Gregory Zelfond, a SharePoint expert with over a decade of experience, emphasizes the importance of information architecture in organizing and labeling content to enhance usability and findability. Key components include site hierarchy, navigation & search, taxonomy, and security, which collectively ensure that users effectively engage with SharePoint solutions. For more information, he invites readers to visit his blog and offers services related to SharePoint implementation and training.

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INTRODUCTION TO SHAREPOINT
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
GREGORY ZELFOND

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About Me
 Gregory Zelfond
 10+ years of experience with SharePoint
 SharePoint advocate, blogger
 Love to solve business problems using code-free, out of
the box SharePoint configurations
 Owner of SharePoint Maven (sharepointmaven.com)

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About SharePoint Maven
I HELP ORGANIZATIONS TO UNLOCK
THE POWER OF SHAREPOINT
MIGRATION CONSULTING TRAINING

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What is Information Architecture
Information Architecture is the art and science
of organizing and labeling the content
(documents, data, sites) to support findability
and usability.
 Effective information architecture will:
– Assist users in understanding and interacting with a
solution
– Mean the difference between users quickly embracing
a new technology, or becoming frustrated and
disengaged

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4 Major Information Architecture Components
Information
Architecture
Site
Hierarchy
Navigation
& Search
Taxonomy
(Data
Structure)
Security

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#1: Site Hierarchy
Determine how many
Site Collections you are going to have

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#1: Site Hierarchy
Determine Site Collection Structure
(for each site collection)
Department
Sites
Project
Sites
Business
Portals
External
Sites

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#2: Navigation & Search
 How will users find information?
 Hierarchical or Keyword?
 Navigation Structure
 Views / Groups / Filtering

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#3: Taxonomy (Data Structure)
What is Taxonomy?
 The classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates
natural relationships
 Division into ordered groups, categories, or hierarchies
What is Metadata?
 Data that describes additional information about a file or a document
Metadata/Taxonomy Examples
 Department Names
 Client Names
 Project Names
 Document Types
 Geography (location)

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#4: Security
 Controls who can access information
 Controlled via SharePoint Groups
 4 Basic permission Levels, can be customized
– Full Control (Admin)
– Design (Read/Edit/Delete/Design)
– Contribute (Read/Edit/Delete)
– Read Only
 Security can be set at the following levels:
– Site (preferred)
– Web Part (try to stay away from it)
– Folder (don’t event think about it)
– Document/Item (don’t event think about it)

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Want more info?
Please reference my blog post below about
SharePoint Information Architecture
http://sharepointmaven.com/introduction-to-
sharepoint-information-architecture/

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Need help with SharePoint?
 SharePoint Site Configuration and Customization
 Document Migration to SharePoint
 SharePoint Implementation Strategy
 SharePoint Training
 SharePoint User Adoption
 SharePoint Governance
 SharePoint Project Management

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THANK YOU!
Visit: sharepointmaven.com
Email: greg@sharepointmaven.com
Follow: @gregoryzelfond
Connect: linkedin.com/company/sharepoint-maven
View: www.slideshare.net/gzelfond
Get in touch if you have questions