Microsoft SharePoint enables important documents and business processes to be stored in a central information hub. It can also be a powerful communication and collaboration tool. However, a SharePoint implementation can also have a disruptive and resource intensive impact on an organization if it is not managed effectively. During times of recession, it is all the more important to find ways to work smarter with less resource.
Follows these tips to maximize the value gained from your SharePoint implementation:
Think of SharePoint as a development platform...not a product
It is a common mistake for people to assume that SharePoint will give them what they want without customization. As a sophisticated software application, SharePoint has many different features and plug-ins which can be confusing. Deployments easily can go wrong if IT teams just turn on additional modules without considering the business case, requirements, and training needed to make them part of an ongoing business process.
The more comprehensive functionality available from SharePoint has to be built by an IT team (or a third party vendor) using SharePoint's .NET development tools. Hence it is more appropriate to view SharePoint as a 'development platform' rather than an 'out of the box' product.
Representatives from various parts of the business will need to work together with the IT team from the very start of the project. The project team needs to clarify the business requirements and all technical and functional needs of the SharePoint implementation before starting the project.
Try these tips:
Use low cost, plug and play discussion forum tools to enable project teams to share and capture ideas as they crop up prior to, and during, a SharePoint implementation. External discussion forum channels can be simple to deploy, secure, low cost and available on a short term license basis.
Utilise company wide surveys to assess what's working and what's not with the existing Intranet and to gather information regarding the tools and resources people would like to see included on the new SharePoint Intranet. Consider using survey tools that can be pushed directly onto employee computer screens so do not get buried in email in boxes. Built in survey reminders can help drive participation which can ensure that all views are represented in the research...including the important but often 'silent majority' who perhaps do not have extreme views or agendas and would ordinarily be less motivated to participate.
Target staff surveys to specific groups of employees, for example, managers and heads of departments. Such individuals can be asked questions such as "what specific business value does / could your department derive from an effective Intranet?", "How might this be quantified?" For example, a sales manager may say it is the number of accurate proposals that sales people are able to produce. This research will provide an important perspective to help you make the SharePoint implementation effective and also help you quantify its value at a later stage.
Start simply and take an iterative approach
Companies that get the SharePoint implementation right, often start simply, with many of the features disabled. Break a SharePoint implementation up into stages and leave the 'bells-and-whistles' until last.
For example:
1. Start by simply replacing the existing Intranet.
2. Add document management
3. Add forms management.
4. Add business process and workflow management
5. Start sharing business intelligence dashboards and enterprise reports
6. And so on.
Keep in mind your short term and long term objectives and work with IT while they download SharePoint. Clarify what is required of SharePoint now, what possible extras might be useful and what may be required in the future.
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One of the keys to the successful implementation a new technology is to drive user adoption and regularly gather feedback to evaluate progress.
* Staff Polls, surveys and discussion forums provide effective ways to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback from staff. Communicating the successive stages of an iterative SharePoint implementation needs to stay interesting for staff, so adopting an engaging and innovative communications campaign is essential.
* Promote your evolving SharePoint implementation through multiple channels and monitor readership to make sure you're hitting the mark
* Short 'news' articles in Staff E-Mags can inform readers of new information and the availability of new tools, as well as allowing readers to click directly through to specific SharePoint pages.
* For project 'wins' that you want to profile with more impact, try using digital signage on screensavers. An image is worth a thousand words. For example, an image of a deck chair on the beach with relevant text and a click through link is a powerful and engaging way to notify staff that leave forms are now available via SharePoint.
* For messages that need high cut through, consider using Desktop Alerts or Scrolling News feeds on staff computer screens
Fill gaps in functionality
By taking what comes bundled in SharePoint, companies can end up compromising on critical functions compared with best-of-breed tools. Light-weight web 2.0 tools such as wikis and blogs appear to be late addition 'throw-ins' with functionality that appears to be considerably less than you might expect.
