| I have been a user, trainer, administrator and consultant of SharePoint since SharePoint Portal Server 2003 so when I started to work with SharePoint Server 2010, I expected a little bit of pain, but hoped for the best, because I have been through this once before only 3 short years ago when MOSS 2007 came onto the scenes. So here I go again along for the ride of the technology upgrade. This is what people in my business thrive on as it keeps us busy. But what about all those business users who don’t thrive on change or look at version upgrades with the kind of excitement that those of us in consulting do. Those of you thinking about or beginning to upgrade to SharePoint 2010 will need to consider what will the business users go through as the sites begin to take on the new features and look of SharePoint 2010. Will the users embrace the change, challenge the decision to upgrade, be frustrated or upset that they have to re-learn the technology, or think this is not a big deal and start using the new features as if they were always there? In all reality all of those scenarios will likely be experienced throughout your organization, and in the short term there will be pain, especially as users adjust to where the edit this page is now located or how do you get to the library settings. The interface is enough different and settings that were once a drop down on the top right of the screen are now on a ribbon or in the top left part of the screen. Changes like that usually lead to frustration and some wanting the “old way” but once the initial pain is past, users will more than likely love the new way of doing things. But what should we do to help users already experienced with SharePoint get past the initial pain of all these changes? I would like to suggest some things you can do to promote a good user experience, adoption and acceptance when moving to SharePoint 2010. 1. Start with a communication plan. Users will want to understand the reasons for the upgrade, the timing, what the benefits are and who will be impacted. Enough people have been negatively impacted by upgrades in the past so they are hesitant that there will be value in taking the time to change in hopes for something better. 2. I recommend 2 phases for jumping into SharePoint 2010 when you have already had SharePoint within your organization. a. First introduce the basics: i. Share with users that there are many things that are the same in SharePoint 2010 and get them comfortable with what they already know. Fortunately there are many things that are the same. Users won’t have to learn new things about many of the list and library features such as check out, version history, or the types of basic lists and libraries. So re-assure the experienced users that much of the basic functionality will remain. ii. Hold some lunch and learns or other short demonstration based meetings to introduce the new visual enhancements and changes. Don’t introduce any new functionality at this time; just acquaint them with the changes that will impact them immediately such as the ribbon and how a drop down on the link bar is now an option on a multi-purpose ribbon. The goal is to make users comfortable without overwhelming them or making them think there is all this new things they have to learn. iii. Look into purchasing or developing some 1-3 page quick-start guides or desk side job aids for users who need a little more security as they learn the new interface.
b. Once users are comfortable with the visual changes of SharePoint 2010: i. Plan to train the site administrators on the new features that the company wants the users to begin to use. At this time implement and encourage the site owners to implement these new features. The short delay in introducing all at once will pay off as users aren’t forced to learn everything at once. ii. The end users that are members to the site at this time should receive some opportunities to hear about and learn the new features being used. This can be done, depending on the level of the users, in different ways. Have some computer based training available, offer some lunch-n-learns, instructor led training, user group meetings over pizza or encourage the site owners to have a kick-off meeting that gives them a chance to share with their team what the new features mean for their site.
3. Other ideas that can be used at any time during a SharePoint upgrade or first time implementation are: a. Identify some site owners that have successfully leveraged the new features and allow them to be role models, mentors and the go to individuals for how SharePoint 2010 is benefiting them. b. Stand up a training site where you can post training opportunities, frequently asked questions, discussion boards, who and where to go to for help, on-line training resources and communications with key dates about how and when SharePoint 2010 will be available.
The key to success is to realize that you don’t have to do it all at once. SharePoint 2010 does have many new and important key features, but users already experienced with SharePoint don’t probably care if you start using all those new features overnight and don’t want to be inconvenienced with change. So just because the features are available, don’t force them on users before they are ready to start caring about them. Once users are comfortable with the new interface, the changes in new features can and will start to bring excitement to users, instead of inconveniences that are being forced on them. There are plenty of new things to learn, in fact I have documented probably 5-10 days of full training if everything is learned, but fortunately not all end users need to learn everything. So at a minimum, identify the priorities and timing of the phases that you anticipate to implement. While I focused on the aspects of what you need to consider directly for the end users, the other component to focus on that directly impacts user adoption but in the background is the governance and information architecture. Poorly designed and un-governed sites are one of the biggest reasons SharePoint use doesn’t grow at the rate you may hope. I will write about those topics in future posts. |