This post will cover different forms of customization, discuss the need for IT policies that support customization, and then provide a recommendation for how to manage the customization through change control processes. What is considered customization?There are different types of customizations and different ways to apply them. They can include custom styles, MasterPages, Web Parts, [...]

Advantages of Business Process Management or WorkflowThere are countless advantages to using BPM / Workflow, but here is a list of the most immediate advantages: * Reduce Cycle Times * Better Process Visibility * Increased Accountability * Smoother task orchestration and hand offs * Process Standardization * SOX Compliance What processes should be selected?There are [...]

I really like the MyLinks feature in MOSS. Its one of the Personalization features that really comes in handy for me as I sign into different computers around campus giving demos or presentations. A few weeks ago I posted an article about a t-sql query I have for listing out all of the MyLinks stored [...]

This week while discussing some open development projects the conversation turned towards some architectural topics and what the purpose of SharePoint is. I feel confident in saying that SharePoint can be used for so many different things. It got me to thinking though, what if it were treated as an early cloud platform? The more [...]

When planning out the site structure of a new SharePoint system, here are five things I take into consideration. Taking these into account during your planning phase will hopefully reduce the amount of rework needed as your system evolves. Amount of data If you are expecting a large data set, perhaps you are scanning all [...]

MyLinks is an important MOSS feature that is well used in many organizations. Unfortuantely many administrators incorrectly believe that the data is stored in the MySite collections when its actually stored in the Shared Service Provider as part of the user’s shared profile. That is what allows the data to be shared between the different [...]

Defining requirements for a SharePoint related project is a very important exercise. Seemingly small changes to the requirements can mean the difference between one with a low level of effort and one with a lot of customization and coding required. Project sponsors new to the platform may also have misconceptions about what can be done, [...]