SharePoint does not provide any 'push communications' channels. The closest it gets is 'e-mail alerts', that are auto generated and can be easily become buried in inboxes, and RSS feeds, that require staff to opt in. Often due to high work loads or a lack of interest, emails have low cut through and staff fail to subscribe to RSS feeds meaning that important updates may never reach them.
Push Communications channels form an important part of an internal communications strategy. This is particularly the case for urgent or important messages that need high cut through.
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Augment SharePoint with other functionality:
* Use plug and play' social media channels specifically built for secure employee communications. Select channels that are low cost, easy to use and require very little IT resource to deploy, customize and implement. Some web 2.0 channels can send automated desktop alerts to moderators which will achieve significantly higher cut through (and faster response) than SharePoint's email alerts.
* Use RSS tools that allows administrators to push out existing RSS feed sources, via an on screen news ticker (or news aggregator), to targeted staff groups. Hence for important RSS feeds you can remove the step within SharePoint requiring users to opt in. • Snap Desktop Alert provides a means to push out urgent or important communications to targeted staff groups. This desktop alert format bypasses email and pushes content directly onto employee's computer screens with configurable persistence and recurrence options and helpful reporting features.
Clarify Governance
It is important to clarify the roles and responsibilities for managing a SharePoint site. For example; what are the respective roles of Corporate Communications and IT? Who should 'own' the site? Who should be empowered to manage the site? A content management strategy should be developed by a team of representatives from key business areas and cover areas such as:
* The metrics for content creation
* Policies regarding when to use, and when not to use, SharePoint
* The balance be between user generated content, and general 'corporate' content
* Who will manage what content? How?
* Levels of moderation for different parts of the site
* How will cross-functional content be managed and monitored?
* How much time should staff spend surfing and posting SharePoint content?
Try these tips
Use hosted discussion forums as a quick and easy way to discuss and evolve the governance of SharePoint.
Manage Content
For a successful SharePoint implementation, good site administration and content management are essential. A site administrator needs to manage content, carry out periodic evaluations and act as a facilitator in sustaining participation. An administrator will also need to decommission parts of the site that are no longer required.
SharePoint has relatively light-weight content management capability, additionally, collaboration tools within SharePoint can add user generated content to the chaos. A proliferation of 'team spaces' can also serve to create too many silos. The search interface of SharePoint is also considered by some to be weak.
Try these tips
Not all content needs to be delivered by SharePoint. This is particularly the case for content that may have a short 'shelf life' due, for example, to it being associated with a specific campaign or project. Prioritize content and think about its 'shelf life' and purpose. Does it really need to be on SharePoint or will it simply add to the chaos?
By eliminating non essential content or content with a short shelf life, the search results from SharePoint are more likely to return useful information.
* Emags are an excellent way to distribute short shelf life content (e.g. news and admin updates). Chose a format that allows users cato submit their own articles
* Desktop Alerts and News Tickers can provide message cut through for urgent business updates.
Provide good training and support
Some internal communicators describe SharePoint as 'clunky and not intuitive'. To ensure you maximize the value derived from SharePoint, it is important to provide adequate training and support to staff. Training for the IT team and administrators can be expensive and time consuming (probably at least a one week 'boot camp'). Selected 'power user' staff will also require 2 to 3 days of training. Even at the departmental level it is useful to get a few people trained in how to use web parts. Once SharePoint becomes available to the wider staff population, they will also need training on how to use the various features that have been enabled on SharePoint. Think twice about launching a site if you can't provide this sort of effort and resource in terms of training and support.
Try these tips
Implement a discussion forum as quick and easy means for people to ask questions in an appropriate online 'helpdesk'. If the format allows it, nominate moderators for each 'helpdesk' and set them up to receive desktop alert notifications when new questions are posted (note that SharePoint content alerts are email based which can have low cut through rates and associated response times). Moderators can answer questions directly or point the person to information sources where an answer can be found. Each specific question should be tagged and searchable, meaning that past questions and answers can be easily located in an evolving repository of knowledge.
