You could need a list if…

1. You could need a list if… Sarah HaaseBest Buy

2. My background • History • Technical writing • CMS implementation & support • Knowledge management • Information architecture • Librarian • Code-free… • Current role • Collaboration Manager for BestBuy.com

3. My personal bias Businesses shouldn’t be run via spreadsheets stored on shared drives My job isn’t about giving users what they want.It’s about giving users what they really need. SharePoint markets itself…once you deliver your first couple of wins. Left to their own devices, well-intentioned peoplewill live in information chaos.

4. Agenda • Definitions • Tunnel vision • 80/20 rule • Lists – when, what & how • How to implement • Real-world examples • Best practices

5. Definitions

6. Key features

8. No (or outdated) announcements • No “organized” look & feel • Lack of targeted information • Everyone hunts • Shared Documents alone or with • a myriad of other doc libs • Poor use of landing page

9. The “typical” user site • User complaints • SharePoint doesn’t have any good functionality • SharePoint makes it harder to find things • SharePoint isn’t flexible enough… • No one likes to use SharePoint… • SharePoint isn’t any better than our shared network drives

10. The “typical” user site • Built for the creator • No site design/planning • No content analysis or audience profiling • A personal file share no one “gets” but you • Fails to follow the best practice 80/20 rule

12. What’s the 20% “other”? Search Slide library Wiki Blogs Document libraries RSS feeds KPIs Discussion boards Filtering Surveys Presence

13. The choice... 80/20 zone • Significant investment with large ROI • Moderate investment w/nominal ROI • Easy entry w/accidental ROI

15. Knowing when to bail… • The 80/20 rule isn’t foolproof • Consider your audience’s content needs • Determine whether the ROI warrants you being there

16. How do lists deliver?

18. Finding the right opportunity

19. Storyboarding Phase I • Meet with business owners • Ask about their “vision” for the future • Find out what business need(s) they’re trying to solve • Get details on their current work process • Highlights • Pain points • Bottlenecks • Get a wish list of things they dream about

20. Storyboarding Phase I • Meet with business owners • Demo similar functionality already in production • Connect them with business owners that are up and running • Revisit the wish list and high-level goals

21. Storyboarding Phase II

22. Storyboarding Phase III

23. Prepare for the deluge…

24. Case studies

25. Fraudster queue • Need • Team needs to track known “fraudsters” • Solution • Single SharePoint list • No bells or whistles • Benefits • Time to implement = 2 hours • Filtering enabled • Better searching • Storing information 1x • Easy filtering of 37,000+ items

26. Collaboration dashboard • Need • Collaboration team needed a way to track ongoing projects, store design requirements, and track key work tasks • Solution • Single SharePoint list • Automated priority calculator • Custom workflows • Benefits • Workflows automate boilerplate emails • Projects automatically ranked by relative priority • Full history recorded for all development projects • Cuts 3 hours off the Collaboration management process each week • Total savings = $845/month and $10,140/year

27. Weekly Lockdown • Need • Content teams used multiple versions of a single Excel spreadsheet to submit, track & assign key issues for Sunday turnovers • Solution • Single SharePoint list per team • Data view web part with conditional formatting • Web part filters create automated work queues • Benefits • No more work compiling & sharing multiple spreadsheets • Everyone can add/view issues simultaneously • No more duplicate reporting of identical issues • Cuts a half a day off the weekly lockdown process • Total savings across Dotcom = $11,267/month and $135,200/year

28. Key design elements

29. Outlet Center • Need • Outlet Center team had a manual process for setting up SKUs • Solution • Several SharePoint lists • Automated submission forms for all SKU types • Filtered web parts find rogue SKUs & queue them up for review • Custom workflows send “assignment” emails • Benefits • No more time spent shepherding each SKU through the setup process • SharePoint maintains a historical record of all SKU data • All team members can access data (no more Outlook silos) • SKU setup process shortened from 6 weeks to 2 weeks • Total savings = $5,634/month and $67,600/year

30. Key design elements

31. UAT charting • Need • Project Managers manually built charts and graphs to report daily UAT test results • Solution • SharePoint list template • CEWP and jQuery to incorporate Google Charting API • Hidden list view web parts control additional pie charts • Benefits • No more work formatting Excel spreadsheets and building charts • Automated charts include up-to-the-second test results • PMs freed up to focus on value-add tasks at critical time in project lifecycle • Total savings = $36,000/year

33. Best/worst practices

34. Bad practice #1 • Failing to break the document barrier • Most of SP’s value lies in managing discrete data • What is discrete data? • Document metadata • Structured list content • Anything you can query/sort/view • Folders don’t count

35. Bad practice #2 • Doing all the work but failing to quantify the results • ROI calculation can be easy—even for me • Dollar figures have their own voice • Once built, you have an “automatic” business case • Think of clever ways to store your $$$ data

36. Bad practice #3 • Expecting lists to wash your car, too…. • Remember list limitations • Handling complex relationships • Large numbers of items • Use the right tool for the job

37. Best practice #1 • Follow the 80/20 rule • Content analysis, audience analysis & usability design do make a difference • Know what lists can do and when & how to use them • Know when the ROI warrants your time • Don’t forget to optimize your remaining document libraries

38. Best practice #2 • Make sure you’re using the OOB functionality • List view web parts • Data view web parts • Content Editor Web Part • Key Performance Indicators • SharePoint List Filter

39. Questions • Sarah HaaseCollaboration Manager at Best Buysarah.haase@bestbuy.comhttp://twitter.com/sarahhaase