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How to build a house

bSOLVe director Simon Hepburn delves into why people seem to be putting the cart before the horse when implementing SharePoint.


Cape Town, 17 May 2012

Time and again while engaging with corporates, I hear: “We're almost done putting in our SharePoint environment and then we'll look at planning how we move forward.” I started to wonder whether I really was missing something, but then logic took a hold of me. I mean really, how do you know what sort of environment you need if you haven't planned what you're actually going to be delivering?

Instead of just dismissing this as the wrong approach, let's try and unpack the logic and process involved; rather than pointing a finger, let's provide valuable insight because it's something we're passionate about at bSOLVe, says Simon Hepburn, director of bSOLVe.

Firstly, many corporates engage a “SharePoint consultant”, which is where the problem starts. According to Wikipedia: “A consultant (from Latin: consultare "to discuss") is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area.” From what I've experienced in our industry of late, even those with the minutest amount of SharePoint experience are being called “SharePoint consultants”, due - in my opinion - to a lack of actual skills in the market and inaccurate definitions of people's actual skills by the industry. This is a definite issue which needs to be addressed.

The result is that many corporates are engaging with someone who may have good SharePoint skills, but in a specific technical area of SharePoint, rather than in SharePoint as an overall business tool. So many talented developers or technical engineers are “consulting” on how SharePoint should be implemented, managed and governed. I liken this to getting a plumber or electrician to build you a house. Sure, they understand you need walls and a roof for your house, but they definitely can't draw up a plan to build your walls and roof and oversee the building thereof!

Let's then stick with our analogy of building a house. We all know that in order to build a house, you need a qualified architect. “An architect is a person trained in the design, planning and oversight of the construction of buildings.” So essentially, to build a house, you need someone who plans what needs to happen and formalises this plan into areas of deliverables for people with specific skills (like the builder and the plumber) to follow, and then they oversee the actual building of the house. Similarly, with SharePoint you need an “architect” who can plan, design and oversee the building of SharePoint. Due to SharePoint's huge capability set and business focus, this role is often facilitated by multiple people, since there are very few people - if any, in my opinion - who understand all aspects of SharePoint from technical to business.

Thirdly, a good architect will build a house which faces in the right direction, lets in the correct amount of light and fits in well with its surroundings. This way, when an interior designer is introduced, you not only end up with a house that is pretty, but also one that is practical for your specific use. Likewise SharePoint adoption is also influenced by the user experience created, which is not just about looks, but practicality as well.

Finally, no architect would allow the building of a foundation without having planned and designed your house, so why do “SharePoint consultants” continue to advise deploying a SharePoint environment before having designed and planned the actual solution? Your house's foundation is based on how many rooms your house will have, whether it's a single- or double-storey, and also the ground it's being built on. Your SharePoint environment should also be planned and built based on what solution you intend to deliver on SharePoint.

At bSOLVe, we use our market-leading, unique SharePoint Enterprise Framework to ensure the right skills are used to design, plan, and build your SharePoint solution. Very importantly, in that order!

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bSOLVe

bSOLVe implements and develops software to help knowledge workers make sense of an increasingly information-rich environment.

bSOLVe was established in 2001 and has successfully grown to become a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and K2 value-added reseller both locally and abroad. Having initially identified a select set of Microsoft technologies within which to specialise, bSOLVe's vision has been to apply these technologies to add tangible value within business context, with exceptional technical acumen and innovation as the enabler. Its core business has evolved in this focused way into its current form of specialisation in on-premise and cloud-based information and knowledge management solutions. More specifically, bSOLVe possess extensive skills and experience in using Microsoft SharePoint, its supporting technologies and K2 as its tools of choice in meeting business goals.

bSOLVe has provided services to over 50 major business clients, including Old Mutual, Paarl Media, brandhouse, MiX Telematics, and many more.

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