SharePoint has been the platform of choice for many organizations that need an integrated solution for enterprise content management, document management, business-enabling tools such as search, workflows, social networking, and much more. There are numerous out-of-the-box SharePoint tools that can be used to greatly enhance the communication, reporting, and governance required in project management. This presentation provides a live presentation of some advanced tools such as dashboards, alerts, Document Sets, charting, process map visualization, and more on the new SharePoint 2013 platform.

1. Advanced SharePoint Tools
to Enhance Project
Management
Haniel Croitoru, MSc, PMP, PMI-ACP
O CTO B E R 17, 20 13

2. Agenda
• Introduction
• The need for technology in the PM’s life
• SharePoint in a nutshell
• Advanced Examples
Advanced SharePoint Tools to Enhance Project Management
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3. introductions
3

4. Who are you?
• SharePoint users
• Project managers
• Other activities
• SharePoint usage
• For project management
• Something else
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5. Haniel Croitoru
• Senior project manager, scrum master, and business
analyst with over 15 years of experience
• Worked in public and private sector verticals including
healthcare, financial services, utilities, and consulting
Scrum Master,
Project Manager,
SharePoint Evangelist
• Since 2003 focusing on SharePoint, delivering solutions
and contributing as Business Analyst and Trainer
• Masters of Science in Computer Science with a specialty
in Computer-Assisted Orthopedic Surgery from Queen’s
University and a Master’s Certificate in Project
Management from the York Schulich School of Business
• Project Management Professional (PMP) since 2007 and
an Agile Certified Practitioner since 2013
Advanced SharePoint Tools to Enhance Project Management
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6. the need for technology in the PM’s life
6

7. PM’s mostly communicate!
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8. Reality check - Information is
poorly managed
• Document duplication
• Poor access control and audit trails
• Finding information is tedious
• Lack of consistency between project sites
• Poor team collaboration
There exists a need for better management of projectrelated information and communication
Advanced SharePoint Tools to Enhance Project Management
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9. Goal:
provide the right information
to the right person
at the right time
in the right format
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10. yyy
sharepoint in a nutshell
10

11. What is SharePoint
• Web Application platform
• Document and file management
• Collaboration and social networks
• Intranets, extranets, websites
• Enterprise search
• Business intelligence
• System, process integration
• Workflow automation
• Part of Microsoft Office suite – tight integration
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12. What is SharePoint
• Framework for developing business applications
• Building blocks called web parts/apps
• Combine building blocks to meet specific business
needs
• Lots of web parts that allow for Microsoft Office
data to be viewed and manipulated inside
SharePoint
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13. The SharePoint Onion
• SharePoint solutions
can be seen as an
onion
Custom Coding
3rd-Party Solutions
Configurations
• Each additional layer
adds cost and
complexity but offers
more functionality
Advanced SharePoint Tools to Enhance Project Management
Out of
the
box
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14. Project Management sites
• SharePoint is often under-utilized when setting up
team sites
• It is common to find IT departments creating blank
Team Sites or out-of-the-box Document Libraries to
replace network drives
Advanced SharePoint Tools to Enhance Project Management
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15. Advanced SharePoint Tools to Enhance Project Management
8/29/2013
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16. What is SharePoint
• Framework for developing business applications
• Building blocks called web parts/apps
• Combine building blocks to meet specific business
needs
Advanced SharePoint Tools to Enhance Project Management
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17. Project Management sites
• But SharePoint offers so much more for a project
team…
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18. background

19. advanced examples
19

20. What we’ll talk about today
• Metadata & Search
• Microsoft Office integration
• Alerts
• Document Sets
• Communication between web parts
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21. metadata & search

22. Metadata & Search
• Metadata – description of data
• Increases findability (search)
• Increases content organization
• Tags instead of folders
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23. Showcase #1 – Metadata & Search
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24. microsoft office integration

25. Microsoft Office Integration
• Project - tasks
• Outlook – tasks, calendar
• Lync – presence
• Visio - drawings
• Excel – tables, charts, KPI
• Access - databases
• Infopath – forms
• Visual Studio - development
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26. Showcase #2 – MS Project,
Calendar, Excel Services
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27. alerts

28. Alerts
• For document libraries and lists
• Uses a push vs. pull approach
• Subscription is individual but can be managed by
an admin
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29. document sets

30. Document Sets
• Relate and manage documents as a unit
• Move away from folders in favour of metadata
• Automatic metadata tagging
• Customized view (more than just folders)
• Workflows
•
•
•
•
•
Send to Repository
Approvals
Set fields on a Document Set to certain value
Assign contents for approval
Assign tasks for users to work on a document set
• Use a Note Board (social collaboration web part) to
discuss latest changes
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31. Showcase #3 – Document Set
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32. process map

33. Process Map
• Components of a process
• Map (overview)
• Process descriptions
• Document templates
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34. Showcase #4 – Process Map
Initiation
Planning
Execution
Closing
SOW
Business
Requirements
Detailed
Design
Deployment
Plan
Project
Charter
WBS
Architecture
Test Plan
Project Plan
Monitoring & Control
Change
Requests
Status
Reports
Advanced SharePoint Tools to Enhance Project Management
Financial
Reports
Project Health
Reports
Risk Logs
Issue Logs
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35. final thoughts

36. In closing…
• SharePoint is a large, sophisticated, and complex
web application that serves many purposes in an
organization
• With little guidance and training SharePoint out of
the box can greatly improve project
communication and information management
• Don’t be afraid to ask your IT department for
SharePoint
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37. Thank You
haniel@vertexpoint.com
ca.linkedin.com/in/hanielcroitoru
@TheSharePointPM
www.thesharepointpm.com