Wrapping Your Head Around the SharePoint Beast(for the rest of us)SPTechCon Boston 2012

Mark Rackleymark.rackley@summit7systems.com

About Mark Rackley

• Solutions Architect & Developer• 17+ years software architecture and development experience• Blogger, Writer, Speaker• mark.rackley@summit7systems.com • @mrackley• http://sharepointhillbilly.com

Agenda

• Why is understanding SharePoint so hard?• What is SharePoint?• Why SharePoint?• Tips for avoiding SharePoint Pain• The importance of the SharePoint Community

WHY IS UNDERSTANDING SHAREPOINT SO HARD?

Why is understanding so hard?

• Hard to know where to begin– Lots of paths to take

Why is understanding so hard?

• Hard to know where to begin– Lots of paths to take– So much information– Conflicting information– SO MUCH NOISE!

Why is understanding so hard?

• Hard to know where to begin– Lots of paths to take– So much information– Conflicting information– SO MUCH NOISE!– Easy to fall into analysis

paralysis

Why is understanding so hard?

• Lots of concepts to grasp– Governance– Information Architecture– Composites– BI– Collaboration

Why is understanding so hard?

• It’s not a “program”– You don’t install it– It does MANY things– It can do many more– It is a platform

Why is understanding so hard?

• No man/woman is an island in SharePoint– You can’t “do it all” – It’s easy to get it to work…

incorrectly– There’s no “one size fits all”

Why is understanding so hard?

• You have to change the way you work– Stop emailing attachments– Stop emailing!– “Do it yourself”– But follow the rules

Why is understanding so hard?

• Fear of the unknown– “But that’s not the way we

used to do it”– Developers perceived loss

of job security

5 STAGES OF LEARNING SHAREPOINT

5 Stages of Learning SharePoint

• Denial

5 Stages of Learning SharePoint

• Denial• Anger

5 Stages of Learning SharePoint

• Denial• Anger• Bargaining

5 Stages of Learning SharePoint

• Denial• Anger• Bargaining• Depression

5 Stages of Learning SharePoint

• Denial• Anger• Bargaining• Depression• Acceptance

WHAT IS SHAREPOINT?

Pick your analogy…

What IS SharePoint?

• SharePoint is a platform• SharePoint can be many things

– It creates sites on the fly– It stores your data– It allows you to easily manage permissions– It gives you alerts and workflows

What IS SharePoint?

• SharePoint is many things– It Integrates with other systems– It helps you find stuff– It helps you to “do it yourself” “out of the box”

• 80/20 rule

What IS SharePoint?

• What do you want it to be?

What IS SharePoint?

• Read the directions

WHY SHAREPOINT?

Top 10 things SharePoint can do for you10. Give you a great starting point9. Connect to the right people8. Find what you need7. Replace other expensive products

Top 10 things SharePoint can do for you6. Give you insight5. Remind you4. Centralize your data3. Make you more productive

Top 10 things SharePoint can do for you2. Keep you organized1. Make you look like a rock star

SharePoint may not be THE best tool for any one

job, but it does MANY jobs well.

TIPS FOR AVOIDING SHAREPOINT PAIN

SharePoint is a woman…

SharePoint is a woman…Treat Her That Way!

Don’t Expect the Error Messages To Make Sense

Sometimes, Even when you’re right, you’re still wrong

Don’t try and control her, get to know her and do it the way she wants…

Accept her for who she is…

“SharePoint is a Man. You have to beat him into submission” – Lori Gowin

Don’t be so hard on yourself

• There is no easy button– It IS different– It takes time

• SharePoint is MASSIVE– No one understands it all– Befriend the gurus

• Accept that “It Depends”

Learn the correct Terminology

Farm

Feature

Solution Package

Event Receiver

Web Application

Site Definition

CAML

Feature Receiver

Central Administration

Declarative Workflow

Client Object Model Timer Job

List Definition

List InstanceContent DatabaseContent Type

Persisted ObjectSite Column

Site Collection

Elevated Privileges

Theme

Application Page

Safe Control

Scope

ONETPublishing Page

Field Control Team SiteList View

STSADM

Beware the SharePoint “Expert”

• Be skeptical• Ask for references• Learn some basic

interview questions• You get what you pay for

The SharePoint Community

A Word (or two) About Community

To Avoid SharePoint Fail…

You Gotta Drink the Kook-Aid!

• Join the community• Read Blogs• Read Books• Play around in your site• Attend events• Build relationships• DON’T BE AFRAID TO DO SOMETHING!

SharePoint Saturday OzarksSept. 8, 2012

http://www.sharepointsaturday.org/ozarks

Chateau On The LakeBranson, MOhttp://www.chateauonthelake.com/

QUESTIONS?I have an answer, let’s see if they match?