Use Staff Quizzes as a means to run a SharePoint education program. Business and product focused quizzes can contain links to the Intranet allowing users to research each question before they answer.
Drive adoption and usage
Employees don't typically seem to like using SharePoint. It's not intuitive and not particularly exciting. SharePoint pages are often dull and boring. There are some options for making pages more exciting, but pages tend to end up looking similar regardless of customization. In addition, due to SharePoint's sheer complexity, an implementation can seem to go on forever and users can start to believe that glitches will never be ironed out.
Effective communication is key to acceptance, adoption and effective usage of SharePoint's features by staff. Changing how people work takes effort. Employees need to be engaged in order for them to use SharePoint effectively.
Try these tips
Liven up the perception of SharePoint by using a range of dynamic ways to promote the site and drive participation:
* Digital sigage on screensavers can raise awareness of new information on SharePoint by turning employee screensavers into dynamic interactive bill boards. An image is worth a thousand words. For example, an image of a graduation cap with some relevant text and a click through link is a powerful and engaging way to notify staff that online, self-paced training programs are now available on the Intranet.
* Staff E-Mags can deliver news updates in a readable and engaging format which include hyperlinks back to SharePoint content (or other information rsources)
* Ensure any electronic communications channels contain click-through hyperlinks links and therefore act as promotional tools to stimulate interest and drive the usage and value of SharePoint. News feeds, desktop alerts, interactive staff quizzes and surveys can be engaging ways to drive traffic to SharePoint content.
Allocate sufficient budget...and watch the hidden costs
Costs can easily expand with a SharePoint implementation so beware of what you are getting into. There are three levels of SharePoint:
1. Basic version of SharePoint which comes free with Windows server, allowing organizations 'try before they buy'
2. Paid version (License fees vary depending on the type and size of an organization)
3. Premium version designed to deliver features such as search.
You may end up paying more than you initially anticipate due to confusion about what features reside within the different SharePoint versions and license fee bands. Additionally you may need to buy SharePoint add-ons which were not previously considered or budgeted for.
Other things that can blow out overall project pricing include:
* Implementation costs
* Customization costs
* Systems integration costs
Try these tips
You can augment SharePoint with inexpensive tools that do not require IT resource for them to be set up and managed. This allows you to try concepts out, test uptake and evolve the approach without the need for 'big project' budget, resource or timeframes.
Sarah Perry is a Director of Snap Communications, http://www.snapcomms.com, a company which provides specialist Internal Communications Solutions.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
SharePoint 2007 New Feature Overview
Sharepoint 2007 is in Beta 2 now and is projected to be released at the beginning of the year
but now is the time to start looking at the new features that SharePoint 2007 and WSS V3.0 will contain.
Below are some of the highlights of the new features that SharePoint 2007 and WSS V3.0 will contain.
Site columns provide a central, reusable model for column definition.
When you create a site column, each list that uses this column has the same
definition, and you do not have to do the tedious work of reproducing the column
in each list. Additionally, site columns provide you with the simplicity of a single
maintenance point. For instance, you can create a status site column, which may contain
multiple choices of an enterprise's specific statuses, and implement the column in
dozens of project master lists across the site collection. If you add a new status,
you can modify the site column instead of having to modify each list that contains
a status column.
Content types are a core concept used throughout the functionality and services
offered in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) and are designed to help
users organize their SharePoint content in a more meaningful way. A content type is a
reusable collection of settings you want to apply to a certain category of content.
Content types enable you to manage the metadata and behaviors of a document or item
type in a centralized, reusable way. For example, consider the following two types
of documents: software specifications and legal contracts. You might want to store
documents of those two types in the same SharePoint document library. However, the
metadata you would want to gather and store about each of these document types
would be quite different. In addition, you would likely want to assign different
workflows and retention policies to the two types of documents. Content types
enable you to store multiple types of content in the same SharePoint library or
list. In the preceding example, you could define two content types, named Specification
and Contract. Each content type would include different columns for gathering and
storing item metadata and would have different workflows and policies. Yet items of both
content types could be stored in the same SharePoint document library.
