Like many men worldwide I am counting down the days to the start of the FIFA 2010 World Cup. With my FREE SharePoint World Cup Template installed I am planning my June television viewing. But to help us get through the last week before the World Cup in the UK we have got the Semi Finals and Finals of the very popular Britain’s Got Talent. Now, despite being a footy man I have to admit to secretly really enjoying Britain’s Got Talent and even set my Sky Plus to record it last night so please don’t tell me if the Wood Chopper gets through or not. I think I like the show because of its variety. There are potential stars from all different forms of entertainment and something for all the family. This I think is similar to SharePoint.
SharePoint has so many different uses and appeals to so many different departments. It doesn’t just focus on one area like Document Storage it also does such varied things as plays videos, receives emails, produces KPI’s and many more. It can do things that it was never even designed for. In the last month Office Talk have used it to monitor World Cup fixtures, record reasons employees leave a company, compile mailing lists, created mechanisms for sending warning when Projects are over-running and managed Risk Assessments. All of these were not obvious uses for SharePoint but once your organisation has SharePoint the possibilities are endless.
So what have been some of the best uses of SharePoint that Office Talk have come across in the last year. Let me go for a top eight approach like in a Britain’s Got Talent Semi Final;
1. A system to track feedback from Exit Interviews and automate a monthly report to their Senior Management Team. This included reasons for leaving, opinions of company, where they were going and what first attracted them to the company.
2. Storage of marketing digital assets including photographs and video. Making them easy to find and distribute to potential customers.
3. Acquire, record and manage feedback from trainees on both internal and external training courses. How good or bad was the trainer.
4. A forum to suggest and discuss new ideas for improving the company Intranet. This later included a section to rate each suggestion.
5. Storage and distribution of latest hospital guidelines (Included NICE guidelines). To show clearly new guidelines as they come out and distribute them accordingly.
6. An ‘In and Out’ board to record movements of managers and to say if they are contactable and if not who to contact in their absence.
7. Travel Booking System to allow employees to request different travel arrangements to be made for them to guarantee best price for the company. Arrangements included air, train, hotel and parking.
8. A system to distribute and manage an adaptable E-Learning training course for all new telephonists in a large Call Centre. Only when training had been completed could they start taking calls.
So those are just eight of the recent uses and it is very difficult to pick a best two without knowing exactly how much time and money each one saved their various businesses. So instead I will predict the top two in Britain’s Got Talent 2010. I think it will be between the gymnasts ‘Spelbound’ and the ‘Tina and Chandi’ the ballet dancing dog act.
As for the World Cup. Well it just has to be England.
Come on England !!!
* Don't Miss Dan Holme's SharePoint 2010 Masterclass 29th June. Click Here for details.
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Monday, 24 May 2010
Pick Your SharePoint Team
Apologies for recycling an old blog topic, but Office Talk frequently get asked about who should be in the SharePoint Project Team. So especially with many people now considering SharePoint 2010 I feel it is a good time to revisit ‘what makes a successful SharePoint Project Team?’
As the World Cup countdown continues the 32 national managers have the task of whittling down their final squads to just 23 names. If you have already claimed your Free World Cup 2010 SharePoint Template you will be able to see who all these managers are. Each manager will have different ways of selecting their 23 but they will all make sure they have enough capable goalkeepers, fit defenders, midfield alternatives and forwards capable of scoring goals when they submit their final squads to FIFA. Their aim, like when putting together a SharePoint Project Team, is to try and get the best results possible given the resources they have.
A SharePoint Project is no different to picking your World Cup squad. Without the right players it can flop and you cannot even get past the first stage. But what are the 'right players' and where do you start selecting them?
The 'Well Built' SharePoint Project Team needs to include the following key players;
1. Project Owner - This must a member of the Senior Managers, or even the Managing Director, somebody who will push SharePoint out to all areas of the business
2. Project Manager - This person is in charge of the whole Project and they should have a good knowledge of the whole business. . I know it is tempting, but try to keep this away from the IT Manager. Choosing the IT Manager is like making a goalkeeper captain it never seems to work. Although, Dino Zoff was a famous exception to this rule.
3. Technical Leads - Now IT can get involved and it is also advisable to call on the expert advice of a SharePoint Consultant (I can recommend Office Talk in the UK). The SharePoint Consultant has done it before and knows the pitfalls. It is like adding some experience to your squad.
4. Project Team Members - These are key people from each part of the business where SharePoint will be used. These Project Members can also become Super Users after Go-Live so treat them well and get them some SharePoint training. It is important to make these Project Team Members fans of SharePoint as they will be the ones promoting it back to their area, or Department. The number of Project Team Members depends on how many Sites you think you will require although the best number is 6 to 10. These players need to know how the business works and yet also be keen on change.
So now the Project Team is in place and you are ready to kickoff your SharePoint with the first Project Team Meeting. The offer of a buffet lunch normally clears a few diaries and helps build morale ready for the campaign ahead.
Good luck to everybody who is considering a SharePoint project and good luck to all 32 countries competing in the World Cup (except the ones in England’s group or anyone England might face in the knock out stages).
If you haven’t got your World Cup SharePoint Template yet please Click Here
Come on England !!!
* Don't Miss Dan Holme's SharePoint 2010 Masterclass 29th June. Click Here for details.
As the World Cup countdown continues the 32 national managers have the task of whittling down their final squads to just 23 names. If you have already claimed your Free World Cup 2010 SharePoint Template you will be able to see who all these managers are. Each manager will have different ways of selecting their 23 but they will all make sure they have enough capable goalkeepers, fit defenders, midfield alternatives and forwards capable of scoring goals when they submit their final squads to FIFA. Their aim, like when putting together a SharePoint Project Team, is to try and get the best results possible given the resources they have.
A SharePoint Project is no different to picking your World Cup squad. Without the right players it can flop and you cannot even get past the first stage. But what are the 'right players' and where do you start selecting them?
The 'Well Built' SharePoint Project Team needs to include the following key players;
1. Project Owner - This must a member of the Senior Managers, or even the Managing Director, somebody who will push SharePoint out to all areas of the business
2. Project Manager - This person is in charge of the whole Project and they should have a good knowledge of the whole business. . I know it is tempting, but try to keep this away from the IT Manager. Choosing the IT Manager is like making a goalkeeper captain it never seems to work. Although, Dino Zoff was a famous exception to this rule.
3. Technical Leads - Now IT can get involved and it is also advisable to call on the expert advice of a SharePoint Consultant (I can recommend Office Talk in the UK). The SharePoint Consultant has done it before and knows the pitfalls. It is like adding some experience to your squad.
4. Project Team Members - These are key people from each part of the business where SharePoint will be used. These Project Members can also become Super Users after Go-Live so treat them well and get them some SharePoint training. It is important to make these Project Team Members fans of SharePoint as they will be the ones promoting it back to their area, or Department. The number of Project Team Members depends on how many Sites you think you will require although the best number is 6 to 10. These players need to know how the business works and yet also be keen on change.
So now the Project Team is in place and you are ready to kickoff your SharePoint with the first Project Team Meeting. The offer of a buffet lunch normally clears a few diaries and helps build morale ready for the campaign ahead.
Good luck to everybody who is considering a SharePoint project and good luck to all 32 countries competing in the World Cup (except the ones in England’s group or anyone England might face in the knock out stages).
If you haven’t got your World Cup SharePoint Template yet please Click Here
Come on England !!!
* Don't Miss Dan Holme's SharePoint 2010 Masterclass 29th June. Click Here for details.
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