Chapter.2
16. Chapter 2 SharePoint 2010 Project Mantra
Table 2-1 lists key questions you might need to ask the client.
Table.2-1. Key Questions
Experience.with.SharePoint.2010 Key.Questions.to.Ask
Never Used SharePoint 2010 Have you ever deployed it?
Are there licenses available?
Where is the client located?
What is their size, industry, and revenue?
Currently using SharePoint 2010 Are there issues with the platform?
Do you know the value of the platform?
Are there any specific industry alterations?
Has the organization grown since SharePoint
was implemented?
Used SharePoint 2007, but it’s currently
not in use. Now looking to return to
SharePoint with SharePoint 2010
When was SharePoint 2007 deployed?
Why was it not used?
What is its current state?
During this initial meeting, you will also need to find out whether or not the client has gone
through SharePoint 2010 implementation pain. You must come to understand the client’s
experience of this pain because it influences how the users will view the platform going
forward.
SharePoint 2010 implementation pain occurs when the relevant SharePoint 2010 plan did
not succeed or issues came about seriously disrupting the SharePoint implementation,
causing business disruption, financial loss, bad publicity, or any other consequences the
client did not expect or desire. This pain could be caused by one or more of the following
factors:
•
The budget did not match the scope.

mantra and you can make your first attempt to help the client create their vision of Share-
Point 2010.
Note
Your SharePoint project mantra increases in accordance with the knowledge you have
gained of what the client wants (their vision). Additionally, as the client’s understand-
ing of SharePoint grows in terms of how SharePoint will benefit their organization, the
SharePoint project mantra increases.
The SharePoint project mantra ensures that the team doing the tasks are highly motivated
and want what you want as the project manager: to succeed and to exceed expectations.
Know Your SharePoint 2010 Features
You need to have a grasp of what features are available in SharePoint 2010. This knowledge
will help you focus the user requirements and find solutions to the organization’s informa-
tion and management collaboration challenges.
There is a mass of information available from Microsoft concerning the product scope for
SharePoint 2010 (describing what SharePoint is). There is also a massive amount of support
for the product from Microsoft, including information provided from articles written by
SharePoint 2010 experts in the field.
Chapter 2
18 Chapter 2 SharePoint 2010 Project Mantra
There is a significant amount of information concerning SharePoint online. The best place to
start with anything related to SharePoint is the SharePoint 2010 Home site at http://share-
point.microsoft.com/en-us/Pages/default.aspx.
During the initial phases of your SharePoint 2010 implementation project, you will elicit
information concerning what the user requirements are. These requirements then need
to be mapped to key features so that detailed work concerning the configuration and
deployment of those features can be pursued. The information gathered from the business
analysis with the user base is used to drive the system specification, which is made up of the
relevant features needed.
SharePoint 2010 has significant improvements over SharePoint 2007; however, I want to be
clear—this book is not going to give you a list of these improvements. Neither is it going

•
“Design Once” Development Model
•
Form Import Wizard
•
Integrated Deployment Model for “No-Code” Forms
•
Compatibility Checker
•
Site Manager
•
Mobile Device Support
•
Portal Site Templates
•
SharePoint 2010 Sites and Documents Roll-up Web Parts
•
Colleagues and Memberships Web Parts
•
Integration with Microsoft Office and Applications 2010 and 2007 (Access, Excel,
PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Visio)
•
Supports Tagging Content
•
Enhanced Blog-Authoring Capabilities
•
SharePoint 2010 Offline Abilities Enhanced in SharePoint 2010 Workspace
•
Multicolumn Indexes, More View Control, Queries
•

Usage reporting and logging is vastly improved; it uses a new database, specifically
designed to support usage reporting and logging. This information is extensive,
allowing third-party vendors to create custom reports based on the information it
contains.
•
Disaster recovery features at both the farm and granular backup level.
•
Windows PowerShell. This administrative functionality is truly a massive improvement
over the STSADM toolset and provides much more scope for managing SharePoint
2010.
Content Management Features
Content management features include the following:
•
Business Document Workflow Support
•
Document Management Site Templates
•
Integration with Microsoft Information Rights Management (IRM)
•
Document Information Panel
•
Document Action Bar
Chapter.2
Know Your SharePoint 2010 Features. 21
•
Retention and Auditing Policies
•
Records Repository
•
E-mail Content as Records

Workflow Enhancements.and.learn.more.about.how.you.can.build.rich.workflows.that.can.
accommodate.complex.business.scenarios.
Business.Intelligence.Features
Business intelligence features include the following:
•
Integrated, Flexible Spreadsheet Publishing
•
Ability to Share, Manage, and Control Spreadsheets
Chapter.2
22. Chapter 2 SharePoint 2010 Project Mantra
•
Data Connection Libraries
•
Web-Based Business Intelligence Using Excel Services
•
Business Connectivity Services, which allows SharePoint 2010 to connect to sources of
external data (also included in Office 2010)
•
Business Data Catalog
•
Business Data Web Parts
•
Business Data Actions
•
Integrated Business Intelligence Dashboards
•
Report Center
•
Key Performance Indicators
•

Event Receivers
•
Feature Framework
•
Solution Deployment Model
•
Excel Spreadsheet Developer Reuse and Extensibility
•
Major and Minor Version Tracking
•
Folder-Level and Item-Level Access Controls
•
Rights-Trimmed User Interface
•
Subsite Promotion
•
Consistent User Experience
•
Virtual Server Security Policies
•
Pluggable Authentication
•
LDAP Pluggable Authentication Provider
•
Common Search Technology and Infrastructure
•
Backup/Restore Support for VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service)
•
Large-List and Cross-List Indexing Automatic Breadcrumb Bar
•

collaborative tool, they should review their current project management processes. For
example, do they store their project management guidelines online? Are they accessible to
staff? How do they manage projects centrally? Do they use shared project plans? And so on.
Most companies have a Project Management Office (PMO), which is a team responsible for
project management or an individual whose role is the kingpin project manager. The tools
that these individuals use should be examined.
One of the major features of SharePoint 2010 is the integration of Microsoft Project and
SharePoint 2010. You now get full integration with SharePoint 2010 lists, and the interface is
the same. Also, the team planner is integrated, the data grid is revamped, and much more.
Note
It can be very embarrassing if you demonstrate features of SharePoint 2010 in front of
the client and are unable to provide solutions or voice alternatives when the client has
a query or request. Additionally, it will be acutely embarrassing if you attempt to hype
the features of SharePoint without fully understanding what the client wants, or more
importantly, not educating the client about the benefits and features of SharePoint that
would apply to the client’s organization. Your reviews with the client add to acceptance
and respect of your skills by the client, and helps the client feel comfortable that you
as Project Manager can deliver. Do not be afraid to suggest methods where the current
client’s work processes could improve with the adoption of SharePoint. Also, do not be
afraid to simply state you “do not know” or “SharePoint will not be able to do XYZ”.
Chapter.2
Engage the Right People. 25
Engage.the.Right.People
There are two types of client personnel you need to engage for performing the imple-
mentation of SharePoint 2010: business and technical. These are the key stakeholders and
decision makers. The business client provides the vision. The technical client provides the
infrastructure. They both have requirements. This is the same for nearly all product installa-
tions—they require technical and business input.
Later, you will discover that you need more than one person to implement SharePoint 2010
properly. To assist you, you need someone who deeply understands SharePoint 2010, and

clients will help you understand the nature of their environment and, at the same time, get
a feeling for their requirements.