Mary Ann Lorkowski from Diebold is talking about the implementation of SharePoint, and the role of a SharePoint roadmap.
– Mary Ann has been working with SharePoint technologies for over 6 years. SharePoint has become a full-blown collaboration platform.
– Has also experienced how hard it is to implement, plan, and make SharePoint a success.
– many people talk about “the SharePoint implementation.” What does that mean? (there’s a lot of different parts – where do you start?)
– You need a SharePoint roadmap – a detailed plan or view of how to get where you need to go (short-term and long-term)
– … gives a sense of sequence and timing for the whole project.
– … helps identify the right resources and features for your SharePoint solutions.
– … … (IT can get so excited about the new SharePoint. They forget about the simple instructions and ideas.)
– … ensures the SharePoint solution meets your organization’s needs. Eg., alignment with culture and hierarchy.
– Elements of a SharePoint roadmap:
– … (1) goals and objectives – why did you buy SharePoint? What are you trying to accomplish?
– … (2) the right expertise and resources – eg., trainers, development leaders, executive stakeholders, etc. “People make technology work, not the other way around.”
– … (3) know who really controls what – the branding, the process, the training, custom development … roles and responsibilities.
– … (4) develop a communications plan. Make it relate to the people. Know your audience.
– … (5) governance plan – focused on technical things, eg., information architecture, managed metadata.
– … (6) training and adoption plan – develop a comprehensive training plan, build your own SharePoint user group, communicate regularly.
– … (7) focus on key features – be cautious of introducing some of the SharePoint features, because it can become overwhelming. Don’t make it too complicated. Whet their appetite.
– … (8) measurement and metrics – set your goals and objectives before starting. Then you can show how you have done. Mary Ann recommends surveys on business value and user satisfaction.
– … … “If you are not measuring it, you can’t manage it.”
– … (9) keep moving forward – the roadmap is an evolving plan. Keep going.

Mary Ann provided her view of developing a SharePoint roadmap. For my view on developing a SharePoint roadmap, see my books – either SharePoint Roadmap for Collaboration (2009) or Collaboration Roadmap (2011).