Guide Notes in Setting Up the Company Content Management System for Sharepoint: Part 2

In the last article we published, we talked about the first two collaboration questions to consider when teams across the organization start planning and drafting their content structure for Sharepoint.  In this article, we look at the people outside the owner of the files and how the owner collaborates with these people at work.  

In this article, we’ll focus on understanding the partners in the collaborative process and the timelines considered to ensure the system functions and produces the intended outputs on time. 

  1. With who do you regularly collaborate?  

In setting up Sharepoint, one should look at who is involved in the collaborative process next to the owner of the file. While it is easy to say that there will only be one or two people or a group of people to access the file, it is important to clearly indicate this in an organized and easy-to-update manner. Perhaps an excel sheet that talks about the process, identifying who the primary owner is (as mentioned in Part 1 of this series) and also identifying who the collaborators are will be the best first step to take to answer this question.  

 2.  Who receives the final output?  

While it is important to know who the collaborators are in the process, it is equally crucial to identify who will be receiving the final output. This person may not necessarily be part of the collaborators and may sit outside the actual department producing the output. This will be vital when setting up the folder system and sharing rules for approved and final files.  

 3. How often does this process of collaboration take place?  

Another point to clarify in the set-up process is the frequency of such collaborative engagements. This allows the department to put to the top of team sites or Sharepoint’s highlighted areas those functions and storage places which need to be frequently accessed or modified.

At this point, you should already have a clearer view of your processes. Something which might have not been discovered or refreshed in the past few years, or even a decade. Going through this exercise helps not only the IT department or any Managed IT Services in Sydney or anywhere in the country to set-up your sharepoint, but also your own staff who will and should benefit ultimately from adapting this technology.