Ten Microsoft SharePoint success factors

Intranets

Compiled by: Martin White martin.white@intranetfocus.com, December 2011

1. Define the business requirements

The process of defining current and anticipated business requirements has to be undertaken even if the decision to implement SharePoint has been taken at a corporate level.

2. Integrate the business and IT development teams

The business and IT development teams need to be closely integrated and work to an agile project management methodology. Particular care needs to be taken if a third-party implementation team is involved.

3. Governance

Write a governance handbook that sets out the responsibilities of everyone involved in implementing and using SharePoint, and make sure that this is updated with examples of good practice as these are agreed.

4. SharePoint is an information management platform

Without an information management strategy that relates all information asset applications to each other the benefits of SharePoint will not be realised and the weaknesses will quickly become evident and potentially irreversible.

5. Quantify the professional services costs

SP2010 needs skilled business analysts and developers, and whether these are internal IT staff or external developers the costs can be much greater than anticipated, perhaps 6-8 times the licence costs.

6. Manage Team Sites and My Sites very carefully

Procedures for being able to set up a Team Site, and for closing it down when no longer in use need to be agreed. It is easy to build thousands of information silos.

7. Appoint a project manager

Managing a SharePoint implementation will be challenging, and it is essential to appoint a project manager with the skills, experience and authority to ensure that business requirements are achieved on schedule and budget.

8. Don’t take case studies at face value

Case studies always focus on what went well. It can be even more important to find out what did not go well and how these problems were overcome.

9. Build a risk register

Like any enterprise application SharePoint development will involve all the standard, and some non-standard, risks. Setting these risks and monitoring progress in avoiding or managing them is a very effective way of ensuring projects stay on budget and on schedule.

10. Speak SharePoint fluently

Many of the terms used in Sharepoint, such as site, library and list, have very specific meanings. Build a glossary with examples to make sure that everyone understands what everyone else is saying.