PPT for "Leveraging SharePoint for Project Management" Workshop held at SharePoint Technology Conference in San Francisco, CA on January 2009

1. Leveraging SharePoint For
Project Management Success
Dux Raymond Sy, PMP
Innovative-e
Hyatt Regency SFO
January 27, 2009
1.30pm – 5.00pm

2. Activity: The Reality of Project Inefficiencies
 On a sheet of paper, identify three challenges in
managing project information
 For example:
 Multiple tools used
 Cannot keep track of document versions
 Cannot define access control
 Swap this sheet of paper with another person
 Edit their challenges
 Add your challenges

3. Class Objectives
 After completing this class, you will be able to leverage the
benefits of utilizing SharePoint as a Project Management
Information System (PMIS)
 In addition, you will be able to
 Build a SharePoint PMIS
 Identify relevant PMIS components
 Customize project stakeholders’ access requirements
 Monitor and analyze project schedule, risks and
milestones
 Generate on-demand project status reports
 Synchronize common project management tools

4. Dux Raymond Sy, PMP
 Managing Partner, Innovative-E, Inc.
 Author, “SharePoint for Project
Management” by O’Reilly Media
 Contract Author & Instructor,
Learning Tree International
 For more information, connect with Dux
 E-Mail: dux.sy@innovative-e.com
 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/meetdux
 Blog: Meetdux.com
 Twitter: @meetdux

5. Agenda
 Why SharePoint?
 Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS
 Adding PMIS Components
 Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS
 Supporting Team Collaboration
 Project Tracking and Reporting
 Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment
 Summary

6. Share
+
Point

7. What’s SharePoint?
 Allows individuals in an organization to easily create and
manage their own collaborative Web sites
 Simplifies how people find and share information across
boundaries, and enabling better informed decisions
 Seamlessly integrates with Windows and MS Office
 Does not refer to a specific product or technology
 Using the word “Microsoft SharePoint” is like using the
word “Microsoft Office”
 Refers to several aspects of Web-based collaborative
solutions
 Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0
 Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007

8. WSS and MOSS
 WSS is the core technology of Microsoft SharePoint
 If SharePoint is a car, WSS can be considered the “engine”
 Provides the core technology that supports document
management and team collaboration
 WSS is available for free as long as your organization is
utilizing Windows Server 2003 or above
 MOSS extends the capabilities of WSS
 Going back to our car analogy, MOSS provides extended
capabilities such as GPS, a DVD system, Voice Commands
 Extended features include Enterprise search,
Personalization, Enterprise Content Management, etc.
 Unlike WSS, MOSS is not available for free

9. What’s a PMIS?
 A standardized set of automated project management
tools available within the organization and integrated into
a system
 Used by the project management team to
 Support the generation and maintenance of project
artifacts
 Facilitate communication and feedback
 Monitor project activities
 Control project changes
 Analyze and forecast project performance
 Contains real-time information essential for initiating,
planning, executing, controlling, and closing a project

10. What’s out there?
 Microsoft SharePoint
 Microsoft Project Server
 Clarity
 Primavera
 Web-based
 Google Team Site
 Basecamp
 Zoho

11. SharePoint as a PMIS
 Individual projects can have a collaborative web site
 Access can be limited to the project team and
appropriate stakeholders
 Project artifacts can be centrally stored and maintained
 Project communications can be streamlined
 Relatively easy to use
 IT intervention is minimal
 Based on familiar tools and
technologies: Web, Windows,
Microsoft Office

12. Agenda
 Why SharePoint?
 Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS
 Adding PMIS Components
 Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS
 Supporting Team Collaboration
 Project Tracking and Reporting
 Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment
 Summary

13. Laying the Foundation
 As soon as the project gets started, a PMIS should be
created
 In SharePoint,
the first step is
to create a site

14. SharePoint Site Hierarchy
 SharePoint sites are organized in a hierarchy
 Top-level site
 Sub-site
Top-level site
Sub-sites
Site Collection

15. Deciding PMIS Hierarchy
 With your organization, choose one of the two high-level
PMIS hierarchy options:
 Single site collection that includes a top-level PMO
site and all project sites are sub-sites
 Multiple site collections where
each project site is an independent
site collection

16. Site Creation
 Two main ways of creating a SharePoint sub-site
 Directly from a top-level site using a Web browser
 From any Microsoft Office application
 Steps to create a sub-site:
1. Go to the Create page
2. Select Sites and Workspaces
3. Specify Site Creation Settings

17. Workshop 1: Creating a SharePoint PMIS
Please refer to the Workshop Manual

18. Refining the PMIS
 Determine if any organizational standards exist for
 PMIS look and feel
 Navigation
 Usability
 Project-specific needs
 Regional settings
 Site usage
 Auditing needs
 Regulatory compliance

19. Agenda
 Why SharePoint?
 Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS
 Adding PMIS Components
 Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS
 Supporting Team Collaboration
 Project Tracking and Reporting
 Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment
 Summary

20. PMIS Should Enable a Project Team to
 Centralize project information
 May include project contacts, calendar, documents,
templates, forms, and checklists
 Maintain history & define access privileges
 Facilitate project communication and collaboration
 Collaborative activities such as scheduling a meeting,
jointly developing a proposal or informally brainstorming
on project strategies should be supported
 Automate project processes
 In SharePoint, information is stored and organized in lists
and libraries

21. SharePoint Lists
 A collection of shared information items
 Most of the information in a SharePoint site is organized
and stored in lists
 Everyone who has access to the site is able to view lists
 Viewing a list is comparable to viewing information in a
spreadsheet

22. Common Lists in a SharePoint PMIS
 Calendar
 Contacts
 Project task
 Issue tracking
 Custom List

23. Components of a List
 Lists are composed of two key sections
1. List toolbar
– New
– Actions
– Settings
– View
2. List item(s)

24. Creating a List
 Two types of lists that can be created
 Out-of-the-box list
 Custom list
 Steps to create a list:
1. Go to the Create page
2. Select the type of list to be created
3. Specify the list settings

25. Workshop 2: Creating and Populating Lists
Please refer to the Workshop Manual

26. Libraries
 Files are stored and organized in libraries
 Similar to storing files in folders
 Provides a centralized location
 Document storage
 Controlled access of documents
 Libraries are advanced lists
 Features and functionalities in lists are mostly applicable
to libraries
 There are four types of libraries
 In a PMIS, you would typically use a document library

27. Creating a Document Library
 Multiple ways to create a document library
 From the browser
 From Microsoft Office
 Steps to create a list:
1. Go to the Create page
2. Select Document Library
3. Specify the list settings

28. Workshop 3: Creating a Document Library
Please refer to the Workshop Manual

29. Agenda
 Why SharePoint?
 Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS
 Adding PMIS Components
 Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS
 Supporting Team Collaboration
 Project Tracking and Reporting
 Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment
 Summary

30. Adapting Communications Requirements
 Time and effort are invested in planning project
communications
 Project communication plan should map to SharePoint
access requirements
 Information needs of stakeholders
 Identify the type of information a stakeholder would need
 What is the frequency?
 Will they retrieve the information or should it be sent to
them?
 Stakeholder influence and interest defines PMIS access
 How much access would a stakeholder have?

31. SharePoint Site Access
 SharePoint sites are intended for a community of users
 It is the responsibility of the site owner to define who the
site members are
 Typically, site membership is defined when the site is being
created
 Site membership also defines what the member can do
 How are site members added?
1. Site members can be manually added by the site owner
2. Site access can be requested by any user

32. Site Permissions
 Two ways to assign permissions
 SharePoint Groups
 Individual user permissions
 Default permission levels in SharePoint include:
 Full Control: has full site control
 Design: can add content and customize pages
 Contribute: can add content
 Read: has read-only access to the site
 Best Practice: vast majority of users will have Contribute
permission

33. Workshop 4: Adding Stakeholders
Please refer to the Workshop Manual

34. Access Level
 Site
 List or Library
 Item Level

35. Agenda
 Why SharePoint?
 Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS
 Adding PMIS Components
 Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS
 Supporting Team Collaboration
 Project Tracking and Reporting
 Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment
 Summary

36. Information Management Challenges
 Real-time
 Developing or working with information among a group at
the same time
 Need instant communication among group members
 Offline
 Collaboration between varying time zones
 Discussion and feedback mechanism is needed
 Remote access
 Making information accessible anytime anywhere

37. Revisiting Lists and Libraries
 Apart from centrally storing documents, lists and document
libraries provide several document management features
 Check-out/check-in
 Version history
 Content approval

38. Workshop 5: Updating a Project Document
Please refer to the Workshop Manual

39. Collaboration Tools
 Wikis
 A Web site in which users can easily edit any page
 In project environments, it provides an easy way to record
lessons learned
 Discussion boards
 Similar to online message boards on the Web
 Like news groups or Web logs
 Provides threaded discussion capability
 Participants can reply to any message in the discussion

40. Example: Clarifying Requirements

41. Integrating Microsoft Office 2007
 Outlook
 Synchronize calendars and contacts
 Display tasks, libraries, discussion boards
 Excel
 Synchronize spreadsheets to SharePoint lists

42. Agenda
 Why SharePoint?
 Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS
 Adding PMIS Components
 Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS
 Supporting Team Collaboration
 Project Tracking and Reporting
 Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment
 Summary

43. Project Tracking
 Making time to gather intelligence about the progress of the
project is a significant priority for the project manager
 What critical elements of a project do you track?
 Schedule
 Risks / Issues
 Changes
 _____________________
 _____________________

44. SharePoint Project Tracking Components
 Project Task List
 Define project tasks, assignments, start date, & due date
 Indicate task status
 Track percentage complete
 Display information in a Gantt chart view
 Issue Tracking List
 Manage issues
 Assign responsibilities
 Specify progress
 Identify solution

45. Workshop 6: Project Tracking
Please refer to the Workshop Manual

46. SharePoint Project Reporting Tools
 Custom Views
 Views that are created to match user or group interest
 For example, we are interested in viewing project
documents that were modified by the sponsor during
project initiation
 Web Parts
 Customizable software components that serves a
particular purpose
 Can be used to create project dashboards

47. Workshop 7: Creating a Project Dashboard
Please refer to the Workshop Manual

48. Agenda
 Why SharePoint?
 Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS
 Adding PMIS Components
 Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS
 Supporting Team Collaboration
 Project Tracking and Reporting
 Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment
 Summary

49. It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult
to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more
dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of
things.
—Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian statesman and philosopher
 The challenge in a major technology rollout is …
 Remember, people can change as
 The change is worthwhile
 It would bring great benefits primarily at a personal level
then at the organizational level

50. Creating and Reusing Templates
 An existing SharePoint PMIS can be saved as a site template
 All the lists, libraries, views, and Web Parts that were used
will be stored
 The content can be optionally stored as well
 The site template can be used as a basis for the creation of
a new PMIS

51. Provide User Support
 Training
 Books
 Web-based videos
 Instructor-led
 Self-service help / FAQ
 Checklists
 Templates
 How-to Guides
 Feedback mechanism
 Gather user ideas, suggestions, comments

52. Agenda
 Why SharePoint?
 Setting Up a SharePoint PMIS
 Adding PMIS Components
 Including Project Stakeholders to the PMIS
 Supporting Team Collaboration
 Project Tracking and Reporting
 Adapting SharePoint to Your Project Environment
 Summary

53. Summary
 You are now able to leverage the benefits of utilizing
SharePoint as a Project Management Information System
(PMIS)
 In addition, you are now able to
 Build a SharePoint PMIS
 Identify relevant PMIS components
 Customize project stakeholders’ access requirements
 Monitor and analyze project schedule, risks and
milestones
 Generate on-demand project status reports
 Synchronize common project management tools

54. Thank You!
Innovative-e
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