A Phase 0 Approach for SharePoint 2010 - EPC Group

Errin OConnor, Founder & CEO at EPC Group.net July 01, 2011 - 8:40 PMArticle Link: http://www.aiim.org/community/blogs/expert/A-e2809cPhase-0e2809d-Approach-for-SharePoint-2010An approach that I have seen work well for a large number of organizations eitherimplementing a new SharePoint 2010 enterprise implementation or possibly upgrading fromSharePoint 2007 to SharePoint 2010 is to complete a “Phase 0” initiative prior to rolling outa full blown Phase 1 project.“Phase 0” is a term for a project that helps the organization take a deep look at themselvesto develop a "SharePoint 2010 roadmap” and should be very forward looking into anorganization’s I.T. strategy. SharePoint 2010 is a Platform that can support an unparallelednumber of both business needs and your staff’s functionality requirements in terms of anapplication.As part of my job as EPC Group’s CEO is to sit down with CIO’s, I.T. Directors, Legal andCompliance Department heads, and business owners to find out what exactly their current“state” is and what technology it is that they have implemented, how well it is working fortheir organization, and to discuss how SharePoint can assist them in providing real Returnon Investment (ROI) for their organization.I like to really step back from the technology (that being SharePoint) and just look at whatthe business is trying to accomplish and how I.T. is supporting their organization’s (really

their end-user or clients) needs. This conversation and project methodology can take amillion different twists and turns at the beginning, but it really comes down to how best I.T.can utilize their available budget and time constraints.What applications, licensing, hardware, staff, and biggest business concern (or squeakywheel) needs to be addressed. But this all has to be done the right way by developing a 24-36 month roadmap to take into consideration the ever changing technology or mobile worldwe have all been accustom too in this “we expect the information now” mindset.A CIO or I.T. Director may be focused on an enterprise strategy where a “Legal andCompliance” department may be looking at records and how best to focus on implementingor enforcing a records retention schedule to lower its possible litigation exposure and simplyget the organization’s “records” in order.That begs the question, what is a record and is everyone on the same page about theimportance of that record? Is I.T. currently focused on implementing an Enterprise ContentManagement (ECM or ERM) solution or rather to develop a “Portal” type solution to enhancethe organizations collaboration between staff members? Is there a concern regarding thelicensing model purchases (a possible existing Documentum, LiveLink, FileNet, or Internetsolution) that is currently being utilized to meet a specific need or possilby being discussedand is a possible political landmine? (These need to be addressed).Microsoft SharePoint is being utilized in most every major organization (in varyingcapacities) from Wells Fargo to Viacom (MTV) to the Department of State and at thePentagon. It’s being used in varying capacities at pharmaceutical companies, most everybranch of the U.S. Government, the world’s top financial institutions, and even at your localYMCA chapter. It’s becoming as common as Microsoft Word.SharePoint needs a roadmap and a solid governance strategy as well as a support modeland a configuration customization policy. You will need a training strategy (including train-the-trainer and power users) and to really look at where the organization is going in email(records) management as well as automating paper-based processes into workflows.What is that big “quick win” you’re looking for in SharePoint? What is the ROI analysisyou’re looking to provide? If you already have SharePoint implemented you may be lookingat performance, redundancy in farms, what in the world a “cloud” solution could do for youand the many add-ins (3rd party SharePoint solutions) and security concerns you may needto address.

If you’re looking at replacing your existing document management system, Internetsolutions, Intranet solution, or file shares with SharePoint or adding mobile capabilities toyour organization you may be asking an entire different set of questions.This is why a “Phase 0” project can be so valuable but even if your organization is in Phase1 or Phase 2 of an existing enterprise implementation, it’s never too late to ask thesequestions and level-set on your roadmap or “pop the hood” to do a health check andassessment (or ROI check) on what you currently have going.

A Phase 0 Approach for SharePoint 2010 - EPC Group

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