Reporting on a SharePoint Project

The following are some aspects that a SharePoint project manager should report on in regard to their project weekly:

• Overview on the status of the SharePoint project

• Amount of money and other resources spent vs. approved budget for the SharePoint project

• Time that was spent vs. scheduled for the SharePoint project

• Results vs. requirements for the SharePoint project

• Project risk and management issues that should be known for the SharePoint project

• Project health and overall standing of the SharePoint project

SharePoint Sponsor

While working in SharePoint, it's important to have a sponsor to help with the following:

• Making sure that the SharePoint project is evangelized as important to the organization

• Helping avoid SharePoint project scope creep

• Providing cross-organizational SharePoint support and resources

• Speeding up core and key SharePoint decisions

6 Aspects for a SharePoint Work Plan

The following are six high-levels aspects to adhere to for any of your SharePoint projects:

1) Preparation - agree on a approved SharePoint project plan

2) Requirements and readiness analysis - agree with customer on SharePoint process based requirements

3) Analysis - review how work is done today with how work can work in the future

4) Improvement design - agree on new improved SharePoint process

5) Rapid implementation - use an Agile process to deploy SharePoint solution

6) Evaluation and decision on the next phase - plan for the next needed SharePoint tasks

7 Items for a Short SharePoint Project Proposal

The following are seven key items that a short SharePoint project proposal should contain: 

1. Background and scope of what will be obtained with SharePoint 

2. Goals and results of the SharePoint project 

3. Staffing in regard of the SharePoint project

4. Work plan of the SharePoint project with high-level tasks

5. Budget and fees of the SharePoint project

6. Other provisions of the SharePoint project

7. Schedule of the SharePoint project

SharePoint Solutioning for a Problem

The following are useful aspects when reviewing how SharePoint can be utilized for a problem: 

Problem/opportunity – What is the problem or opportunity that is trying to be solutioned for in which SharePoint can help?

Value of a solution – What are the benefits of the SharePoint solution?

Goals – What goals can't be achieved because of the problem where SharePoint can help? 

External factors – What external factors, contribute to the problem where SharePoint can help?

Internal factors – What internal factors contribute to the problem where SharePoint can help?

Solutions that have been tried – What aspects have been done to try and fix the problem previously that were SharePoint or non-SharePoint related?

Possible solutions – What new SharePoint solutions seem feasible?

5 Questions Related to SharePoint Problem Solving

The following are some questions to ask end users when SharePoint problem solving:

1. How does the SharePoint problem manifest itself?

2. When or how often does the SharePoint problem occur?

3. What internal or external factors seem to cause the SharePoint problem?

4. What are the consequences of the SharePoint problem?

5. What is the value of a solution to the SharePoint problem?

6 SharePoint Key Architecture Items

The following are six key aspects a SharePoint architect needs to accommodate:

1) Overview of the architecture

2) Storage

3) Deployment methods

4) Design

5) Sizing considerations

6) Performance tuning