SharePoint Saturday Dayton

Well, we are 10 days away from the inaugural SharePoint Saturday event that will be held in Dayton on June 30th. This will be my first SPS as a speaker. My session is entitled: SharePoint Lists & Libraries - Basic Neccesities for the New Site Owner. For more information, please visit the Web site: http://sharepointsaturday.org/dayton/default.aspx

Stay tuned. I will have my deck posted to the site also. 

Is it SharePoint or ScarePoint? Why Do So Many Fear It? The Key to End User Adoption

Is it SharePoint or ScarePoint? Why Do So Many Fear It? The Key to End User Adoption

This is an addendum to: What is SharePoint To You?

What is SharePoint to you? Do you have a love-hate relationship with change? Many people would often agree that change is The Devil. “If it has always worked, and we have always done it this way, why fix something that isn’t broken?” I’m sure at one point we have all heard End Users use those terms.  Some of us probably still have an abacus on our desks, just because we refuse to change from the way we may have originally learned how to add or subtract. But let’s face it, those calculators may be a passing fad anyway.

This is merely a simple form of Fear. Why do many fear what they do not understand? Or better yet, refuse to try to understand? Many see it as of way to slash jobs or a means to impose a new technology that they may be unwilling to learn. Or maybe it is just the fact that they have heard many “horror stories” about SharePoint. This brings us back to that word Fear again. This is where we need to explain the many capabilities that SharePoint provides and benefits to them personally, in order to have a successful end user adoption. Listing all of the many functions may come across as technical jargon, and will be quickly dismissed by the average user. Instead, ask your end users what their needs are. Everyone always wants to know “What’s in it for me?” This could be something as simple as creating a survey and merely asking them about their needs. Get your users involved! After assessing their feedback, show them how SharePoint will streamline their processes.

For many people, social media is a way for us to connect with colleagues, friends, family, and maybe even long time childhood friends. Allow your users to create their own My Sites. Let your users make SharePoint their own (within reason of course). Make the user feel like SharePoint is a tool they can use, and not just something they are being forced to use. By allowing them to see the many benefits of SharePoint, your end user will have a better chance of embracing SharePoint.

Microsoft Office Specialist: SharePoint 2010 Exam 77-886

Think you know SharePoint 2010? Feel free to take the Microsoft 77-886 certification exam for SharePoint 2010. This exam’s main focus is dedicated to the End User’s interface. But as Administrators or Developers, it gives us a little insight on how we should design a good UX (user experience) for usability. As we consider End User Adoption, I highly recommend influencing our End Users to use this exam as a baseline to see exactly where they are on the functionalities of SharePoint 2010. Prior to taking the test, I read two books that helped me to achieve my certification. The first was Stephen Cawood’s "How To Do Everything Microsoft SharePoint 2010." The other book I recommend is the book by Jonathan Lightfoot and Chris Beckett entitled "Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Plain & Simple: Learn the simplest ways to get things done with Microsoft SharePoint 2010." This is a very visual book that gives the End Users a step-by-step guide when drilling down to perform many of the functions that SharePoint 2010 provides. Both books are great reads and both break down SharePoint to a granular level , which makes them easy learning tools to teach End Users the basics and even a little more of the intricacies of SharePoint 2010 capabilities.

What is SharePoint Governance to You?

What is SharePoint Governance to You?

What is Governance? Depending on who you ask, I’m sure you could come up with a thousand different answers. Dictionary.com lists governance as “a method or system of government or management or the exercising of control.” So when I think of governance in the SharePoint realm, I think of it as managing or maintaining a model that we as end users have to live by. As we all know, everything is all about permissions. Here is where governance comes into play. Actually, it kind of reminds me of the TV Show “Get Smart.” When there is no control, chaos is bound to occur.

What Is SharePoint To You?

What Is SharePoint To You?

 

What is SharePoint to you? SharePoint is not the slashing of jobs or the destruction of what we used to know and how we used to do it. Oftentimes, people fear what they do not understand. The cliché, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” is often used in the business world. But, in this day and time, we need to accept technology.  This includes the SharePoint platform, as something that will not only improve the way we work, but also create solutions to the typical business processes we have all come to love (or just simply know). Do not be the individual who refuses to get rid of his abacus! Instead, embrace SharePoint and the vast SharePoint community.  The ever-evolving SharePoint community is the piecing together of numerous minds, various skill sets, and a plethora of business concepts and strategies that not only factor in to creating, establishing, and maintaining the growth of our community, but also establishing an advanced overall SharePoint I.Q.