Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Why SharePoint is Good for the Bottom Line

The following are some key aspects of why SharePoint is good for the bottom line:

Slash product costs - the M365 ecosystem which includes SharePoint, Power Platform, Power Apps, Power BI gives one the needed tools and therefore eliminates unnecessary spending on applications and tools. 

Optimize licenses - M365 which SharePoint is a part of, let's one identify where they can scale back without sacrificing productivity. 

Create & monitor tickets - SharePoint allows several out of the box templates to streamline a ticket management processes effortlessly. 

Trigger workflows from within SharePoint sites - Allows the unleashing of integrated automation via Power Automate.  

Delegate key tasks - SharePoint sites can use powerful list templates to empower a team with streamlined task delegation via simple workflows.

Monday, August 28, 2023

SharePoint - Data loss prevention (DLP)

The following is a SharePoint dictionary word of the day:

Data loss prevention (DLP)

Allows way to monitor and respond to sensitive information within an organization through content analysis. DLP can flag certain messages and alert users when they try to send or post personally identifiable information (PII).

Sunday, August 27, 2023

SharePoint - Data Connection

The following is a SharePoint dictionary word of the day:

Data connection

Link between an application and a data source. Data connections are used to query and submit data. They are utilized with an external data source, such as a database, Web service, SharePoint list, or XML file, etc.

Thursday, August 24, 2023

5 Core Success Measurements for SharePoint

The following are the five-core success measurement for any SharePoint project:

1) On-time delivery - the SharePoint functionality was built and deployed on time.

2) Product quality - the SharePoint functionality has minimum bugs and errors.

3) Customer user/satisfaction - the SharePoint functionality is well received by the end users.

4) Business value - the SharePoint functionality provides high business value and cost savings.

5) Product scope (features and requirements) - the SharePoint aspects deployed are part of an on-going cycle of useful features based on needed requirements.

4 High-Level Planning Process SharePoint Aspects

The following are four high-level aspects to utilize as part of the planning process in SharePoint:

1) Have a detailed discovery process to find out what the end user wants

2) Have a segmentation funnel to give the end user what they want

3) Have the ability to watch traffic to see what is being utilized to allow for a better launch, grow, & scale of the created functionality

4) Have follow-up meeting to discuss any concerns to improve the process being built

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

SharePoint - Custom

The following is a SharePoint dictionary word of the day related to custom:

Custom action

Extension to user interface – such as a command on the ribbon or list item menu.

Custom master page

Used by publishing pages on a publishing site, represented by the token ~masterurl/custom.master.

Customized web page

Web page that is stored within a content database.


Monday, August 21, 2023

SharePoint - Crawl

The following are SharePoint dictionary words of the day related to crawl:

Crawl

The process of traversing a URL to acquire items for a search catalog.

Crawl log

Provides information about the results of crawling a URL. The information includes if the crawl was successful, the content source that the display URL belongs, and the level, message, time, and identifier of any errors that happen.

Crawl queue

A structure that stores the list of items to crawl next.

Crawl rule

Preferences that apply to a specific URL or range of URLs. A crawl rule can be utilized to include or exclude items in a crawl. Additionally, the rule can specify the content access account to use when crawling a URL or range of URLs.

Crawl status

The state of the crawl operation (example In-Progress, Suspended, etc.).

Crawl type

Specifies whether to evaluate all of the users and member groups in the directory service that is crawled, or utilize those users and member groups that were modified after the last crawl.

Crawl URL history

A structure that stores a list of URLs and their properties, such as when a URL was last crawled.

Sunday, August 20, 2023

3 Additional Benefits of SharePoint

Here are three additional benefits of SharePoint:

Scalability. SharePoint can be scaled to meet the needs of any organization regardless of if a small business to a large enterprise.

Security. SharePoint is a secure platform which meets many of the highest security standards.

Support. SharePoint has a large support base so users can have access to the latest features and security updates.

4 Core Aspects of SharePoint

The following are the four core aspects of SharePoint:

Collaboration. SharePoint makes it easy for teams to collaborate on documents, projects, and ideas. Users can share files, create and edit documents together, and track changes. 

Communication. SharePoint help teams communicate and stay organized, such as team sites, chat features and newsfeeds. Communication via site aspects is easy to utilize via a simple graphical user interface.

Document management. SharePoint is a powerful document management system. Users can store, organize, and search for documents easily. 

Customization. SharePoint is customizable. Users can change the look and feel of their sites, add new features, and integrate with other applications. This makes SharePoint a flexible platform that can be adapted to meet the needs of any organization.

Monday, August 14, 2023

4 Ways How to Use CoPilot in SharePoint Online

The following are four ways to use copilot with SharePoint Online:

Use CoPilot to help organize content. CoPilot can help one create hierarchies and use natural language to organize content in a way that makes sense for users.

Encourage users to enter metadata for their sites and content. This will help CoPilot understand content better and generate more accurate suggestions.