Recycle bins, or undelete functionality, is another important improvement that has
been added in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3). This functionality is available
in both lists and document libraries. Deleting an item from a list triggers a multilevel series
of events. First, the item is sent to a Web-level recycling bin. From here, the item can be
undeleted by any individual who has been given appropriate rights. When the item is deleted
from this bin, the item is sent to a second recycling bin, controlled by the site administrator.
Among the design features of this bin are timers that allow you to automate the removal of
old documents. For example, an administrator may decide that the vast majority of requests
for item restores happen within the first 90 days. In this scenario, the administrator may
set the timer such that items older than 90 days are permanently deleted.
RSS has become a standard way of aggregating content from the Web. For more information
on RSS in Microsoft Windows Code Name "Longhorn," see the technical article RSS Support in
Longhorn on Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). By integrating RSS feeds for each SharePoint
list, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) provides a push mechanism for forwarding
information to end users.
Folders, one of the popular features from document libraries in Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services (version 2), is now also available in lists. Folders allow further segregation
of content within a single list, adding another level of versatility. One of the interesting
features of folders is the ability to assign metadata to a folder. This creates a rich content
holder that contains child content, while appearing as more than a container. Essentially, this
allows the folder to function as a separate, but fully functional, item type. An example of this
can be seen in Windows SharePoint Services discussion boards. Each top-level discussion is, in fact,
a folder with metadata, containing one to n child objects. By modifying the appearance of the
folder, an end user can visualize the folder as another list item rather than as a container. You
can use this model in custom lists to create a dynamic parent/child list. Many business applications
require rich container objects, for which a parent object has both important data concerning
itself, and one to n children with similar data. Normally, you deal with this challenge by using
lists in which a parent, or master, list selection drives the display of a child, or detail, list.
Because you can now assign metadata to folders in a SharePoint list, you can achieve similar
functionality with a single list.
Consider an Orders list, for example. You could provision a folder as an order, and then assign
metadata to it, such as order number, customer, and shipment method. By doing so, you can make the
folder mimic the master list functionality. You can then fill the folder with order items list items,
each with its own metadata, such as item number, description, and price. Now you have the rich
functionality of a master/detail list within a single list.
List Indexing. Integral to the idea of using Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services as
a platform is the ability to use its storage containers, specifically lists and document libraries,
for application storage. However, a number of limitations restricted the true use of these
containers in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 2). One of the problems was the
inability to handle large lists. As lists began to grow, both in metadata and list items, the
mechanisms built into lists became clunky and inefficient.
A key goal within Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) was to fix these restrictions
and create a rich storage model with performance capable of supporting applications, both external
and those built upon the Windows SharePoint Services platform. One of the key ways that Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services (version 3) solves this issue is to include indexing on columns. By allowing a
column to be indexed, and stored as a simple name/value pair in a separate database, access to specific
items in large lists is significantly improved. These kinds of performance improvements allow SharePoint
lists to become true data stores, capable of supporting external applications as well as simple team
sites.For example, with an Orders list, you could provision a folder as an order and then assign metadata
to it, such as order number, customer, and shipment method. Consider that by indexing the order number
column, access to specific items in the list by an external request becomes significantly cheaper.
Another scenario is an external application with hundreds of thousands of records. Previously, your
Web application could not use a SharePoint list as a storage device. With the inclusion of indexing on
columns, performance increases allow this architecture. By using Windows SharePoint Services storage,
the standard features of the platform, such as views, alerts, and RSS, can now be used as a data store
explorer for internal use in simple team sites.
