empower the power user by @kerriabraham and @sharepointwendy
DESCRIPTION
This session was presented at SharePoint Saturday Twin Cities on November 3, 2012. To get the full context and see the slide notes, please download the slides. Accompanying video demos are on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxSc1uqWwEXkrus62m7vPEcX0-FAzj0Yj Session Abstract: Kerri Abraham and Wendy Neal team up to deliver a comprehensive discussion on methods that can empower users while retaining control for IT and building valuable resources for the future. Focusing on the need for documentation at every level of SharePoint development, these two ladies combine forces to share their experiences and their goals in helping power users reach their full potential. Being blocked from SharePoint Designer throughout most of her SharePoint experience, Kerri shares her insight and bold opinions about how others may work to overcome the same restrictions in their work environment by documenting their work and building trust with IT. Wendy adds balance to Kerri’s opinions by showcasing how she has worked toward this end with the users she supports, using the same techniques Kerri outlines in the book chapter she wrote with the same name. Showcasing how OneNote can be used in combination with SharePoint content types within a library, Kerri and Wendy will outline how users can build a SharePoint ‘Rudder’ to guide ongoing learning and provide resources for future platform support.TRANSCRIPT
Empower the Power User
SharePoint Saturday Twin CitiesNovember 3, 2012Kerri Abraham and Wendy Neal
Kerri Abraham Retired SharePoint professional, healthcare Regular contributor to NothingButSharePoint.com Contributing author SharePoint 2010 at Work, Tricks, Traps, and
Bold Opinions: ‘Empower the Power User’ chapter Wood-fired pizza oven builder
Wendy Neal SharePoint Architect/Developer for GreatAmerica Financial
Services Regular contributor to NothingButSharePoint.com Blog: www.sharepointwendy.com Twitter: @SharePointWendy Passionate about all things SharePoint: Branding, evangelism,
governance, training, user adoption, user empowerment
IT Cultural DifferencesKerri – Healthcare
Patient Care #1
Wendy – FinancialDealer Success & Employee
Engagement
0 Conservative0 Restrictive0 Secretive0 Minimal Training
0 Dysfunctional? http://www.aiim.org/community/blogs/community/SharePoint-Governance-Overhyped-and-Not-Understood Bill English
0 Innovative0 Empowering0 Open Communications0 Learning Organization
0Culture Orientedhttp://www.greatamerica.com/about/about-greatamerica.aspx
This is a True Story
April 2012 in Atlanta
SharePoint Designer Lockdowns
WHY ARE WE STILL
HERE?
Don’t BE
And don’t
encourag
e That
Guy!
Poll on SPYam
https://www.yammer.com/spyam/
Don’t be the SharePoint Nazi at Your Organization!
No SharePoint FOR YOU!
Goals: Move ForwardMitigate Fear
Bridge the Business and IT gap
Maximize Change Management Process
Nurture a Disciplined SharePoint/Developer-minded Workforce
Create Educational Resources
Empower Users
Anatomy of a Power UserNot all users are equally motivated
Power User
Site Owner
End User
I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted pay checks.
0In the same way that not all rectangles are a square, not all site owners are power users.
Ability
InterestTime
Fact. Source: Twitter
Employee LOVES
SharePoint
Employee is Engaged
YES
Innovative Ideas Flow
Employee Loves
Company
Company Benefits
Employee is
Restricted
Employee Hates
Restriction
Employee Leaves
Company
Knowledge and Talent
Lost
Employee writes articles for an International audience re: your company’s
restrictive culture…NO
Empower Employee?
0 Site Creation0 Permissions0 Navigation0 Filtering0 Sorting0 OOTB Workflow0 Alerts0 List and Library
Management0 Metadata Management0 Content Types0 Site Maintenance
Basic Power User
Understanding
Developers First Need to be Power Users
Pick the right tool for the job
Bridge the Business & IT gapBuilding a business platform requires a team effort.
Recognize everyone wins from business success.
OOTB Masters
SharePoint Passionate
Speak
‘End-User’
Cour
ageo
us
Am
biti
ous
Critical Thinkers
Know the Business
Quick Learners
Power Users
Break the IT Bottleneck
Unless
you think
you can
do it ALL
by
yourself?
