This document discusses information architecture strategies for SharePoint, including: 1. Designing a site structure taxonomy to logically group content by topic and ownership, reducing questions about where to store content. 2. Using content types to define and centrally manage the types of content in SharePoint, including metadata and document templates. 3. Implementing a content type hub to publish enterprise content types across site collections for consistent content modeling. Proper information architecture in SharePoint, including a well-designed site structure and content types, can improve content findability, aggregation, and search results.

1. SharePoint Information Architecture Applied
By Bob Mixon
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

3. About Bob Mixon
Delivering business solutions for more than 30 years
Focusing on business process improvement, document
management, knowledge management, collaboration and portals
Microsoft
SharePoint MVP
2006, 2007, 2008, 200
9, 2010
Specializing In
 Strategic Content Management
 Knowledge Management
 Document Management
 Content Choreography
 Records Management
 Business Social Collaboration
 Governance
 Business Process Management
and Automation
 Intranet IMS, DMS, DAM, KMS
and Collaboration Portal
Implementation
 Training
 Speaking
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.
Founder of CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.
Senior SharePoint Information Architect

4. Agenda
• High-level Process Overview
• Site Structure Taxonomy
• Content Types (Data Taxonomy)
• Content Type Hub (Enterprise Data Taxonomy)
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

5. High-level IA Process Overview
Educate
•Educate team on
Process
Assessment
•Audit Content
•Requirements
Design
•Primary
Destinations
•Site Structure
•Navigation
Structure
•Data Taxonomy
•Metadata
Implement
•Web Apps
•Site Collections
•Content Type Hub
•Local Site
Collection Content
Types
•Metadata
Migrate
•Content migration
efforts
Educate
•Educate team on
new solution
Our Focus Today

6. Site Structure Taxonomy
• IA plays a significant part when designing a
Site Structure Taxonomy
– Reduce the question “where do I store and
manage this content?”
• Store and manage content, of similar topic, in
a central location (use grouping principals)
– Example: All HR content in the HR site
collection, all IT content in the IT site
collection, etc.
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

7. Site Structure Taxonomy
Example Logical Design Model
Primary Destinations
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

8. Site Structure Taxonomy
Example Logical Design Model
Business Operations Web Application
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

9. SharePoint Site Taxonomy
Intranet Example
• A common mistake is to store and manage
content to support consumers
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.
Intranet
Departments
Human
Resources
Operations
Resources
Corporate
Policies
Corporate
Forms
Storing all corporate policy documents in this site is
problematic!
1. Requires content owners to mark another sites
to manage their content.
2. Promotes use of item-level security.

10. SharePoint Site Taxonomy
Intranet Example
• Store and manage content as close to the
point of topic/ownership as possible
– Group content based on topic/ownership; not
consumption
• Once you architect your information (through
categorizing and metadata principals) you can:
– Consumer content grouping and views can be
produced through querying
– Highly relevant results can be produced by search
using scopes and faceted filtering
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

11. SharePoint Site Taxonomy
Intranet Example
• Consider a different approach
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.
Intranet
Departments
Human
Resources
Human
Resources
Policies
Operations
Operations
Policies
Resources
Corporate
Policies
Corporate
Forms
Corporate Policies site is simply
a point of aggregation.
Corporate Policy documents are
queried based on content type;
Corporate Policy Document.
Human Resource
Policies are stored and
managed in the Human
Resources destination.
Operations Policies are
stored and managed in
the Operations
destination.
Query policy documents based on Corporate Policy
Document content type.

12. Content Types
A Quick Refresher
• Provide a means of central
management
• Will enforce the types of content that
can be managed in a list or library
• Will consistently enforce the
metadata associated with specific
content
• Document content types can refer to
a specific document template
• Associate workflow
• Associate policies
• Content types are hierarchical
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.
Content Types are a schema used to define the types of content you wish to
manage in your solution!
All content stored in SharePoint is associated with a Content Type

13. Content Type Taxonomy
• Content Types are used to categorize the type
of content to be stored in SharePoint
– Some confuse this with the use of metadata
• Metadata is instance specific!
• Don’t fear creating deep Content Type
taxonomies (hierarchy)
– Each level can be used for aggregate scoping
• Can improve aggregate relevancy to support various
business contextual needs
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

14. Content Type
Example
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

15. Content Type Taxonomy
Example
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

16. Content Types
Best Practices
• Never modify a SharePoint out-of-box content
type
• Avoid organizational taxonomy
– Difficult and time consuming to re-base a content type
• Use a consistent naming convention
– Consider “Document” suffix for all document content
types
• Govern design, implementation and use
• Educate users as to the value
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

17. Content Types
When to Create Content Types?
• When you wish to govern specific types of
content
– Specify what types of content can be stored in specific
lists and libraries
• When you need to include specific metadata
• When you wish to associate a specific document
template
• When you wish to associate specific workflow
• When you wish to specify policies
– Such as for records management
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

18. Content Type Hub
Enterprise Content Types
• Centrally manage content types and
publish them to subscribed site
collections
• Consider a dedicated site collection for
Enterprise CTH
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

19. Content Type Hub
Things to Remember
• Republish after all changes
• Cannot publish a content type that has
managed metadata column associated with a
term set defined in the hub
• Govern the implementation, maintenance and
use of content types derived from the hub
CollectiveKnowledge Solutions, Inc.

20. Advantages of Doing All This IA Work?
• Reduce the question “where do I store and
manage my content”
• Product highly relevant aggregate content
• Product highly relevant search results
• Provide aggregate and search refinement
(scopes)
• Provide further refinement through faceted
filtering

21. Join us right after the event at the Firehouse Grill!
Socialize and unwind after our day of learning.
1765 E. Bayshore Road
East Palo Alto, CA