Cross-List Queries - Another improvement made with the idea of using Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services storage more effectively is cross-list queries. Cross-list queries allow you to
use the SPQuery object to query all the lists within a Web or site collection. Previously, you had to
iterate through the parent objects to obtain a collection of SPList objects, query the list to return
the items, and then build your own collection of list items from the multiple lists. This exercise was
not only tedious and redundant but expensive. Cross-list queries allow you to take advantage of the
efficiencies built into the SPQuery functionality in a number of additional scenarios. Cross-list
queries provide a rich querying capability, similar to SQL queries, within SharePoint. Among the many
possible scenarios this functionality allows is the numerous aggregation scenarios commonly requested
by end users.
List Items. Several improvements in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) are
implemented on the item level rather than on the entire list. The following is a list of several
important new features.
1. Per-Item Security Item-level security is certain to be a popular new feature in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3). List and document libraries now feature the ability to set roles on each item, rather than simply at the lists level. In a developer scenario, if you combine per-item security with other features, such as list events or extensible field types, you could use per-item security to change who has access to an item, based upon an entry in another field. For example, a change to the status of an item could trigger a change in who has the ability to edit the item.
2. Versioning In Windows SharePoint Services (version 2), only document libraries allowed versioning, and then only a major version would be created. This basic functionality did not match the workflow normally associated with documents; namely, the creation and edit process when a document is in draft version, and then the publishing of a document to public status. Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) offers a new, richer versioning model. This model includes both major and minor versions, and versioning within lists as well as document libraries. In addition, major and minor versions can have different security, allowing separate draft and public version workflows. In a developer scenario, versions are associated with a rich event model that allows numerous scenarios, including custom workflows, item validation, and information propagation.
3. Required Checkout In Windows SharePoint Services V2, users could modify documents without checking those documents out from a document library. This allowed multiple users to edit the same document, and left a complicated, poorly understood merge/overwrite scenario. In Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3), document edits are allowed only when the document has been checked out. This forced checkout defines a clear owner model and simplifies merging of changes.
Workflows In Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3), a workflow allows you to attach a
business process to items in SharePoint Products and Technologies. This process can control almost any
aspect of an item in SharePoint Products and Technologies, including the lifecycle of that item. For
example, you could create a simple workflow that routes a document to a series of users for approval.
Workflows can be as simple or complex as your business processes require. You can create workflows that
the user initiates, or workflows that SharePoint Products and Technologies automatically initiate based
on some event, such as when an item is created or changed. In addition, your workflows can interact
directly with the user through workflow forms. Workflow forms enable you to gather information from the
user at each stage of the workflow. You can create your workflow to interact with the user through the
standard SharePoint Products and Technologies browser-based interface, through workflow forms in
Microsoft Office client applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, or even through your
own custom applications. Workflows are available to end users at the list or document library level.
Workflows can also be added to content types. Multiple workflows may be available for an item. In
addition, multiple workflows can run simultaneously on the same item, but only one instance of a specific
workflow type can run on a specific item at any given time. For example, you might have two workflows,
"SpecReview" and "LegalReview," available for a specific content type, "Specification." Although both
workflows can run simultaneously on a specific item of the "Specification" content type, you can't have
two instances of the "LegalReview" workflow running on the same item at the same time.
Events are key to transforming Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services into a true developer platform.
Events enable first and third parties to hook into Windows SharePoint Services behaviors and override
default behaviors. Events fall into two major categories:
1. List events Core events, including changes, additions, and removals of list items and list columns (schema changes)
2. Simple site events Deletion of sites and site collections
Events are either synchronous "before" events, denoted by the "XYZing" name format, or asynchronous “after”
events, denoted by the "ABCed" name format. Event receivers can be registered, through the "Features"
feature, with an Item, a List, a Web, or a Content Type. For example, an event receiver that ensures a
document always has a copyright in the footer can be associated with a central Content Type and pushed
down to all document libraries associated with that type. As they do in Microsoft Windows SharePoint
Services (version 2), developers can override and extend the event handler method. A new sequence number
parameter allows for control of the firing order of multiple events.
