SPSColumbus - A SharePoint Designer’s Lessons Learned
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Transcript of SPSColumbus - A SharePoint Designer’s Lessons Learned
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Lessons
A SharePoint Designer’s Lessons Learned By Marcy Kellar
Learned
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• Lessons Learned from SharePoint Branding Projects • Stories and Lessons • No Code • No Demos
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• Project Managers • Business Decisions Makers • Architects • Designers • Anyone who’s head will roll when things go wrong
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• Key Lessons to Guide a Successful Branding /Visual Design for SharePoint
• Identification of High Risk Projects • A Copy of Beginning SharePoint
Designer 2010 • Branding Rockstar
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Marcy Kellar
SharePoint
• 6 years experience in SharePoint
• Branding, Publishing, Intranets, Public Facing SharePoint Sites with Enterprise clients
• Touched over 50 intranets
• Co-Author, “Beginning SharePoint Designer 2010 (Wrox)
Design
• Professor of User Centered Design at Art Institute of Indianapolis
• Award Winning Photographer & Fine Artist
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What is Branding?
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Branding: the use of advertising, distinctive design, and other means to make consumers associate a specific product with a specific manufacturer
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SharePoint Branding
Content Placement, Content Layout, Interaction Design, Site Architecture Basically - Everything Else
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SharePoint Branding
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SharePoint Branding
Master Pages Page Layouts Css Content Styling HTML Editor Styling
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SharePoint Branding / UI Design Customization
is Challenging
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But Not Impossible
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1. Unknown Territory (Anything not using a templated design) 2. Undefined Vocabulary 3. Unclear Scope - Innovation vs Inspiration 4. Multiple Designs and / or Variations 5. Undefined Design Reviews and Change Management 6. Unclear Roles & Responsibilities 7. Highly Customized Sites Custom Site Definitions Highly Customized Site/Lots of Features
8. Team of Independent Contractors 9. Lack of Key Stakeholders (Committee Projects) 10. Poor Requirements (Non-Requirements)
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• Unknown Territory (Branding Projects with New Content, Concepts and Designs)
• Branding SharePoint is challenging
• Learn from the mistakes of others (you are here).
• Identify risk & mitigate.
• Basic PM 101.
• Have a contingency plan “what if things go wrong.”
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• Unknown Territory (Branding Projects with New Content, Concepts and Designs)
• Branding SharePoint is challenging
• Learn from the mistakes of others (you are here).
• Identify risk & mitigate.
• Basic PM 101.
• Have a contingency plan “what if things go wrong.”
You WILL get sucker punched.
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Example: Branding Sucker Punches Happen
Experienced with SharePoint Branding Build 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
+ 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
40 hours
Test 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
50 hours total
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Example: Branding Sucker Punches Happen
Experienced with SharePoint Branding Build 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
+ 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
40 hours
Test 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
50 hours total
+ 8 hours SharePoint Sucker Punch
58
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Example: Branding Sucker Punches Happen
Experienced with SharePoint Branding Build 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
+ 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
40 hours
Test 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
50 hours total
+ 8 hours SharePoint Sucker Punch
58
Noob Build 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
+16 Hours to Ramp Up______________
60 hours
Test 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
70 hours total
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Example: Branding Sucker Punches Happen
Experienced with SharePoint Branding Build 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
+ 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
40 hours
Test 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
50 hours total
+ 8 hours SharePoint Sucker Punch
58
Noob Build 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
+16 Hours to Ramp Up______________
60 hours
Test 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
70 hours total
+ 8 hours Sucker Punch + 12 hours Sucker Punch + 6 hours Sucker Punch
86
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• Review project plan.
• Discuss activities.
• Create glossary.
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Lesson 3: Verify The Problem You Are Solving
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• Is branding really going to solve the problem?
• Branding / Styling is the solution when content and functionality are already defined.
• If not, you are still defining functional and content requirements too.
• Use appropriate process to get requirements
Review creative process with stakeholders.
Show examples.
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SharePoint – Inspiration Design Analogy
Your result still resembles the original structure
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SharePoint – Inspiration Design Example
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SharePoint – Innovation Example
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Lesson 4: Multiple Designs Require Time to Architect
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Multiple Design & Theme Implementation
• # of master pages • Inheritance of branding
elements • Minimize “tweaking”
impact
• How would you architect this? 3 designs, 14 color variations for each one 2 collaboration 1 publishing 3 page layouts?
• How many master pages? • Any inheritance? • What if you find several bugs
just before launch? • How many files will you update?
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Lesson 4: Multiple Designs Require Time to Architect
• Split into new master page only when necessary.
• Minimize # of master pages and manage styling variations in page layouts.
