This document discusses Sitecore SPEAK, which is a technology for building rich and interactive user interfaces for Sitecore using JavaScript frameworks like Knockout.js and Backbone.js. SPEAK was created to replace Sheer UI and provide a more modern and streamlined interface for business and marketing users of Sitecore. SPEAK applications include image field dialogs and general link field dialogs. SPEAK pages can be dashboard, list, or task pages, each serving a different purpose for displaying and interacting with content. The document provides details on creating SPEAK applications and components.

1. Sitecore SPEAK
Vikram S Rathore
@vsrathore2

2. Sitecore Process Enablement & Accelerator Kit
• It is a technology to build rich & interactive UI component for Sitecore
using famous java script frameworks such as knockout.js &
backbone.js combined with the power of Sitecore’s Item Web API.
SPEAK is a replacement of old Sheer UI.

3. SPEAK History
• The original motivation for SPEAK came after Sitecore released the
digital marketing platform and began introducing more applications
for business and marketing users. The traditional Sitecore applications
were designed for developers and content authors. Feedback from
marketing and business users suggested an opportunity for a
streamlined and consistent user interface that offered more guidance,
organized related activities, and that took advantage of newer
browser-based technologies.

4. Requirements
• Sitecore 6.6+
• Visual Studio with Sitecore Rocks plugin installed.

5. SPEAK Applications
Latest Sitecore ships with many dialogs/apps built with SPEAK such as:
• Image field dialogs
• General link field dialogs

6. Speak App – Page Type
With SPEAK we can have 3 types of pages:
-Dashboard page
-List page
-Task page

7. Dashboard pages
• Dashboard pages provide an overview of the information managed by
the application.
• Dashboards will typically provide charts and other summary
information that help the marketing users assess the effectiveness of
their work and locating entities that require attention
• Dashboard pages do not provide controls that allow users to modify
or manipulate entities.
Instead, the dashboard page will allow the user to navigate to a Task
page that provides editing capabilities for a selected entity.

8. List pages
• List pages provide a mechanism for locating entities that the
application manages. List pages typically provide both search and
filtering controls to assist the user in finding the desired entities.
• Unlike dashboard pages, which may display multiple lists, list pages
provide a single list that fills the entire page.
• Like dashboard pages, by convention, list pages do not provide editing
facilities, but rather provide navigation to a task page for a selected
entity.

9. Task pages
• Task pages provide tools that allow business users to manipulate
entities.
• Task pages do not provide navigation to other pages (other than back
to the previously seen dashboard or list page).

10. SPEAK Components
• SPEAK components are view renderings with associated .cshtml &
JavaScript(this is knockout js’s viewmodel) file.
• Sitecore ships with many SPEAK components under “Business
Component Library”.
• Developers are not limited to the components that Sitecore delivers:
they can make their own.

11. SPEAK – Creating an app
• Demo
https://cmsview.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/sitecore-8-for-
beginners-creating-speak-application/

12. Questions?
Tweet me @vsrathore2

13. Resources
• https://doc.sitecore.net/speak
• https://doc.sitecore.net/speak/development/introducing%20speak
• https://sdn.sitecore.net/upload/sitecore7/72/speak_developer's_coo
kbook_sc72-a4.pdf
• https://sdn.sitecore.net/upload/sitecore7/72/speak_component_refe
rence_sc72_a4.pdf
• https://cmsview.wordpress.com/tag/sitecore-speak/