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.

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

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:

Office for iPad: Can “Real” SharePoint Be Far Behind?

Office for iPad: Can “Real” SharePoint Be Far Behind?

The business world is buzzing with the news about Microsoft’s release of Office for the iPad. At JFD, we were already pretty excited about the potential of Office 365, especially when we experienced its seamless integration with the online version of SharePoint. Allowing the iPad to integrate with Office 365 points out just how rapidly Microsoft’s cloud offering is growing up… I can’t wait to see how they integrate the iPad with SharePoint Online!

The 3 Most Common Mistakes in Office 365 and SharePoint Deployments

The 3 Most Common Mistakes in Office 365 and SharePoint Deployments

Today it’s all about the cloud, and why not? The benefits to supplying your organization with a high-quality implementation of Office 365 closely integrated with a SharePoint Intranet and Microsoft Exchange are irrefutable. Having these three powerful application environments skillfully implemented and professionally maintained by Microsoft eliminates an enormous amount of technical headaches while saving most organizations considerable cash.

What Goes Up Doesn’t Always Come Down

What Goes Up Doesn't Always Come Down

…And it Could Cost You

Now don’t get me wrong, I love Office 365 with SharePoint Online, I really do.  In fact, in my last two blogs, I’ve been singing the praises of benefits of how seamless and painless these environments can be.  But (I’m sure you could hear a “but” coming) a few experiences this last week have given me cause to curb my enthusiasm and pay very careful attention to the subtle differences between putting something on the cloud versus building something on the cloud.

SharePoint: Cloud or On-Prem? We Say Both.

SharePoint: Cloud or On-Prem? We Say Both.

 

Q: What’s better, SharePoint on the Cloud or On Premise?  A: Both!

One of the hottest topics in the world of SharePoint today is whether to locate your next instance of SharePoint on the “Cloud” or “On Premise”.  If you search the web you’ll find hundreds of blog articles providing detailed analysis of the pros and cons of either approach.  Fortunately, the answer is easy. It’s not an either/or situation…  it’s “both”.

There’s Real SharePoint Adoption and then there’s just adding “Social”.

There's Real SharePoint Adoption and then there's just adding "Social"

People are doing some pretty crazy things in order to try to drive much higher rates of adoption for SharePoint in the enterprise.  Over the last year an enormous amount of attention has been given to weaving various types of social communication systems into the SharePoint environment.  The theory seems to be that since these types of communication systems are popular as stand-alone systems, blending them into a SharePoint environment will provide a reason for more employees to enter the SharePoint environment.

Working in the Cloud is better than Going Up in Smoke

Working in the Cloud is better than Going Up in Smoke

Everyone Is Talking About the Cloud

There’s no doubt, that for many organizations there are compelling financial advantages for moving some, or all, of your systems to the cloud.  This is especially true in the case of SharePoint installations.  The cost of supplying and managing SharePoint to a large body of employees is lower on the cloud, and the capabilities are adequate, except…

Is Your RFP a Recipe for Disaster?

Is Your RFP a Recipe for Disaster?


Just like cooking, building the perfect company portal is a TWO step operation. Developing the recipe, then following the recipe.  Unfortunately too many “cooks” charge and start cooking.  Without a recipe to follow you’ll likely end up something inedible.

If Your Feet aren’t on the Ground, Your Head Should be in the Cloud

If Your Feet aren't on the Ground, Your Head Should be in the Cloud


If you’re in senior management and considering the question of implementing your SharePoint intranet in the Cloud versus using your own servers (or dedicated hosted servers), I’ve got good news.  It’s easy to make the right choice if you briefly consider the following factors.

Will You Show Me Yours If I Show You Mine?

Will You Show Me Yours If I Show You Mine?


