You could need a list if…

Sarah HaaseBest Buy

My background

• History– Technical writing– CMS implementation & support– Knowledge management– Information architecture– Librarian– Code-free…

• Current role– Collaboration Manager for BestBuy.com

My personal bias

Businesses shouldn’t be run via spreadsheets stored on shared drives

Left to their own devices, well-intentioned peoplewill live in information chaos.

My job isn’t about giving users what they want.It’s about giving users what they really need.SharePoint markets itself…once you deliver

your first couple of wins.

Agenda

• Definitions• Tunnel vision• 80/20 rule• Lists – when, what & how• How to implement• Real-world examples• Best practices

Definitions

Document library• A collection of files you can share with your

team members

• A file repository

List• A collection of information that you share

with your team members

• A collection of similar items stored in a series of fields that define a metadata schema

Key features

Document library• 1-click document access• Easier versioning• Easier editing• Meets people “where they live”• Unstructured content• Unknown scope, function, audience

List• Transaction management (granular data store)• Structured content• Better reporting• Tie-in with Access• Keeps people from using folders• Extendable• Common display vehicle for data inside & outside of

SharePoint

Shared Documents alone or witha myriad of other doc libs

No (or outdated) announcements

Poor use of landing page

No “organized” look & feelLack of targeted informationEveryone hunts

The “typical” user site

• User complaints– SharePoint doesn’t have any good functionality– SharePoint makes it harder to find things– SharePoint isn’t flexible enough…– No one likes to use SharePoint…– SharePoint isn’t any better than our shared

network drives

The “typical” user site

• Built for the creator– No site design/planning– No content analysis or audience profiling– A personal file share no one “gets” but you

• Fails to follow the best practice 80/20 rule

80% lists

20% “other”

“Ideal” SharePoint site

What’s the 20% “other”?

Slide library

Document libraries

Search

KPIs

Filtering

RSS feeds Discussion

boards

Presence

Blogs

Surveys

Wiki

80/20 zone

The choice...

Significant investment with large ROI

Easy entry w/accidental ROI

Moderate investment w/nominal ROI

The price• Audience analysis• Content analysis/information architecture• Storyboarding/UI design• Business process redesign• Development time/resources

The reward• Application-level SharePoint sites• Specific, measurable ROI• Smoother user adoption• All the free marketing you want

Knowing when to bail…

• The 80/20 rule isn’t foolproof– Consider your audience’s content needs– Determine whether the ROI warrants you being

thereEstimated ROI

Hours to implement

How do lists deliver?

Ease of use• Structured content

• Lower level of granularity

• Multiple author friendly

• Content types

Extendability• Data view web parts

• Custom workflows

• OOB & custom forms

• Automated charting & other jQuery solutions

• Tie-in with Access

• Joining & complex queries

When

• Replace spreadsheets

• Enable structured data capture

• Track complex multi-person processes

• Host content in central location

• Deploy easy online forms

What

• Manage content traditionally overlooked by CMS systems

• Reduce duplication of effort

• Provide a common data store

• Provide deep metrics

• Identify outliers

How

• Single or connected lists

• Effective use of list views

• Filtered list web parts

• Data view web parts

• Reporting/KPIs

• Extensions

Finding the right opportunity

Business PAIN

Simple problems that hit a lot of

people

Succinct business need – ideally with

repeatable elements

Frequent business rhythm

Early adopters

Business team that includes key influencers

Solution you can build with OOB

components (and limited SP Designer)

Right-sizing – you need something you can deliver quickly

Quantifiable ROI

Storyboarding Phase I

• Meet with business owners– Ask about their “vision” for the future– Find out what business need(s) they’re trying to

solve– Get details on their current work process• Highlights• Pain points• Bottlenecks

– Get a wish list of things they dream about

Storyboarding Phase I

• Meet with business owners– Demo similar functionality already in production– Connect them with business owners that are up

and running– Revisit the wish list and high-level goals

Storyboarding Phase II

Audience analysis• Be formal about it• Find the critical success factors

Content analysis• Map out input & output processes• Look at existing content and think structured lists