• Inheritance is important – base CSS.
• Requires development and deployment strategy.
• Makes changes or troubleshooting much easier.
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Lesson 5: Define how iterations, reviews , and approvals are managed.
Infinity Symbol
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Infinity Symbol
Lesson 5: Define how iterations, reviews , and approvals are managed.
• Inherent in some methodology (agile).
• Define # of iterations of Wireframes and Mockups before starting project
• Define approval process.
• Put in legal document (SOW).
• Define how changes are managed.
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Lesson 6: Define Roles & Responsibilities
Project Sponsor Project Manager
SharePoint Architect
Biz Analyst / Site Builder
Typical SharePoint Project Team
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Lesson 6: Define Roles & Responsibilities
UX Architect/ Branding Lead
Developer(s)
UI Designer Front End Developer
Project Sponsor Project Manager
SharePoint Architect
Biz Analyst / Site Builder
Typical SharePoint Project Team Possible Roles with Custom UX
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Typical SharePoint Project Team Added Roles with Custom UX UX Architect/
Branding Lead Developer(s)
UI Designer Front End Developer
Project Sponsor Project Manager
SharePoint Architect
Biz Analyst / Site Builder
Lesson 6: Define Roles & Responsibilities
• Review together as a team (even if it seems to be common knowledge) verify with stakeholder.
• Define who owns each task, who does what and when.
• Ensure you have source control if multiple folks in same file (Subversion for Photoshop).
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Lesson 7: Mitigate Risk for Highly Customized Sites
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Lesson 7: Mitigate Risk for Highly Customized Sites
• Custom Site Definitions • Multiple Solutions and
Features • Public Facing Sites
• Proof of concepts • Code reviews • Multiple check points • Define assumptions • Define stakeholder
responsibilities
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Lesson 8: Understand and Confirm Skills Required
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Lesson 8: Understand and Confirm Skills Required
• Discuss process & identify skills required.
• Make sure you learn experience level of team. Don’t assume credentials mean branding/UI design experience.
Look at previous project experience.
Web designer without SharePoint experience is not the same as one with. Plan for some ramp up time.
• Determine which skills are required for project success (master pages, page layouts, CSS, client side scripting, XSL styling).
• Identify any discrepancies early – build time in for learning/mentoring.
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Designers UX Strategists / UX Architects / Creative Director
Developers
Front End Developers
Information Architects Platform / IT
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Lesson 9: Have Single Contact for Visual Design Decisions
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Example: Branding Sucker Punches Happen
Experienced with SharePoint Branding Build 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
+ 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
40 hours
Test 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
50 hours total
+ 8 hours SharePoint Sucker Punch
58
Noob Build 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
+16 Hours to Ramp Up______________
60 hours
Test 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
70 hours total
+ 8 hours Sucker Punch + 12 hours Sucker Punch + 6 hours Sucker Punch
86
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Lesson 9: Have Single Contact for Visual Design Decisions
• “Design by committee” doesn’t work without risk to timeline.
• Assign a creative contact.
• Define a role with veto power.
• Beware of IT Sponsor that “dabbles with design”
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Lesson 10: Start with Good Requirements
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Lesson 10: Start with Good Requirements
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Lesson 10: Start with Good Requirements
1. Branding meeting with stakeholders.
Walk through examples.
Define whether you are creating an inspired design or an innovative design.
Communicate cost and timeline implications of fully customized site .
2. Review functional requirements.
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• Migrations (ghosting). • Fixed-bid branding projects (without templates). • Undefined/unclear methodology (agile/hybrid/waterfall). • Unclear transfer points b/w design & development. • Locked down dev box. • Lack of project management.
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1. Avoid getting sucker-punched by learning from others mistakes. 2. Share a common vocabulary. 3. Verify the problem you are solving. 4. Multiple designs require time to architect. 5. Define how iterations, reviews , and approvals are managed. 6. Define roles and responsibilities. 7. Mitigate risk for highly customized sites. 8. Understand and confirm skill set of team. 9. Have single contact for visual design decisions. 10. Start with good requirements.
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• And always have a project manager or at least an agreed upon project plan. User Interface/Branding and UX projects often have tough conversations to reset and manage expectations.
• If you are a solo resource without a project manager, be sure to have a plan for tough conversations.
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My Tools of Choice
Conceptual Site Modeling SmartDraw
Mindjet
Wireframes / Functional Design Illustrator (make your own UI set)
Mockflow.com
Visio
Intranet Factory
Content Organization & Planning Jumpchart.org
PowerPoint
Visual Design / Mockups Photoshop
Illustrator (for lots of text)
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Thank You
My Blog: The SharePoint Muse Twitter @marcykellar Linked in marcykellar
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