Features - Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) contains a new structure called a
"feature." A "feature" is an end-user-oriented container of one or more elements. An element is an atomic
Windows SharePoint Services concept. The "feature" is defined in an XML format, similar to other existing
SharePoint structures. Each “feature” definition is a set of XML files. Many items that were previously
contained within a site definition in Windows SharePoint Services (version 2) are now able to fit as an
element. In Windows SharePoint Services (version 3), a SharePoint site definition is transformed into a
list of "features" plus a layout page and a master page. The goal is that any templated SharePoint site
can be transformed into another templated SharePoint site simply by having the administrator toggle
features on the site and possibly switch the layout page or master page. Upgrading a Windows SharePoint
Services V2 site definition to a Windows SharePoint Services V3 site is a process of breaking the XML
files (such as ONET.XML) into small chunks, componentizing them into arbitrary components, and then
packaging them as a Windows SharePoint Services V3 "feature" and creating a workspace template that uses
those "features."
Jason Fortner is co-founder of Total Productivity Solutions. Total Productivity Solutions is an Atlanta based company that provides custom SharePoint, webpart and .NET development; and solutions to common software development issues are also provided on the site.
Sharepoint sites, Sharepoint webparts and .NET Development
http://www.totalproductivitysolutions.com
but now is the time to start looking at the new features that SharePoint 2007 and WSS V3.0 will contain.
Below are some of the highlights of the new features that SharePoint 2007 and WSS V3.0 will contain.
Site columns provide a central, reusable model for column definition.
When you create a site column, each list that uses this column has the same
definition, and you do not have to do the tedious work of reproducing the column
in each list. Additionally, site columns provide you with the simplicity of a single
maintenance point. For instance, you can create a status site column, which may contain
multiple choices of an enterprise's specific statuses, and implement the column in
dozens of project master lists across the site collection. If you add a new status,
you can modify the site column instead of having to modify each list that contains
a status column.
Content types are a core concept used throughout the functionality and services
offered in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) and are designed to help
users organize their SharePoint content in a more meaningful way. A content type is a
reusable collection of settings you want to apply to a certain category of content.
Content types enable you to manage the metadata and behaviors of a document or item
type in a centralized, reusable way. For example, consider the following two types
of documents: software specifications and legal contracts. You might want to store
documents of those two types in the same SharePoint document library. However, the
metadata you would want to gather and store about each of these document types
would be quite different. In addition, you would likely want to assign different
workflows and retention policies to the two types of documents. Content types
enable you to store multiple types of content in the same SharePoint library or
list. In the preceding example, you could define two content types, named Specification
and Contract. Each content type would include different columns for gathering and
storing item metadata and would have different workflows and policies. Yet items of both
content types could be stored in the same SharePoint document library.
Recycle bins, or undelete functionality, is another important improvement that has
been added in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3). This functionality is available
in both lists and document libraries. Deleting an item from a list triggers a multilevel series
of events. First, the item is sent to a Web-level recycling bin. From here, the item can be
undeleted by any individual who has been given appropriate rights. When the item is deleted
from this bin, the item is sent to a second recycling bin, controlled by the site administrator.
Among the design features of this bin are timers that allow you to automate the removal of
old documents. For example, an administrator may decide that the vast majority of requests
for item restores happen within the first 90 days. In this scenario, the administrator may
set the timer such that items older than 90 days are permanently deleted.
RSS has become a standard way of aggregating content from the Web. For more information
on RSS in Microsoft Windows Code Name "Longhorn," see the technical article RSS Support in
Longhorn on Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). By integrating RSS feeds for each SharePoint
list, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) provides a push mechanism for forwarding
information to end users.
