Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Nothing Reveals a Lack of Planning Better than SharePoint.

It's like Aladdin's lamp… Most people rub it before they've even formulated their wish.   And just like all the stories you hear, the results are funny, unless you are the one holding the lamp.

The analogy really holds true.  SharePoint is very much like Aladdin's lamp.   Although most organizations fail to adequately plan their SharePoint projects, and while only 10% of SharePoint projects (on average) are considered successful by their project teams, less than 1% of customers switch to a different platform.

They know SharePoint can create miracles on a regular basis. They also know the project failure was their own fault, not the fault of SharePoint.
 

While it seems like a stunning statistic, it's not new.   The situation has been exactly this for over a decade.   Adequately planning a SharePoint project is the exception not the rule.   Rebuilding the same project three times, is the norm.

If you'd like some evidence, just perform an Internet search on the phrase "SharePoint adoption".  It's a huge issue.   You'll find countless blog articles about it.    That's because most SharePoint deployments consist of rolling out the software, making a bunch of middle managers "site owners", and then sitting back and watching a site collection grow into an uncoordinated, sprawling, “Wild, Wild West”.   Then they wonder why none of the employees are "adopting" it.   Like any town that lacks rules, structure and "Law and order", no one wants to spend time there.


It's like Aladdin's lamp!
Now we have SharePoint 2016.   Aladdin's lamp is even more powerful (we have Genies on the ground collaborating with Genies in the cloud).   Unfortunately, as the "lamp" is passed from the last project manager to the new one, the importance of planning continues to be overlooked.
While the process of creating a successful SharePoint plan is relatively simple (goals, scope, blueprint, wireframes and site collection specification), only about 10% are willing to invest the time it takes to guarantee success.
 

If you find yourself responsible for SharePoint project in the future there are a few simple tests for gauging the status of the project and determining how much trouble you're in.
  • Is there a well-established goal for the project?If you don't have a goal you’ll will never know if the project was a success.
  • Is there a scope statement limiting the project?If you don't have a scope statement you can't determine unjustified features or costs.
  • Is there a blueprint for the new site collection?If you don't have a blueprint you'll never know when you’re “done”.
  • Are there a lot of meetings going on during the build?
    With a good plan the project is assembled (quickly), and without a lot of questions.
If you want to stack the deck in your favor one of the best things you can do is to ensure that someone on the project team has previous experience with successful SharePoint projects, and that all of the team members have a common language and understanding of SharePoint.

Or you can just expect to build the project two or three times.
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Do You Want to be part of the 10% Club? If you want to be part of the 10% Club and are willing to invest the time it take to guarantee success, take 30 minutes and join us this week.    If you take the steps we are sharing, we'll guarantee your success!   
I want to be part of the 10% SharePoint Success Club

Monday, May 2, 2016

How NOT to write a SharePoint RFP or RFQ

How NOT to write a SharePoint RFP or RFQ

So your organization needs some IT Development done.

Let’s say an intranet, public facing portal or similar project. Let’s also say you’re the lucky middle manager or staffer that gets tasked with managing the outsourcing of the project.
“No big deal,” you say to yourself. You’ll Just: