SharePoint is designed to evolve with your business, but using SharePoint to its full potential presents plenty of challenges. In this presentation, Sadalit Van Buren, author of The SharePoint Maturity Model and Senior Software Engineer at Blue Metal Architects, spotlights the top 5 barriers to reaching SharePoint search maturity. Drawing from real survey data, Sadalit explains how to get past challenges to findability and implement best practices and improvements to your SharePoint search.

1. The Top Five Roadbloacks to
SharePoint Search Maturity
(and how to get past them)
Presented at SurfRay’s USA Webcast
20 January 2012
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2. Agenda
• Logistics
• Brief Overview - SharePoint Maturity Model,
and the Search Competency
• Top Five Roadblocks
• Q&A / Contact Information
• Resources
• Photo Credits
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3. Logistics
• If you have questions:
– During the presentation: submit them via chat;
if time allows we will answer them at the end
– After the presentation: contact us via your preferred
channel: email, Twitter, etc.
• If you’re Tweeting:
– @surfray
– #spmaturity
– @sadalit
• The presentation is on SlideShare now
• All attendees will be e-mailed a link the presentation
on Monday Jan 23.
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4. About Me
• Project Manager and Business
Analyst focusing on SharePoint
• Working with SharePoint since
beta 2003 version
• 50+ SharePoint implementations
• Microsoft Certified IT Pro
Senior SharePoint Engineer,
BlueMetal Architects
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5. The SharePoint Maturity Model:
A framework that incorporates both solution and readiness competencies.
Core Advanced Readiness
People &
Publication Infrastructure
Communities
Composites &
Collaboration Staffing & training
Applications
Business Process Integration Customizations
Search Insight
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6. Maturity Level Definitions
SharePoint Level Description
500 The competency is functioning optimally and continuous improvement occurs
Optimizing based on defined and monitored metrics. ROI is demonstrable.
400 The competency is centrally supported, standardized, and implemented across
Predictable the entire organization. Governance is defined and understood / followed.
Maturation
The way the competency is implemented is defined and/or standardized, but
300 not in use across the entire organization. Governance is defined but may not
Defined be widely understood / followed. ROI is considered.
200 The competency is managed by a central group (often IT), but the focus and
Managed definition varies by functional area, or is limited to a single area.
100 The starting point of SharePoint use.
Initial
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7. Search Maturity
The ability to query indexed content and return results that are ranked in order of relevance to
the search query. Areas of focus include scopes, display of results, optimization, integration and
connectors, and performance.
Users understand relationship of tagging to
500 search results. Automated tagging may be used.
High volumes can be handled.
Content types and custom properties are leveraged
400 in Advanced Search. Results customized to specific
needs, may be actionable.
---------- customization may occur ----------
Search results are analyzed. Best bets and metadata
300 properties are leveraged to aid the search experience.
Custom scopes and iFilters employed to aid the search experience
200
100
Out of box functionality for query, results, and scopes; some additional content sources
may be indexed.
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8. Maturity per Years of Use
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9. Maturity per Number of Users
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10. Search – 100-level example
Source: S. Van Buren
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11. Search – 400-level example (query)
Source: Nielsen Norman Intranet Design Annual 2010
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12. Search – 400-level example (query)
Source: SurfRay
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13. Search – 400-level example (results)
Source: S. Van Buren
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14. Search – 400-level example (results)
Source: SurfRay
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15. Top Five Roadbloacks
1. Complacency
2. Lack of Planning
3. Lack of Knowledge / Training
4. Lack of Human Resources
5. Lack of Budget
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16. Roadblock 1: Complacency
SharePoint comes with
Search built-in, so it
should just work (like
Google!)
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17. Roadblock 1: Complacency
The Solution:
• SharePoint Search was set up only for the
properties common to every company:
– File type
– Author / Uploader
– Date
Is this really enough for a good experience at YOUR
company?
• Recognize that the best experience comes from
aligning Search to the needs of your business.
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18. Roadblock 2: Lack of Planning
There is so much else going on with a
SharePoint implementation (and in IT
in general) – we’ll get to Search later.
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19. Roadblock 2: Lack of Planning
The Solution:
• Plan now.
