Case Study – KM and Training Repository for a Global Bank – Part 5

Part 5 of 5: Final & Continuing Thoughts

There are few things I would have done differently and they mostly have to do with organizing the site better. I would suggest that those new to SharePoint really become most familiar with content types and the various ways they can be used to enhance page layout and usability. If you can come out of the gates with this knowledge in hand your site development and efficiency will profit greatly.

In order to not stunt growth or hinder enthusiasm I would create a sandbox site to practice and experiment on while you are planning and mapping out the eventual site. This way anything that makes you enthusiastic can be done on a smaller scale without great risk of failure.

I would also recommend that SharePoint sites and their functions be rolled out on a one-by-one basis. Too much too soon will discourage the audience, even if the site is useful and does provide a better solution. People and more so organizations tend to resist change to various degrees. Even ones that embrace change will turn if potential is not reached. Again the sandbox site can act as an incubator for these ideas.

An example in my case was the use of workflows. This is one of the immediate solutions that I wanted to explore. So far they have not exactly worked out for my group due to various reasons explained previously, but they still exist and periodically get worked on in the sandbox site.

And lastly I mentioned not wanting to roll out user training for SharePoint within my group; I now think that it should have been done. Though much work and thought were put into making the site as useable as possible, it still does not replace the enthusiasm that could have been gained had I rolled out demo sessions and prepped audiences for more collaborated roles to come. Perhaps a group of power users could have been established to help grow and maintain the site instead of one person?

I hope you have enjoyed this case study. You can leave your comments below or feel free to contact me if you have any questions. [email protected].