Folders, one of the popular features from document libraries in Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services (version 2), is now also available in lists. Folders allow further segregation
of content within a single list, adding another level of versatility. One of the interesting
features of folders is the ability to assign metadata to a folder. This creates a rich content
holder that contains child content, while appearing as more than a container. Essentially, this
allows the folder to function as a separate, but fully functional, item type. An example of this
can be seen in Windows SharePoint Services discussion boards. Each top-level discussion is, in fact,
a folder with metadata, containing one to n child objects. By modifying the appearance of the
folder, an end user can visualize the folder as another list item rather than as a container. You
can use this model in custom lists to create a dynamic parent/child list. Many business applications
require rich container objects, for which a parent object has both important data concerning
itself, and one to n children with similar data. Normally, you deal with this challenge by using
lists in which a parent, or master, list selection drives the display of a child, or detail, list.
Because you can now assign metadata to folders in a SharePoint list, you can achieve similar
functionality with a single list.
Consider an Orders list, for example. You could provision a folder as an order, and then assign
metadata to it, such as order number, customer, and shipment method. By doing so, you can make the
folder mimic the master list functionality. You can then fill the folder with order items list items,
each with its own metadata, such as item number, description, and price. Now you have the rich
functionality of a master/detail list within a single list.
List Indexing. Integral to the idea of using Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services as
a platform is the ability to use its storage containers, specifically lists and document libraries,
for application storage. However, a number of limitations restricted the true use of these
containers in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 2). One of the problems was the
inability to handle large lists. As lists began to grow, both in metadata and list items, the
mechanisms built into lists became clunky and inefficient.
A key goal within Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) was to fix these restrictions
and create a rich storage model with performance capable of supporting applications, both external
and those built upon the Windows SharePoint Services platform. One of the key ways that Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services (version 3) solves this issue is to include indexing on columns. By allowing a
column to be indexed, and stored as a simple name/value pair in a separate database, access to specific
items in large lists is significantly improved. These kinds of performance improvements allow SharePoint
lists to become true data stores, capable of supporting external applications as well as simple team
sites.For example, with an Orders list, you could provision a folder as an order and then assign metadata
to it, such as order number, customer, and shipment method. Consider that by indexing the order number
column, access to specific items in the list by an external request becomes significantly cheaper.
Another scenario is an external application with hundreds of thousands of records. Previously, your
Web application could not use a SharePoint list as a storage device. With the inclusion of indexing on
columns, performance increases allow this architecture. By using Windows SharePoint Services storage,
the standard features of the platform, such as views, alerts, and RSS, can now be used as a data store
explorer for internal use in simple team sites.
Cross-List Queries - Another improvement made with the idea of using Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services storage more effectively is cross-list queries. Cross-list queries allow you to
use the SPQuery object to query all the lists within a Web or site collection. Previously, you had to
iterate through the parent objects to obtain a collection of SPList objects, query the list to return
the items, and then build your own collection of list items from the multiple lists. This exercise was
not only tedious and redundant but expensive. Cross-list queries allow you to take advantage of the
efficiencies built into the SPQuery functionality in a number of additional scenarios. Cross-list
queries provide a rich querying capability, similar to SQL queries, within SharePoint. Among the many
possible scenarios this functionality allows is the numerous aggregation scenarios commonly requested
by end users.
List Items. Several improvements in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) are
implemented on the item level rather than on the entire list. The following is a list of several
important new features.
1. Per-Item Security Item-level security is certain to be a popular new feature in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3). List and document libraries now feature the ability to set roles on each item, rather than simply at the lists level. In a developer scenario, if you combine per-item security with other features, such as list events or extensible field types, you could use per-item security to change who has access to an item, based upon an entry in another field. For example, a change to the status of an item could trigger a change in who has the ability to edit the item.
2. Versioning In Windows SharePoint Services (version 2), only document libraries allowed versioning, and then only a major version would be created. This basic functionality did not match the workflow normally associated with documents; namely, the creation and edit process when a document is in draft version, and then the publishing of a document to public status. Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) offers a new, richer versioning model. This model includes both major and minor versions, and versioning within lists as well as document libraries. In addition, major and minor versions can have different security, allowing separate draft and public version workflows. In a developer scenario, versions are associated with a rich event model that allows numerous scenarios, including custom workflows, item validation, and information propagation.
