Building a dynamic intranet with SharePoint online – the planning process+ Intranet content Chandima Kulathilake

Chandima Kulathilake – Solution Architect Over 15 years in the IT/SharePoint space in planning,

architecture, deployment and operational models. From Wellington, New Zealand, now based in

Amsterdam & A Coruña, Galicia for this year.

What we will talk about..An Intranet on SharePoint online

Intranet evolutions What is the planning process?

– What are the options? – What can be done?

Content management and ongoing operations– Published content– Dynamic content

Intranet – we all know what it is?An internal website that helps

employees to get work done

Which was…SharePoint online?

What has actually changed?We are told by strategists,

consultants and intranet experts that intranet’s now must be: Work on any device and have a

responsive design Have social tools Be part of a Digital workplace or is

replaced by one?

The Digital Workplace concept It’s another trend that we have to all

be aware of Or is it just what we already have?

From Jane McConnell -

http://www.digital-workplace-trends.com/the-digital-workplace-framework/digital-workplace-a-new-definition/

SharePoint online is a digital workplace

Delve

Yammer

Team Sites

Published Pages

(Intranet)

Let’s look at some stats

Average Years Spent Creating Intranets: 2001–2015. Since 2001, intranet teams have spent an average of

3.2 years (38.3 months) creating their winning designs. Like last year, this year’s winners took less than 1.5

years (17.3 months) to create their designs. – Nielsen Norman Group

Average of 3.2 years

overall

Last year 1.5 years

Common Intranet issues…Access only to some informationUneven ‘ownership’ of content or

why, when, how these are updated.Low user engagement and

ownershipNot able to find/discover information

which is needed by usersOut of date information resulting in

users not using the Intranet

When I grow up I want to be..

 Information is open and freely available to users unless genuine reasons of confidentiality or 

commercial sensitivity are identified for limiting access. 

All users can create, store and share information so that it can be found by other users as quickly as possible, and at any time in the future, therefore taking advantage of the expertise, experience and knowledge gained by past and current users of the 

company

Typical themesEmpower staffDistributed content contributionAccess to communities of

conversationsCapture and build ideasEngage internally and externally

Or simply say.. 

“Our intranet is the gateway to access information, contribute, share 

ideas and interact with each other”

Delve

Yammer

Team Sites

Published Pages

(Intranet)

How do we plan for an Intranet on SharePoint online?Technical team

The Foundation Pilot, review, advise

Business team Requirements, stakeholder engagement Content planning

Your end users They are the key to success…

The Big Picture

SharePoint Infrastructure

SharePoint Features & Functions

Web Publish

Templates &

Widgets

UX

Information Architecture & Visual Design

Custom Brand Layer

Search

UX

Document

Publishing

UX

Calendar, tasks, etc

UX

Operations

Governance

Governance &

Operations

Organisational

Capability

Style & Brand

Management

Style & Content

Guidelines

Training & Support

Framework

Guidelines &

Operational Model

Guidelines &

Operational Model

Business owners education &

supportContent audit planning & support

Content Migration planning &

support

Comms & adoption planning &

support

INTRANETBusiness ownership &

collaboration

Design agency collaboration &

branding

Common branding and visual

elements

Common web

publishing elements

Solution Spec,

Wireframes,

Annotated Sitemap,

Project Plan, …

Simple viewInformation

Architecture

Interaction/Visual

Design

1. Discover

Initial Setup and Build

Working Solution

Weekly Releases

Functional

Testing

Technical

Testing

Deployment and

Operations Plan

Review

Metrics

Ongoing Improvements

Training

Identify Content Owners & Requirements

Training & Operations Planning

Discuss Governance & Operational Process

Content Creation and Migration

Review Content Ownership

2. Implement 3. Test 4. Deploy 5. Adoption

The Foundation for Office365 Intranet is about your users

How will they access it?

SharePoint online (Office365)Pick the right Plan Be aware of the release roadmap

when planning to use featureshttp://roadmap.office.com/

Pick the right option

https://products.office.com/en-us/business/compare-more-office-365-for-business-plans

Release road mapCompared to previous times

releases to SharePoint (online) is rapid 2007 > 2010 > 2013 was predictable

and was a few years between each cycle

With Office365 which includes SharePoint online it’s much more frequent

Intranet = Branding?To brand or not to brand

The challenge

http://www.sharepointnutsandbolts.com/2015/01/custom-master-pages-and-web-templates-in-office-365--thoughts.html

What options do we have?Weigh the cost of custom vs what

can be achieved with what’s provided

Chances are most of the requirements can be met – but will need special attention (configuration and or development)

Go see : “Deep dive into safe SharePoint Server/Online branding using repeatable patterns and practices” @ 3:15pm

Custom Look and FeelBranding – Design Heavy Intranet

Use a Composed Look/theme/alternate CSS file for look and feel

JavaScript injection to add custom page components/controls

Remote provisioning http://dev.office.com/patterns-and-

practices

Simple is better

Using wireframesCheck functionality vs design trade

offs

Two partsContent creationContent consumption

RecapAn Intranet on SharePoint online

What is the planning process?– What are the options? – What can be done?

Content management and ongoing operations– Published content– Dynamic content

Managing contentPublished vs dynamic content

Lead – don’t manage Educate > Monitor > Assist Video is more effective than tutorials

PitfallsMove old content to new structureStart the content plan midway

through your implementation Start early – learn what works what

doesn’t Include the people who create/edit

content from day 0 80% of intranet release delays are due

to content not being ready!

Social ContentYammer – groups and discussionsDelve – insights and connections

This is still an area we are not 100% sure what to do

with.. It’s an evolving concept, don’t try to put

restrictions on users if they want to use these features

SummaryEvaluate requirements•

Identify SharePoint online plan (E2 vs E3)

•Establish Identity integration project > process

•Establish proof of concept tenant or site collection

•Establish a release schedule/show and tell

Identify core requirements•

Create functional wireframes - discuss function over design

•Branding guidelines and requirements/approach

•Setup IA structure (sub sites etc)

•Test content creation within structure

Start content audit and ownership requirements early

(Establish clear rules for dynamic vs periodic content)

•Publishing guidelines

•Update schedules

Thank you for attending!