Business process redesign• If a step doesn’t add customer value, cut it• Determine if the ROI warrants you being here…

Storyboarding Phase III

UI design

• Formal storyboards if needed

• Document all requirements

Present “vision”

• Get management sign-off

• Start iterative development cycle

Prepare for the deluge…

Case studies

Fraudster queue

• Need – Team needs to track known “fraudsters”

• Solution– Single SharePoint list– No bells or whistles

• Benefits– Time to implement = 2 hours– Filtering enabled– Better searching– Storing information 1x– Easy filtering of 37,000+ items

Collaboration dashboard

• Need – Collaboration team needed a way to track ongoing projects, store design

requirements, and track key work tasks

• Solution– Single SharePoint list– Automated priority calculator– Custom workflows

• Benefits– Workflows automate boilerplate emails– Projects automatically ranked by relative priority– Full history recorded for all development projects– Cuts 3 hours off the Collaboration management process each week– Total savings = $845/month and $10,140/year

Weekly Lockdown

• Need – Content teams used multiple versions of a single Excel spreadsheet to submit,

track & assign key issues for Sunday turnovers

• Solution– Single SharePoint list per team– Data view web part with conditional formatting– Web part filters create automated work queues

• Benefits– No more work compiling & sharing multiple spreadsheets– Everyone can add/view issues simultaneously– No more duplicate reporting of identical issues– Cuts a half a day off the weekly lockdown process– Total savings across Dotcom = $11,267/month and $135,200/year

Key design elements

Online data store• No more copying/pasting• Simultaneous editing• No duplicate issues

reported

People integration• Automated work

queue• Assign issues to 1 or

more people• Involuntary

participation model

Technical specs• Conditional formatting• Save list as template• No coding needed

Outlet Center

• Need – Outlet Center team had a manual process for setting up SKUs

• Solution– Several SharePoint lists– Automated submission forms for all SKU types– Filtered web parts find rogue SKUs & queue them up for review– Custom workflows send “assignment” emails

• Benefits– No more time spent shepherding each SKU through the setup process– SharePoint maintains a historical record of all SKU data– All team members can access data (no more Outlook silos) – SKU setup process shortened from 6 weeks to 2 weeks– Total savings = $5,634/month and $67,600/year

Key design elements

Online data store• No more Excel trackers• Everyone inputs data to

single shared location

People integration• Automated emails for

SKU assignments• No more Outlook silos• Smoother handoffs

Technical specs• Content types• SPD workflows• Outliers float to the

surface

UAT charting

• Need – Project Managers manually built charts and graphs to report daily UAT

test results

• Solution– SharePoint list template– CEWP and jQuery to incorporate Google Charting API– Hidden list view web parts control additional pie charts

• Benefits– No more work formatting Excel spreadsheets and building charts– Automated charts include up-to-the-second test results– PMs freed up to focus on value-add tasks at critical time in project lifecycle– Total savings = $36,000/year

Best/worst practices

Bad practice #1

• Failing to break the document barrier– Most of SP’s value lies in managing discrete data– What is discrete data?• Document metadata• Structured list content• Anything you can query/sort/view• Folders don’t count

Bad practice #2

• Doing all the work but failing to quantify the results– ROI calculation can be easy—even for me– Dollar figures have their own voice– Once built, you have an “automatic” business case– Think of clever ways to store your $$$ data

Bad practice #3

• Expecting lists to wash your car, too….– Remember list limitations• Handling complex relationships• Large numbers of items

– Use the right tool for the job

Best practice #1

• Follow the 80/20 rule– Content analysis, audience analysis & usability

design do make a difference– Know what lists can do and when & how to use

them– Know when the ROI warrants your time– Don’t forget to optimize your remaining document

libraries

Best practice #2

• Make sure you’re using the OOB functionality– List view web parts– Data view web parts– Content Editor Web Part– Key Performance Indicators– SharePoint List Filter

Questions

• Sarah HaaseCollaboration Manager at Best Buysarah.haase@bestbuy.comhttp://twitter.com/sarahhaase