3. Required Checkout In Windows SharePoint Services V2, users could modify documents without checking those documents out from a document library. This allowed multiple users to edit the same document, and left a complicated, poorly understood merge/overwrite scenario. In Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3), document edits are allowed only when the document has been checked out. This forced checkout defines a clear owner model and simplifies merging of changes.
Workflows In Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3), a workflow allows you to attach a
business process to items in SharePoint Products and Technologies. This process can control almost any
aspect of an item in SharePoint Products and Technologies, including the lifecycle of that item. For
example, you could create a simple workflow that routes a document to a series of users for approval.
Workflows can be as simple or complex as your business processes require. You can create workflows that
the user initiates, or workflows that SharePoint Products and Technologies automatically initiate based
on some event, such as when an item is created or changed. In addition, your workflows can interact
directly with the user through workflow forms. Workflow forms enable you to gather information from the
user at each stage of the workflow. You can create your workflow to interact with the user through the
standard SharePoint Products and Technologies browser-based interface, through workflow forms in
Microsoft Office client applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, or even through your
own custom applications. Workflows are available to end users at the list or document library level.
Workflows can also be added to content types. Multiple workflows may be available for an item. In
addition, multiple workflows can run simultaneously on the same item, but only one instance of a specific
workflow type can run on a specific item at any given time. For example, you might have two workflows,
"SpecReview" and "LegalReview," available for a specific content type, "Specification." Although both
workflows can run simultaneously on a specific item of the "Specification" content type, you can't have
two instances of the "LegalReview" workflow running on the same item at the same time.
Events are key to transforming Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services into a true developer platform.
Events enable first and third parties to hook into Windows SharePoint Services behaviors and override
default behaviors. Events fall into two major categories:
1. List events Core events, including changes, additions, and removals of list items and list columns (schema changes)
2. Simple site events Deletion of sites and site collections
Events are either synchronous "before" events, denoted by the "XYZing" name format, or asynchronous “after”
events, denoted by the "ABCed" name format. Event receivers can be registered, through the "Features"
feature, with an Item, a List, a Web, or a Content Type. For example, an event receiver that ensures a
document always has a copyright in the footer can be associated with a central Content Type and pushed
down to all document libraries associated with that type. As they do in Microsoft Windows SharePoint
Services (version 2), developers can override and extend the event handler method. A new sequence number
parameter allows for control of the firing order of multiple events.
Features - Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (version 3) contains a new structure called a
"feature." A "feature" is an end-user-oriented container of one or more elements. An element is an atomic
Windows SharePoint Services concept. The "feature" is defined in an XML format, similar to other existing
SharePoint structures. Each “feature” definition is a set of XML files. Many items that were previously
contained within a site definition in Windows SharePoint Services (version 2) are now able to fit as an
element. In Windows SharePoint Services (version 3), a SharePoint site definition is transformed into a
list of "features" plus a layout page and a master page. The goal is that any templated SharePoint site
can be transformed into another templated SharePoint site simply by having the administrator toggle
features on the site and possibly switch the layout page or master page. Upgrading a Windows SharePoint
Services V2 site definition to a Windows SharePoint Services V3 site is a process of breaking the XML
files (such as ONET.XML) into small chunks, componentizing them into arbitrary components, and then
packaging them as a Windows SharePoint Services V3 "feature" and creating a workspace template that uses
those "features."
Jason Fortner is co-founder of Total Productivity Solutions. Total Productivity Solutions is an Atlanta based company that provides custom SharePoint, webpart and .NET development; and solutions to common software development issues are also provided on the site.
Sharepoint sites, Sharepoint webparts and .NET Development
http://www.totalproductivitysolutions.com
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