“A Day in the Life of SharePoint” Explaining SharePoint to End Users and Management

1. “A Day in the Life of SharePoint”Explaining SharePoint to End Users and Management Scott Shearer SharePoint Evangelist/Developer FlexPoint Technology sshearer@flexpointtech.com

2. Thanks To Our Sponsors!

3. SharePoint User Group • SharePoint • End Users • Administrators • Architects • Developers • IT Pros • Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of the month, Microsoft Malvern, 5:30-8 pm • WEB: www.TriStateSharePoint.org • EMAIL: info@TriStateSharePoint.org • TWITTER: @tristateSP

4. SharePoint Network • Are you an independent consultant or remote worker who deals with SharePoint, Office or Office365? • Do you sometimes feel cut off from the rest of the SharePoint world? • Do you need help with technical or business issues, or just want the chance to socialize with others? If so, then the SharePoint Network might be for you! www.SharePointNetwork.org

5. Who is Scott? • SharePoint consultant for FlexPoint Technology • Done everything from System Administration to C# development to helpdesk • CPA • Former Stock Broker • Past Certifications Held: MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, MCT, CNE • sshearer@flexpointtech.com • http://spconcierge.wordpress.com • @ScottJShearer on Twitter

6. FlexPoint Technology(They paid for me to be here) • IT Consulting firm based in Reston, VA • Cloud Technologies • SharePoint consulting, development, training • US Government and commercial customers

7. Agenda • “A Day in the Life of SharePoint” briefing • How do you answer the question “What is SharePoint?” • SharePoint has very broad feature set, making it hard to explain

8. How the Demo was Developed • I became expert on how to explain and demo SharePoint the “wrong way” • Through trial and error, I finally figured out what worked

9. Scott’s Observation #1 • People don’t care about SharePoint – they care about solutions

10. Scott’s Observation #2 • When attending an IT briefing, a non-technical user wants to know: • “What’s in it for me?”

11. Scott’s Observation #3 • PEOPLE HATE CHANGE AND YOU REPRESENT CHANGE

12. Scott’s Observation #4 • ENTHUSIASTISM IS COMMUNICABLE!

13. “So, what do I do?” • Give your End Users a reason to be interested • Simple, concrete examples of how SharePoint can: • Save time • Reduce hassles • Automate manual processes • Do not use technical terms unless absolutely necessary • Use terminology that they understand • “Action Item Tracker” vs task list

14. Demo what you want them to understand • Don’t try to explain versioning with PowerPoint alone • SLOW DOWN in your demo • SharePoint is new to you audience • Quickly clicking all around the screen serves to confuse rather than inform • Don’t talk about SharePoint Features • Talk about solutions

15. Demo

16. SharePoint Overview Scott Shearer SharePoint Evangelist/Developer/Trainer FlexPoint Technology

17. What is SharePoint? Lets take a look…. (SharePoint Team Site Demo)

18. Team Sites • Used in demo • Used for general office collaboration • Audience for the site is usually an office, team, etc. • Much of the functionality is quick and easy to configure • Common Team Site uses • Document repositories • Discussion Boards • Surveys • Meeting minutes and agendas • Tracking just about anything • Leave scheduling • Conference room scheduling • Process automation

19. Public Facing Sites • “Traditional” web sites • Push information out • Intended to allow people to consume information • Audience for you public facing site is everyone except the people on your team • May require the skills of a graphic designer • Content can be updated by non-technical staff

20. Sample SharePoint “Public Facing” sites • Ferrari • Bank of England • Boy Scouts • Micro Strategies • BA Insight

21. What do you say when someone asks you “What is SharePoint?”