What does a stakeholder really mean when he or she says “make it not look like SharePoint”? Do your end users have to learn SharePoint terminology to perform their activities? The best developed software does not require a user guide. If SharePoint is getting in the way of your business solution, learn some tips and tricks for customizing SharePoint in this session to improve your users’ experience.

1. “Wait…that’s
SharePoint???”
Getting SharePoint out of the way of your solution

2. About Me
Rob Wilson
@theRobManDotNet
http://www.therobman.net
MCT, MCITP, MCPD
Est. 2004 (SP2003, SP2007,
SP2010, SP2013)

4. “Make it not
look like
SharePoint!”
What does it mean?
• Take it literally?
• “I’m tired of
SharePoint. Give me
something new.”
• “SharePoint and
me?...It’s
complicated…”
• What else?

5. Or Maybe…
Maybe it’s a
usability problem

6. Or is it NOT SharePoint?
Is it SharePoint?

7. SharePoint, or *NOT*
SharePoint?

8. SharePoint, or *NOT*
SharePoint?
it IS SharePoint

9. SharePoint, or *NOT*
SharePoint?

10. SharePoint, or *NOT*
SharePoint?
it IS SharePoint

11. SharePoint, or *NOT*
SharePoint?

12. SharePoint, or *NOT*
SharePoint?
it IS SharePoint
phs.org

13. Brand that sucker
Problem Solved
Right?

14. Or, is it just…?

15. Remeber this?

16. Editor View
Was it
worth it?
Yes, it looks
great! The client
is happy!!
Is it
usable?
Not so much..

17. A little more obvious, right?
Does it
look good?
Yes
Is there
tech
jargon?
Too much…

18. Demo
 New Designer Manager
 Change the Look

19. “I thought you bought a Buick!”
 Embedded video removed
 See video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSAkNP0qs-w

20. The Objective
YourSolution

21. How?
Start by recognizing that
SharePoint is in the way
of your solution

22. Intelligent User Theory
Maybe your users really are capable,
intelligent professionals.
Maybe the software is the problem.

23. “The second mistake that
programmers make when they
design user interfaces is to force
users to understand the internal
workings of their programs.”
From “Why Software Sucks”
By David S. Platt

24. “The most important thing you can
do is to just understand the basic
principle of eliminating the
question marks.”
From “Don’t Make Me Think”
By Steve Krug
Love this!

25. “SharePoint giveth;
the rational
developer taketh
away.”
Noise Reduction
Use custom levels.
What else?

26. Diminishing Nerd Syndrome
Maybe I should consider what is the best
solution rather than what is the quickest
or most convenient for me.
Maybe I can think like a user.
Remember the Golden Rule.

27. Not enough to wear a hat

28. - theRobMan, Just Now
“The trouble with us
developers is that,
although we are good
at wearing multiple
hats, we rarely put on a
stakeholder’s shoes”

29. No manual required
 Minimal instructions on pages if necessary
 If your instructions contain “Go to Site Actions, then All Site
Contents, then…”, you might be a lazy programmer.
 If your end users have to learn SharePoint terminology in order
to effectively use your solution, you might be a lazy
programmer.
 If there is a college course on how to use your program…

30. Sometimes SharePoint Isn’t
the Best Fit
Sometimes, just run

31. At Its Core, SharePoint Is Just
a Platform
Built for flexibility
UI is not its strong suit
Use it as back end

32. Use Third Party Tools
 Anyone have favorites?

33. Use JavaScript
Angular
 http://www.revillweb.com/tutorials/angularjs-in-30-minutes-
angularjs-tutorial/
Bootstrap
 http://www.revillweb.com/tutorials/twitter-bootstrap-tutorial/
 http://www.revillweb.com/tutorials/bootstrap-tutorial/
JS Fiddlle: http://jsfiddle.net/
SPC 2014 Session: http://tinyurl.com/spc2014angular

34. Lose the
jargon

35. Don’t sacrifice simplicity for
flexibility
No one ever said “Make
it not look like an iPhone
app!”

36. Test the Workflow Beginning
To End
 Try every solution as all of the roles
 Try every solution with the permission level that
the user will have
 Do not use the word “workflow” in emails to
your users, but use business terminology

37. Create Views
Add link directly to view
Don’t teach them to use view dropdown

38. Reduce Clicks
 Add your own ribbon buttons
 Remove unused ribbon buttons
 Use javascript to avoid cascading elipses

39. Learn the Client Side APIs
REST / OData Endpoints
JSOM