Why Business Doesn’t Look to IT for Innovation – InformationWeek
Cheers to Improved Process!Real end-user adoption: Users bringing ideas to the table that utilize SharePoint tools to improve their work and the business!
Power users are there to make those improvements reality.
If you are doing it right, SharePoint is
ALL ABOUT CHANGE
The fundamental issue is about giving up control and the potential
that creates for chaos.
And CHANGE IS SCARY!
ITMitigate Fear
The Risks are Two-Fold
Immediate Long Term
0 Crashing/Downtime:0 Server0 Site collection0 Subsite0 Page0 List/Library
0 Loss of Content0 Poor server
performance
0 Knowledge Silos0 Change Management:
0 Solution support0 Future upgrades and
unforeseen platform and/or toolset changes
0 Loss of Knowledge
These risks are
the same no
matter who
develops the
platform!
Bring Down the Farm?
More Common Extremely Unlikely
Site Server
0 SPD Workflow endless loop
0 Modifying master pages
Don’t take advice from this guy…
SharePoint Designer Settings
Web Application Site Collection
0 Settings apply to ALL site collections in the web app
0 Settings ONLY apply to that site collection
There are NO individual site or sub site level settings
Example Site HierarchySite collections
Sites and sub sites
SPD Site Collection Settings
A marriage of project and configuration management disciplines that provide structure and understanding
without being tediously difficult to maintain.
Maximize Change Management
Winning end-user adoption is an endless topic of discussion:
Are we considering the impact of hundreds, if not thousands of business-critical SharePoint solutions?
BUT
User Dependent or Business Critical?
If a user’s job is made easier with SharePoint resources
and/or tools, it is painful when they are offline
for ANY reason!
Does it matter?
Development Should Be Documented Regardless Of Titles!
o Capture Business/Project Requirements
o Provides an Overview and Auditing Processo Integrate with
Workflow for Approval and Review Cycles
o Educational Resourceo Platform Support
Semantics Just Muddy the Waters
de·vel·op con·fig·ure
verb (used with object)1. To bring out the capabilities or possibilities of; bring to a more advanced or effective state.2. To cause to grow or expand.3. To elaborate or expand in detail.4. To bring into being or activity; generate; evolve.
verb (used with object)1. To design or adapt to form a specific configuration or for some specific purpose.2. Computers.
a. To set up (a program) to enable it to run on a particular computer or for a particular application.
Return On Investment (ROI)
PLAIN AND SIMPLE:
The value of a solution is reduced when adequate documentation is not available as support to change management strategy in the future.
Support and Sustainability
0 Do you know every instance of:0 Workflow0 Scripts0 Alert settings0 Content types0 Site columns0 Web part connections0 Lookup columns0 Custom web parts
And the where and why?
Business Process Changes Platform Upgrades
Patch Level Maintenance Server configuration
adjustments General Clean-Up
Example: SharePoint 2013 Loss of Design View
Data View Web Part
0 Conditional Formatting0 Connecting information
from multiple sources
0 Upgrading Existing?
The Rudder
The steering mechanism for all
SharePoint development.
Actions Speak
Louder Than
Words
Honestly, Have you Never Asked Yourself:
0 “Who made this and what business requirement was it meant to solve?”
0 “What on earth was I testing and why did I get distracted from finishing it? If only I had some notes, this looks cool!”
0 “When was this thing created, is it still valid?”
0 “Where is that [insert any customization] located in this site collection?”
0 “How did I ever manage to build that?”
I know, me too!
Documentation not a NovelDocument those items that might snag up the next user who has
to support what has been built.
Make it quick and to the point, both to capture and absorb!
Don’t Make this Harder than It Needs to Be!
ScriptsUse of client-side scripts is a privilege and applying
them in the environment means adopting a responsible attitude toward documentation.
Combat Script Stupidity Vow:
I will test all scripts I use on my site outside of the production environment. To the best of my abilities I will make every attempt to understand the code in the script and what it is doing before I test it. There will be documentation surrounding the use of the script, why it is needed, the origins of where I copied it from, and any and all edits I make will be included in this comprehensive documentation. I will educate myself on best practices, attempt to follow them at all times, and share that advice with those in my environment that may use this library. While my goal may be third tier, I will fully recognize that I probably should stick to client-side manipulation until I have a better development background. I will promise to follow the approval process for use of new scripts in my environment as outlined by my SharePoint administrator/architect.