Manage multilingual content. If one has multilingual content in a SharePoint site, CoPilot can help translate it into different languages.

Specify authoritative pages. CoPilot can utilize authoritative pages to help generate more accurate suggestions. An authoritative page is a page that is considered to be a definitive source of information on a particular topic.

5 Best Practices for Using SharePoint Online & CoPilot

The following are five best practices for using SharePoint Online & copilot:

Start with a clear goal in mind. Know your goal for the SharePoint site or page. Once known one can better communicate it to CoPilot.

Use natural language. The more natural the language is, the better CoPilot will be able to understand and generate accurate suggestions.

Be specific with prompts. Instead of saying "create a page about my company," say "create a page about my company's mission statement."

Be patient. CoPilot is still being developed and it will make mistakes. 

Provide feedback. The more feedback one provides to CoPilot, the better it will be at understanding one's needs and generating accurate suggestions.


SharePoint - Conversion

The following are SharePoint dictionary words of the day related to conversion:

Conversion item

A document that is converted as part of a conversion job.

Conversion job

The basic unit of work utilized in automation services.

Conversion process

An instance of an automation service.

Conversion queue

A database or storage mechanism that stores a list of conversions that are pending, in progress, or completed.

Friday, August 11, 2023

3 Core Best Practices for SharePoint

The following are three core and key best practices for SharePoint:

  1. Use the SharePoint Online version which is a cloud-based version that is more scalable and easier to manage than the on-premises SharePoint.
  2. Use a SharePoint consultant to help plan your SharePoint environment, implement best practices, and train your end users.
  3. Research and stay up-to-date with the latest SharePoint news and releases, so that one has the latest changes to make the most of SharePoint.

SharePoint - Context

The following are SharePoint dictionary words of the day related to context:

Context site

A site that corresponds to the context of the current request.

 

Context type

A GUID that is used as a classification for an event receiver.

 

Contextual search scope

A system-defined restriction that can optionally be added to a query to restrict the query results to items that are from a specific site or list.


Tuesday, August 8, 2023

6 Best Out of the Box SharePoint Features

The following are the six best out of the box SharePoint features:

Alerts - allow one to set up notifications when changes are made to a document or list.

Checkouts - allow one to check out a document so that no one else can edit it while it's being worked on.

Views - allow one to create custom views of documents and lists in order to help one find the information needed more easily.

Full-text indexing - offers full-text indexing of any Office based documents, allowing one to search for content within documents.

People Search - allows one to find people within the organization.

Indexing outside of SharePoint - ability to index information outside of SharePoint, such as file shares or other application-based content sources.

SharePoint Testing

SharePoint testing is an invaluable way to ensure quality as far as content, taxonomy, navigation, workflows, and the right level of security.

Key and core aspects to define are:

  • the purpose of the testing 
  • who is doing the testing
  • where they are testing
  • what they are testing as far as

  1. relevant sites
  2. pages
  3. links 
  4. application links
  5. documents
  6. permissions
  7. policies and data protection requirements

Testing should include creating, reading, updating and deleting (CRUD) each aspect as desired.

Finally, using a simple SharePoint list to track issues found in testing is helpful and a good use of the technology.

Monday, August 7, 2023

SharePoint - Content Editor Web Part

The following is a SharePoint dictionary word of the day:

Content editor web part

The basic common area in SharePoint where textual content can be entered and edited.


SharePoint - Common Data Service

The following is a SharePoint word of the day:

Common data service

Now called Dataverse. Data service and app platform which lets users store and manage data from multiple sources and integrate that data in business applications using a common data model.


Wednesday, August 2, 2023

6 Best Programming Traits for a Technical SharePoint Architect

The following are six core and key programming traits for a SharePoint architect: 

PowerShell – script automations as well as ad-hoc aspects based on SharePoint logical architecture elements.

JavaScript – script aspect in order to use XML and JavaScript to render dynamic content.

SQL Server – know SQL queries as well as database architecture needed for SharePoint based support.

Web Services – knowledge of web services both from a fundamental and core connection-based standpoint is an important trait for a SharePoint architect.

CSS – knowledge of CSS is an important trait in order to display customized content experiences.

Infrastructure – knowledge of infrastructure is important in order to know what from a technical architecture standpoint is needed.


Tuesday, August 1, 2023

6 Best Traits for a Technical SharePoint Architect

The following are six core and key traits for a technical SharePoint architect:

Excellent communication skills – have good listening skills as well as understanding and explaining key concepts to both managers and technical resources.

Good anticipation and problem-solving skills – be able to anticipate where problems might be and find solutions before the system is changed or deployed to.

Adaptability – be flexible as the requirements may seem clear at first but will change often.

Passion – has the long hours, stress, uncertainty. This is the toll for being an architect.

Creativity – have the ability for creative solutions via subtle and careful listening to meet the clients' needs.

Teamwork – to produce the best, one needs input from many subject matter experts.