Getting the best out of SharePoint as a Project Management Platform

1. Getting the best out of SharePoint as a Project Management Platform Colin Gardner Kaboodle Software

2. In this session Foundations Project Management Workflow Collaboration Malcom in the Middle Orchestrated Collaboration What is Orchestrated Collaboration? The attributes of processes suitable for Orchestrated Collaboration What Microsoft gives us to work with Stuff that’s missing Case Study: Santos Integrated Disturbance Planning Project background Solution demonstration Summary and Conclusions A few lessons learnt Questions at the end or as we go

3. Foundations • Project Management • Workflow • Collaboration • Malcom in the Middle

4. Project Management High end and expensive Resource Planning Cost forecasting Project baselining Detailed scheduling Scenario planning Detailed risk management

5. Workflow Workflow in SharePoint Sequential WF Flow chart like Process is clear and simple Few exceptions Highly repeatable Difficult to revert State Machine Define possible states Define conditions that determine the state Define want happens on state transitions Better for more complex processes Easier to revert

6. Collaboration Collaboration in SharePoint Traditional Lists and libraries Versioning and approval Email/alerts Co-authoring Communications Presence awareness VoIP VTC Contacts Social Tagging Information push Chat-centric

7. Malcom in the Middle

8. Orchestrated Collaboration • What is Orchestrated Collaboration? • Processes suitable for Orchestrated Collaboration • The Grand Design • What SharePoint gives us • Stuff that’s missing

9. What is Orchestrated Collaboration? A little bit of project management In the context of a state machine workflow Sprinkled with some collaborative working

10. Orchestrated Collaboration Processes Focused around a work package (project, case, contract…) Has a lifecycle and a timeline I state based with an initial (draft) state an end (completed) state and a standard set of natural states in between (stages, phases, gates, steps…) Has some exceptional states (cancelled, suspended…) Is people centric and collaborative working Is repeatable and repeated on a regular basis Is about tracking and monitoring not driving the process

11. The Grand Design • Root Site: Master List • Collaboration for each WP • Site template for each WP • Traffic lights • Monitoring views Provision/Update Report Status • Team Site • Task/Issue list to determine the in between states and tasks for each • Document library • Other supporting lists such as Risk Log, Links List, Discussions etc.

12. What SharePoint gives us Lists: The work package master list used as a dashboard for monitoring Team Sites: One for each work package and the heart of the collaboration Gantt, Task, Issues, Links, Discussions and Document Libraries Permissioning and access control Integrated search

13. The missing links A provisioning/update engine Workflow Event Receivers Summary View Web Part Need to show master list information at the team site A Timeline View Web Part Need to show timeline and tracking information on the team site homepage A Process Map Web Part Need to visualise (at a glance) where we are in the process on the team site homepage Need to facilitate easy task management from the team site homepage A State Manager Need to calculate the state from the task list (event receivers/workflow) Set traffic lights Call the notification engine Configurable business logic (based in lists on the master list site) A Notification Engine When state changes When task status changes Next in line Message templates

14. Case Study: Santos Integrated Disturbance Planning (IDP) • Project background • Solution demonstration

15. Project Background: IDP IDP is the process by which Santos coordinate and construction and infrastructure development Requires detailed and protracted negotiations with multiple stakeholders (Govt. Environmental, Indigenous, Landholders etc.) Starts off with a desktop survey Moves to field survey Multiple approvals Each IDP is unique but follow a similar pattern 300+ IDP per year Each IDP takes months and sometimes years to complete The potential to miss something is easy Mistakes can cost millions! Old system runs on email, file shares and a spreadsheet (sound familiar?) New system is a classic example of Orchestrated Collaboration run on SharePoint

16. IDP: Demonstration

17. The Dashboard

18. Team Site Summary Info Web Part Timeline Web Part Process Map Web Part

19. Wrap up • Lessons • Questions

20. A few lessons learnt There are a whole class of business processes which are people-centric and sit between somewhere between workflow, project management and collaboration Most big businesses have processes which fall into this Orchestrated Collaboration category The key to success is to make people in charge and just track what they do or the consequences of what they do You have to deal with the needs of multiple users and use cases Pick the right tool for the job If you try and run these processes with Project/Nintex/K2/Primavera will more than likely will fail For collaborative work to be effective there must be a focus and that focus is the work package Put everything in that work package in one place, a team site. Make sure that you provide effective monitoring so that remedial action can be taken when needed. Make it visual with traffic lights, timelines and process maps Implement a strategy to archive obsolete (closed) work packages or else you’ll just keep filling the box Once these systems are in they stay there I have never had a customer who rejects this approach after going live

21. Question and Answer

22. References: Blog Posts and Downloads Web http://www.kaboodlekonnect.com Blog http://www.kaboodlekonnect.com/colin Business Cards I don’t twit!

23. Thanks for listening Remember to submit your feedback so you go in the draw to win prizes at the end of the day

24. Add finally, finally Caitlin Gardner http://www.caitlingardner.com.au When I was Little 1.When I was little 2.Simple 3.Gone 4.Every word 5.Hours 6.Ceasefire 7.Faded colours 8.Before I called you mine Produced by John Hilliard