SharePoint Addiction

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

The following are the top three powerful features of SharePoint Online:

Create a SharePoint Team Site in Seconds: One can create group connected SharePoint team sites quickly. When one creates a group, Microsoft 365 sets up a modern team site that contains pages, lists, libraries, and team news. This allows for collaboration and communication. To create a team site:

If available based on one’s permissions: click the ‘Create site’ button on the SharePoint home page in Microsoft 365.
Them follow the wizard to set the title, group type (public or private), site classification, preferred language, and member details.

Customize a Site’s Look and Feel: Make the SharePoint site reflect a brand! Customize the site’s appearance by:

Choosing from the default SharePoint themes and modifying them.
Use company-approved branding themes.
Adjust the headers (layout, logo, background) and footers (logo, text, links,etc).

Multiple Top-Level SharePoint Sites: If one has a Microsoft 365 tenant (e.g., Yoursite), your top-level SharePoint site URL would be https://yoursite.sharepoint.com.

The following are three top popular features in SharePoint Online:

Document Management: Capabilities include version history, check-in/check-out, and co-authoring.
Team Collaboration: The platform provides the ability to facilitate team collaboration through shared workspaces, calendars, and task lists.
Customization and Integration: Users can customize their SharePoint sites and integrate them with other Microsoft 365 tools to streamline workflows.

Here are the top three ways to integrate SharePoint Online with Agile practices:

Team Collaboration: One can set up project sites for each Agile team. These sites can include document libraries, task lists, and discussion boards to facilitate collaboration.
Kanban Boards: One can use SharePoint lists to create Kanban boards, allowing teams to visualize and manage workflow. This helps to track progress and identify bottlenecks.

Central Repository: One can store all project-related documents in a central location. SharePoint’s version control makes sure that team members are working on the latest version of a document.
Metadata and Search: One can utilize metadata to tag documents, for search and retrieval of information.

Task Management: Integrate SharePoint with Microsoft Planner in order to manage tasks and sprints. Planner has visual task boards which can be used with Agile principles.
Communication: Utilize Microsoft Teams in conjunction with SharePoint to have real-time communication and collaboration. Teams can be directly linked to SharePoint sites, allowing for the access to documents and project information.

The following are three key features of SharePoint Online that can significantly enhance productivity and collaboration:

Team Sites: SharePoint Online allows one to create team sites quickly. These sites are connected to Office 365 groups, providing a shared inbox, calendar, OneNote notebook, and a document library. Such integration helps teams collaborate by centralizing communication and resources.
Customization and Branding: One can customize the look and feel of needed SharePoint sites to reflect the organization’s brand. This includes adjusting site headers, footers, and themes. Custom site designs and themes can be utilized to standardize the appearance and functionality across multiple sites.
External Sharing: SharePoint Online supports external sharing, and this is important for organizations that need to collaborate with clients, vendors, or partners. This feature allows one to share documents and collaborate with people outside the organization securely.

The following are the top three types of SharePoint Online sites:

With Microsoft 365 Group: Such a site is designed for team collaboration, allowing one to share documents, manage projects, and communicate effectively. This setup is integrated with other Microsoft 365 apps such as MS Teams, Planner, and Outlook.
Without Microsoft 365 Group: Similar to the above but such a setup doesn’t have the integration with other Microsoft 365 apps.

Such sites use a modern format and are used for broadcasting information to a wide audience. They are good for sharing news, reports, and other important information within an organization. Typically such a site is just a one way communication source.

Such sites are the traditional SharePoint sites which include classic web parts, blog pages, and wiki pages. In the future classic sites are likely to be deprecated in favor of modern sites.

The following are three aspects of SharePoint Online that make it a powerful tool for collaboration and productivity:

Cloud-Based Flexibility: SharePoint Online functions in the cloud, providing flexibility and accessibility. This allows access and collaborate on information from anywhere, at any time, as long as one has an internet connection. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft Office 365 tools such as MS Teams, OneDrive, and Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc).
Enhanced Collaboration Tools: SharePoint Online offers robust collaboration features, which include document sharing and co-authoring, team sites, and communication sites. Such tools help teams work together more efficiently by providing a centralized platform for sharing information, managing tasks, and communicating.
Advanced Security Measures: Security is a top priority for SharePoint Online. It includes features such as data protection, compliance tools, customizable security settings, advanced threat protection, and secure sharing capabilities. Such measures ensure that data is safe and that it’s controled who has access to it.

The following are three Agile Release Trains (ARTs) that can be utilized with SharePoint Online:

These ARTs include multiple agile teams (may include 50-125 people) whom work together towards a shared business and technology mission. They plan, commit, develop, and deploy to ensure that the team goals work with cohesiveness.

Lean-Agile ARTs deliver value via continuous improvement and lean principles. It emphasizes reducing waste, optimizing processes, and ensuring that teams adapt to needed changes.

Integrate DevOps practices to enhance the delivery pipeline. This uses continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), to ensure that SharePoint Online projects are delivered efficiently and with a high quality.