Because clearly I am NOT a developer!
Script Library
Demo – Create a Script Library
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2JCSjnajnI
Demo - Add a Script to our Site
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axcwZF9SGZQ
The Five “W”s of Documentation
Go-Live or any other
dates relating to
the project
When
Pertains to current
process and ties
directly to ROI:
Is SharePoi
nt the best fit for this
solution?
Why
Location where it
lives on the platform
and related site
security
Where
Unique qualities
and/or tools used
to create it:
What is important to know for future support?
What
People, group, or
team needing
this solution
Who
OneNote for Documentation
Demo - OneNote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMxkHhBMPWw
The Standard Business ModelIT supports new technologies with the intent of bringing about change and alleviating
business problems.
IT Support and System Maintenance
SharePoint is All About ChangeChange + Empowerment + Unknown = Fear
IT Support and System Maintenance
SHAREPOINT
Solution?
SharePoint SolutionsAll discussions begin with some basic information gathering.
IT Support and System Maintenance
SHAREPOINT
Solution?Business
Requirements: Planning and Resources:
Who What Why Where When
Shared ResponsibilityIT and business share the responsibility of training.
IT Support and System Maintenance
SHAREPOINT
SolutionBusiness Requirements:
Planning and Resources: Who What Why Where When
End User Training
Regardless of Title
IT Support and System Maintenance
Routine Maintenance
Audits
Lifecycle Management
It is the burden of the developer to document their solutions.
SHAREPOINT
SolutionBusiness Requirements: Planning and Resources:
Who What Why Where When
End User Training
ROI
Configuration Management
Governance
IT Support and System Maintenance
Routine Maintenance
Audits
Lifecycle Management
Configuration management is disciplined maintenance.
SHAREPOINT GOVERNANCE
SolutionBusiness Requirements: Planning and Resources:
Who What Why Where When
End User Training
ROI
Configuration Management
Nurture a Disciplined SharePoint/Developer-
Minded WorkforceBuild an empowered team not just individuals.
Developmental SkillsWhat is this? A Person with
ClothesA Person
Empowerment Without Responsibility is Chaos!
The exchange of configuration documentation as a concession for empowerment is an advantageous arrangement for both sides.
Don’t let the mistakes of the past mandate the policies of the future.
Trust
Respect
Engagement
Motivation
Innovation
Creativity
The Psychology of Empowerment
Supporting studies: Empowered Workers Are Better, More Productive Workers
Linking Empowering Leadership And EmployeeCreativity: The Influence Of PsychologicalEmpowerment, Intrinsic Motivation, and Creative
Process Engagement
The Problem with One
Only I know what I’ve created
Only one here with this
knowledge
Taught myself everything I know
I’m leaving!See ya!
Good luck!
I’ve learned a million & one tricks!
Moving On
Create Educational ResourcesShare the knowledge!
Encourage How-ToCreate a continuous learning environment:
0 Encourages a competitive spirit0 Highlight best practices0 Rejoice in achievements0 Troubleshoot frustrations0 Build presentation skills
And When NONE of that Works
Move Forward on Your Own
SharePoint Designer is FREE!
INVEST IN YOURSELF!
0 Get your own SharePoint site.0 Use it as a portfolio to
showcase what you know
0 Document the development
0 Participate in the online community
While formal training may accelerate the learning process, it is possible to
learn Designer with a bit of ingenuity and some time investment. The
greater SharePoint community has
contributed hundreds of articles to this end!
Governance policy: All users with access to
SharePoint Designer will be taught and expected to use documentation
techniques.A
SharePoint Rudder
Library is created.
Upon Initiation of every project
the 5 Ws are captured.
Users are provided a test environment.
Capable users are granted
access to Designer.
Initiation notes are combined with documentation related to the solution being developed.
Workflow is initiated for review and
approval.
Once approved the solution is moved to production.
Users share the solution and the knowledge at a
monthly Power User meeting.
At 18-months a workflow initiates a review process to
ensure solution validity.
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57
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10
10 Steps to Empowered Utopia
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6
Thank You!
Questions?