Carl Mårn Managing partner Ways Sweden AB carl.marn@ways.se +46 70 423 33 37 From file-server to SharePoint swamp How to succeed with document management
Agenda Why Document Management? Why is DM complicated? Best practice Demo
Why document management?
Users normal workday Create documents Edit documents Complete document Publish Archive Select template Edit info. Save Open Edit info. Save Review Approve My Documents G: Outlook Desktop DM Dropbox
They would however rather Create documents Edit documents Complete document Publish Archive Select template Edit info. Save Open Edit info. Save Review Approve DM Intranet Archive
Common problems with documents Fixes Metadata and smart navigation/filtering Only one way to a document Documents are stored in folders in a file structure Powerful search Clear naming directives Clear directives for where documents should be stored Fixes Do not find the document Hard to find - just name and free text Fixes Fixes Increased workload Leads to Cannot find the latest versions Leads to Documents lack content that can not be recovered Leads to Duplicates Leads to Different people save documents in different places with different names Increased costs Leads to People work in different instances Fixes Leads to Leads to Low quality Someone removes content by mistake from a document Fixes Fixes Missing traceability Versioning Centrally stored documents Leads to Central recycle bin Fixes The document cannot be reproduced Leads to Someone mistakenly deletes a document Documents disappear when people leave the organisation Leads to Dependent on individuals
File = Wrong structure structure Wrong, wrong, wrong! my perspective is correct!
Multidimensional structure
Multidimensional structure
Multidimensional structure
Multidimensional structure
Why is DM so complicated?
DM is not about technology First of all, DM is not primarily about technology, it s about understanding the business needs, the information and the processes.
Understand the organization s needs Why change? What will be the effect be? Goal analysis Stakeholder analysis Who does that? Who benefits from it? Who should be able to see or change? Information exchange analysis What will be managed? Integration required? Information analysis The organization s needs User Stories/function list Document types Terms What should you be able to do? How exactly is this done? What does it mean? Processanalysis Templates Metadata How does the user do it?
Example of an information model
Technology SharePoint is great and it has most of the needed functionality But It is difficult to set up There are a lot of different architectural decisions to choose between It is not preconfigured It is therefore very common that most SharePoint implementations still use folders for navigation
We have so much information so we do not know where to start What will be in the intranet and what will be in the Document Manager?
Best practice
Some recommendations Use site collections, not sites Easier to conduct backup and restore Easier to set rules such as site quotas, locks, etc. A site collection can only live in one content database (max 200 GB/content database) More isolated (permissions, features, etc.) User permission A list/library should not have more than 5.000 unique permissions If possible do not break permission on documents Start with internal users and later add external access for customers/partners/etc. Document types If many - create a hierarchical structure Limit the amount of document types per type of site Try to create a logic between primary navigation and document types Some are just for uploading, other are for upload/create Metadata Less is more Define generic metadata Add specific metadata to specific document types Taxonomy/Folksonomy
Some recommendations Create powerful search pages Develop display templates: Present Document types and Metadata in search results page Sortable results Refinements Search result sources (Scopes) Display documents on intranet based on rules Content search web part (cross site collections) Display on intranet = Y/N Approved = Y/N Other metadata filters Site templates Consistent navigation New sites should have the correct information structure Provisioning/feature stapling Language If you are international - try to use English
Some recommendations Functions: Strip functionality - less is more Users as used to use the Windows interface - mimic it! Deployment Start small but think big Start with the governing documents but focus on the records (redovisande document) Do not complicate things with a huge migration Life cycle management How to do with old sites/documents? Archiving/Deletion Get management buy in Training Don t underestimate it!!! Going from a file structure to a document management system is a big change of work behavior which requires change management. Maintenance/post rollout An organization s information structure changes, as well as its DM needs. Optimizing a DM environment is an ongoing project that needs structure and governance.
Demo of Ways Document Manager
Start page for all my workspaces
Inside a workspace
Inside a workspace - filter documents on process
Inside a workspace - filter documents on process and document type
Inside a workspace - create document from template
Inside a workspace - search for documents
Inside a workspace - mark a document and select an action (manage)