Sure, we’re all involved in the world of SharePoint… We love it…  But what if a few of us decided on a change of career?  Let’s say a few of us got together and decided to start a coffee shop…

SharePoint Santa: 5 Branding Improvements I’d Like To See Under My Tree

SharePoint Santa: 5 Branding Improvements I'd Like To See Under My Tree

 Dear SharePoint Santa,

Many people agree that the appearance and user interface of SharePoint need to be augmented and customized in order to meet their marketing and operational requirements.  While this is especially true for Public Facing sites, it’s equally important for many corporate Intranets.   Unfortunately, the common method for Branding SharePoint, (lots of custom CSS) is expensive to implement and typically lost upon migration to the next version.

What Your Training Department Doesn’t Want You To Know

What Your Training Department Doesn't Want You To Know

Still using “Instructor Led” Training? Don’t let your Board find out!

Sure, instructor led training was the standard way to train in corporate environments for the last 100 years.  Before PowerPoint, it was dry erase markers on whiteboards and before that, chalk on slate.

The issue isn’t that this model is so expensive (lost time, travel, etc, etc.) or that it’s so ineffective (90% forgotten in 30 days) but that for the best run organizations it’s been replaced by a much better system.

Over the last 5 years there has been a huge shift to a dramatically more effective and efficient model; delivering training to each desktop via video streaming through your corporate intranet.

Can Great Branding Eliminate the Need for Training?

Can Great Branding Eliminate the Need for Training?

We live in a fast-paced world today.  In fact, that’s a tremendous understatement.  Anyone involved with the SharePoint platform, or for that matter, the world of IT in general, realizes that we work in an industry that breaks a second into 1000 parts.

If Talk is Cheap, Why is Training So Expensive?

If Talk is Cheap, Why is Training So Expensive?

 Low Value Boot Camps

At this moment in time, SharePoint training typically takes the form of a 2 day off-site “boot camp” style cram session.  The effectiveness of these boot camps is disputed.  Recent surveys attempting to identify the root cause for SharePoint’s abysmal adoption rate (22%), often target poor training as being the main culprit.

Want Real Adoption? Implement SharePoint Upside Down

Want Real Adoption? Implement SharePoint Upside Down

The Routine

Most organizations implement SharePoint in the same step-by-step manner:

1. IT department buys the product and the licenses
2. Install the platform
3. Deploy a site for each department manager
4. Migrate the content of shared drives into these new sites
5. Move into “maintenance” mode.
6. Training

Also, each department manager most likely got a SharePoint ‘team site’.  They may have also received a memo about their new site, providing them with their username, password and a link to the site that they now ‘own’. Unfortunately, Managers tend have no idea what to do with their new site and it’s not their fault.

Top 5 Intranet Branding Mistakes

Top 5 Intranet Branding Mistakes

It seems like there’s a never-ending stream of blogs, books and videos on how to Brand SharePoint. Even so, the amount of misinformation and misunderstandings surrounding this topic is truly amazing.

Training a Multilingual Environment in SharePoint

Training a Multilingual Environment in SharePoint

Multilingual SharePoint? Si, Oui and Já!

Multilingual SharePoint Training? Ne, Nej and Nein!

Do a Google search for “multilingual SharePoint training” and you’ll find an endless series of links providing information about how easy it is to get the SharePoint platform to adapt itself to the needs of a multilingual world.  And while that’s true, and Microsoft has done an incredible job in making SharePoint a great multilingual platform, it’s not what you were searching for. Multilingual SharePoint training is almost impossible to find.

Answer to SharePoint Adoption: Surprise! It’s Not Yammer!

Answer to SharePoint Adoption: Surprise! It's Not Yammer!

Want SharePoint Adoption?

Get Corporate Communications involved.

If you are familiar with SharePoint, then you are well aware that lack of adoption is an almost universal issue in the community.  Several high-caliber studies indicate adoption rates as low as 22% (and that’s using the measurement of one visit per day!)

Non-Destructive SharePoint Branding

Non-Desructive SharePoint Branding

Branding has always been a fun topic for me, this is especially so when it comes to Branding SharePoint.  I have a pretty varied background, but the time I spent in corporate operations gives me a tremendous appreciation for what SharePoint can do in the right hands. You can make miracles every day.