Blog• Unit Sites• Team Sites• Calendars• Strategic Planning

StaffWeb Tour

StaffWeb Tour

StaffWeb Tour

StaffWeb Tour

StaffWeb Tour

StaffWeb Tour

What we like• Robust/scalable• Network drive searching• Workflows (calendar/strategic

planning)• Staffblog• Windows

Challenges/Issues Encountered

• Customization of the interface• Calendar issues – integration with

GroupWise, calendar merging

Assessment• Began assessment of StaffWeb’s

effectiveness and value added to Library in 10/08.

Assessment - Quantitative• LinkBase 2007 (pre-StaffWeb) – Home page visits/day: 41– No. of internal blogs: 17– Blog authors: 16 (31% of staff members)

• StaffWeb June 2008/June 2009– Page requests/day: 782 / 843– Distinct users: 57/59– No. of searches: 301/329– No. of internal blogs: 18– Blog authors: 43 (83% of staff members)

Assessment - Quantitative• Average requests per day over past 30 days: 694• Distinct users over past 30 days: 56       • Queries Over Past 30 Days: 200

Assessment - Qualitative• 11/08 SurveyMonkey survey– 86% staff members responded– 6 questions What staff is using % Response

Calendars (e.g. Who’s Out, time-off request etc.) 93.2%Staff blog 88.6%Minutes 65.9%Other blogs (e.g. unit, team, task forces) 52.3%Wikis (e.g. policies and procedures) 47.7%Task list (e.g. unit, team, taskforces, individual) 45.5%

Assessment – Qualitative (cont.)

StaffWeb effectiveness ratings:Function Not

Effective

SomewhatEffective

Very Effective

Collaboration and communication among staff

9.1% 56.8% 34.1%

Management and distribution of information

2.3% 36.4% 61.4%

Information retrieval through search

11.4% 61.4% 27.3%

Ease of access 2.3% 31.8% 65.9%Management and distribution of documents

15.9% 52.3% 31.8%

Workflow (e.g. time-off request) 4.5% 22.7% 72.7%

Assessment – Qualitative (cont.)

• Usability testing using TechSmith Morae software

• 6 Library staff members with differing technical skills invited

• 13 tasks and some open ended questions

• Findings consistent the general SurveyMonkey survey results

Assessment - Outcome• Outcomes attributed to the deployment of

StaffWeb– Improved Library staff communication without clogging

up mailboxes– Fostered sense of content ownership– Bring staff up-to-date with Web 2.0 technologies– Freed DSTP staff to work on other priorities– Consolidated information silos resulting in secured and

easy access– Enabled single search across multiple repositories– Streamlined workflows for a number of tasks (e.g. time-

off request, strategic planning submission and tracking