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SHAREPOINT IA BEST PRACTICES
SHAREPOINT SYMPOSIUM 2013
STEPHANIE LEMIEUX
(4 out of 5 Dentists Agree)
STEPHANIE LEMIEUX "esident & "incipal Consultant
• Specialized in taxonomy & metadata, governance
• Lots of experience implementing taxonomy & IA across different tools: CMS, DMS, Intranet, Faceted Search, DAM…and yes, SharePoint
• MLIS from McGill University (i.e. I’m a librarian)
• Huge data nerd
• Who we are: Boutique firm specializing in taxonomy & information architecture… We create practical and elegant solutions to make content more findable.
• Based in Montreal, Canada
• What we do: taxonomy, metadata development, search, information architecture, digital asset management, governance, etc.
SharePoint is easy to implement badly
TYPICAL SHAREPOINT PROJECTS
Biz Reqs Implementtttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
Implement Business Req’s Implement
Business Req’s Implement
Examples courtesy of Lulu Pachuau: http://www.slideshare.net/LuluP/information-architecture-and-sharepoint
#ere is the information architecture?
4 out of 5 dentists agree that lying through your teeth about IA does not count as flossing
http://johnnyholland.org/wp-content/uploads/elementsofux.gif
Shawn Shell Author of SharePoint Report for Real Story
Group
Sue Hanley Author of Essential
SharePoint 2013
Seth Earley SharePoint IA
Trainer & Consultant
Michal Pisarek
SharePoint MVP & IA Consultant
Ruven Gotz Author of Practical
SharePoint IA
Our panel of “dentists”
#1 MISTAKE IN SHAREPOINT DESIGN?
Over-reliance on search to cover for bad IA
5 SHAREPOINT IA BEST PRACTICES & 2013 game changers
#5: DON’T FOLLOW THE ORG STRUCTURE
4 out of 5 dentists agree…
WHY DOES THIS SUCK?
• Organizational changes happen all the time
• Nobody really knows who owns what or does what
• Most people are focused on processes & projects
And… isn’t the point to encourage collaboration across departments?
THINK OUTSIDE THE ORG CHART
ü Functions & processes
ü X-functional teams & projects
ü Clients
ü "oducts
ü Content types
ü Geography
ü Etc.
GOOD SITE ARCHITECTURE
… takes a functional/activities view of the organization
… survives organizational change
… allows people to see the overall context of their organization and their work
… uses language everyone understands
… is based on actual user behaviors & insights
“Focus on the work instead of the Web$ite.” -- Susan Hanley, the Essential SharePoint 2013
IN 2013
Suite Bar & Sites Tab
- Sticky at the top links: easy way to get back home
- List of sites “followed”: develop a personal IA
#4: TRANSCEND PHYSICAL STRUCTURE
4 out of 5 dentists agree…
LET’S GET PHYSICAL SharePoint is based on a physical structure that used to define… pretty much everything
Web applications
Site collections
Sites
Sub-sites
Lists & libraries
Understand the containment hierarchy,
but don’t be bound by it.
SEARCH-DRIVEN PUBLISHING Search indexing now crosses site collections and content can be aggregated & displayed across multiple sites
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/jj872721.aspx
“CSWP”
Content Query Web Part
Content Search Web Part
Aggregate content from anywhere based on a search
query and style it however you want!
USE SEARCH TO CREATE ASSOCIATIVE NAVIGATION
http://www.slideshare.net/nform/information-architecture-for-sharepoint-11389777?from_search=12
Home
MANAGED METADATA NAVIGATION
Term store can now manage consistent global navigation across site collections, masking physical boundaries.
http://sp2013.blogspot.ca/2012/07/metadata-driven-navigation.html
Design the ideal …then figure out how you can make it happen with the containment hierarchy and options available
#3: A LITTLE METADATA GOES A LONG WAY
4 out of 5 dentists agree…
FOLDERS MOSTLY SUCK Folders (any physical structure, really) = LAZY
And they don’t tell you much, unless you create bottomless hierarchies.
• #at is this about? • #at%egion does it cover? • #at product is it about? • #at year is it for?
USE MOSTLY METADATA ü enhance searchability of content
ü filter/sort/view lists & libraries
ü control content display (via search web part)
ü control navigation
ü enhance search user interface
ü trigger workflow, info policies
DON’T GO CRAZY WITH CONTENT TYPES When do you create a new content type or metadata field?
RM Need
CM/Search Need
Workflow/ Process
(template)
http://carstenknoch.com/2012/04/sharepoint-metadata-design-principles/
Rule of thumb: If you have more content types than you do staff, you’re doing something wrong. LESS IS MORE.
STANDARDIZE WHAT YOU CAN Use content types to standardize key enterprise metadata
Item
Document Set Document
Publication
Magazine article
?
Contract ? ? ? Image
Asset
Enterprise-wide metadata
Function/content- specific
metadata
AUTOMATE WHAT YOU CAN Leverage structure & profiles to automate some metadata
• Document location (document library, sets, smart folders*)
• User profile
Rules of Thumb
1. Keep the number of fields as small as possible 2. Majority of fields should tie back to a work
process with clear user value 3. Use default values VERY carefully
DOCUMENT LIBRARIES & CONTENT TYPES Put multiple types in one library or one type per library?
Impact of multiple types:
• Can’t do “group by”
• Having to choose a content type
• Can apply multiple policies/workflows
• Multiple templates
• Can still have different metadata
BULK METADATA EDIT
#2: CONTROL VOCABULARY USING MANAGED METADATA
4 out of 5 dentists agree…
CONTROL KEY METADATA CENTRALLY Use the term store to predefine & manage key vocabularies used in metadata
When to make it managed metadata?
• Likely to be used by multiple groups (global vs. local)
• Terminology needs governance
• Needs synonyms
• Requires hierarchy
• Would be useful as navigation/filter options
LEVERAGE SYNONYMS Synonyms are helpful both in tagging & search (but search must be configured separately)
Hanley: Essential Sharepoint 2013
METADATA-BASED NAVIGATION
http://www.titus.com/blog/2010/11/metadata-navigation-and-sptechcon-boston-recap/
Keep these ultra-simple. Most people won’t use it if it looks complicated (e.g. Key Filters). Especially useful if you have multiple content types in one library.
Warning: the term store is not a taxonomy management tool or auto-classifier.
No matter how awesome your structure, people will still search sometimes. &y to make it$uck less.
#1: GIVE SEARCH A LITTLE LOVE
4 out of 5 dentists agree…
GIVE SEARCH A CHANCE • Configure synonyms
• Use query rules
• Promote a result • Supplement a query with additional property & KW filters
http://blogs.technet.com/b/mspfe/archive/2013/02/01/how-query-rules-and-result-sources-can-be-used-to-customize-search-results.aspx
CUSTOMIZE THE REFINEMENT PANEL Choose more relevant filter options
Hide useless graphics
http://www.zazzle.com/red+dirt+posters
Spend time figuring out logical structures, then worry about
Sharepoint-izing them
Awesome architecture!
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