• If your implementation is already well
underway, PLAN NOW.
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20. Roadblock 3: Lack of Knowledge / Training IT Owners
and End
Users both
need to
know how
to make
Search
better.
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21. Roadblock 3: Lack of Knowledge /
Training
The Solution:
- IT Owners:
- Understand what is possible for both Query and Results.
- Encourage IT to ask for help if they are not search experts
- End Users:
- Understand the relationship of tagging / metadata to
Seach results
- Understand content positioning and relevance
A few hours of training for the IT staff and a page of
guidelines for the end users is enough to get you started.
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22. Roadblock 4: Lack of Human Resources
No skills in-house to create solutions
Not enough ongoing bandwith to monitor and adjust results
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23. Roadblock 4: Lack of Human
Resources
The Solution:
• Demonstrate ROI (see next roadblock)
• Third-party vendors / solutions can alleviate
some of the strain on your time
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24. Roadblock 5: Lack of Budget
No budget for:
- Third-party solutions
- Consulting
- In-house developer
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25. Roadblock 5: Lack of Budget
The Solution:
• Don’t dive into the deep end. Find the limits
of your current platform before you invest.
• Start small. Build proofs of concepts and
mockups.
• Demonstrate ROI
– through anedcotes
– using SP’s built-in metrics.
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26. Summary
• Recognize that the best experience comes from aligning
Search to the needs of your business.
• Plan now, regardless of the state of your implementation.
• Understand what’s possible and how to optimize content
specifically for SharePoint.
• Demonstrate ROI
• Find the limits of your current platform before you invest.
• Reach out and ask!
• Simple, right?
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27. Call to Action
• Fill out the SMM self-assessment at
www.sharepointmaturity.com
• Send me your data to help build a data model for
everyone (your name & company name will remain anonymous.)
• Contact us (contact info on next slide)
– With Questions
– With Feedback
– If you’d like help assessing your SP implementation
and learning more about how to get to greater
SharePoint Search Maturity.
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28. Upcoming Events
• Feb 2 – Next Surfray Webcast: Top 3 Reasons You
Should Upgrade to FAST Search for SP
– http://www.surfray.com/resources/events/530-
webcast-usa-top-3-reasons-you-should-upgrade-to-
fast-search-for-sharepoint.html
• Feb 27-29 – SPTechCon San Francisco
– http://www.sptechcon.com/SanFrancisco2012/
– 3 sessions on other aspects of SP Maturity
– SurfRay is sponsoring
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29. Q/A & Contact Details
Sadalit Van Buren
Author of the SharePoint Maturity Model
svanburen@bluemetal.com
http://amatterofdegree.typepad.com/a_
matter_of_degree/
@sadalit / @spmaturity
sadalit
Josh Noble
Author: Pro SharePoint 2010 Search
jno@surfray.com
@SurfRay
JoshNoble
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@surfray

30. Photo Credits
Slide # Title & Author
13 “Chao Ley (Sea Gypsy) on Koh Phi Phi island” by markeveleigh on Flickr –
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markeveleigh/2379710382/
15 “Gridlock - Shanghai, China - 上海 中国” by meckleychina on Flickr –
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meckleychina/926962569/
17 “20090614 - Search (landscape)” by sadalit on Flickr –
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sadalit/3846524272/
19 “curiosando…” by Lilith Ecate on Flickr –
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilith_ecate/3453814414/
21 From the book Film Architecture – from Metropolis to Blade Runner –
posted by boiteaoutils:
http://boiteaoutils.blogspot.com/2010/09/film-architecture-from-
metropolis-to.html
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31. Resources
• SharePoint Maturity resources:
– http://www.sharepointmaturity.com/Lists/Resources/SharePoin
tOnly.aspx
• Resources on SurfRay.com:
– http://www.surfray.com/resources/webcasts.html
• Michal Pisarek on Requirements Gathering for SP Search:
– http://www.surfray.com/resources/webcasts/511-effective-
requirements-gathering-for-search-in-sharepoint-.html
• Matthew McDermott’s 4-part series on building a custom
image search:
– http://www.ableblue.com/blog/archive/2008/08/28/sharepoint
-image-search-part-1.aspx
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32. Thank you!
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@surfray