L A R G E A G I L E S H A R E P O I N T E N T E R P R I S E R O L L O U T

Table of Contents

The Case for SharePoint LASER

Challenges How it Works

SharePoint with anAgile Execution

Typical LASER Project

Geocent’s Agile Team Tailored to Your Needs

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Build the Right Solutions/Build Solutions Right05

0904

The Case for SharePoint

Many large organizations have considered using Microsoft SharePoint to provide enterprise content management features to their users and customers. SharePoint provides many great tools out of the box such as document and records management, collaboration, web site management, mobile capabilities, business process and workflow, email archiving, social features, and eDiscovery.

WHEN IMPLEMENTED PROPERLY, THESE FEATURES CAN SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE AND COLLABORATE BOTH IN THE OFFICE AND ON THE GO.

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ChallengesCorrectly designing and then implementing the right set of SharePoint features for your organization can be daunting. Many organizations are stretched thin when it comes to technical staff with the skillsets needed to properly deploy SharePoint. SharePoint's enterprise-class feature set requires careful consideration and planning to properly implement.

The last thing a CIO or IT Director wants is to unveil a new system and have users reject it because of:

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UNREALIZED EXPECTATIONS

FAILURES IN TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION.

SharePoint with an Agile

Execution

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Geocent has found that large SharePoint implementations greatly benefit from an

agile execution approach for the design and rollout of SharePoint features

across the enterprise.

Geocent’s Agile TeamGeocent provides one or several small, focused delivery teams for large-scale

SharePoint deployments. Our agile delivery approach synchronizes team activities, provides program-level visibility and ensures alignment with our customer’s

strategic roadmap, governance and quality standards, and delivery milestones. Our customers benefit by:

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Accelerated delivery of valuable

enterprise features to customer’s

business users

Efficient use of stakeholders’

time by gathering targeted

requirements and delivering

business value in short cycles

Minimized impact of changes/

re-prioritization of enterprise

features by customer

High visibility of project team activities and

progress

Predictable cadence for

planning and delivery

Build the right solutions/Build solutions rightGeocent’s execution uses the Scrum framework and XP practices to minimize disconnects between managers, developers, and business users. Combined, the two practices provide Geocent’s foundation to design and deliver the best solution to meet our customer’s needs from a complex platform like SharePoint. Quality is not a variable, as fully tested functionality is implemented incrementally to take advantage of evolving customer needs. As a result, the customer gains immediate value throughout the project lifecycle. Features are rolled out in a controlled, regular cycle, keeping pace with end-user training and preventing users from being overwhelmed by new functionality. By not overloading the end user, organization-wide adoption of the new system is vastly improved.

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Geocent’s LASER offering provides your business with a structured design and deployment team of SharePoint developers and architects, business analysts, testers, and project managers. Geocent’s LASER team works alongside your business stakeholders to implement an enterprise SharePoint solution that gives organizational departments the specific features they need while also providing enterprise-wide visibility and collaboration across business documents, processes, and people.

Geocent has packaged our agile delivery of SharePoint

to enterprise customers into a structured offering

known as a LASER (Large Agile SharePoint

Enterprise Rollout).

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How it WorksGeocent’s LASER team, led by a scrum master, works with our client to define and organize desired SharePoint features in a ranked list, called a backlog. LASER teams work in two week cycles known as sprints. At the start of each sprint, a team performs detailed planning against a set of highest priority features from the backlog, and commits to delivery goals for the two week period. Daily stand-up meetings, task burndown progress, and frequent design reviews ensure that the team is on track to meet the sprint goals. At the end of each sprint, fully tested solution components are demonstrated to client stakeholders in what’s known as a “sprint review”. During the sprint review, feedback is encouraged - keeping the client stakeholders engaged throughout the project. Some of the best ideas for new or improved features surface during these bi-weekly meetings. Following the sprint review, teams immediately move into sprint planning and commit to a new set of goals for the next two week iteration.

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Week 1

Week 2Sprint ReviewSPRINT

Typical LASER ProjectThe graphic below is an example of what might be accomplished in a typical LASER project.

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SPRINT 1 SPRINT 2 SPRINT nSharePoint Infrastructure Healthcheck / Setup

Detailed requirements gathering and design, with stakeholder participation

First release: base SharePoint deployment and top level site collections

Department specific site deployments

Customized site design and features with HTML5 / CSS3

Integrated systems requirements and design

Second Release: customized SharePoint sites and features

Business Intelligence portal and dashboards

Integration with ERPDepartment specific custom functionality

Project Server

nth release: interactive BI dashboards, integration with ERP and other platforms, advanced SharePoint customizations

Tailored to Your Needs

Your business’s specific SharePoint requirements willdetermine the number of sprints necessary for your LASERengagement. A typical LASER generally requires 3-10 sprintsdepending on customization and other design requirements.The agile methodology employed by the LASER team ensuresthat as the project progresses, our client can shift or alter business requirements without significantly impacting the overall project goals or budget.

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3-10TYPICAL NUMBER OF LASER SPRINTS

Geocent provides technology solutions across a wide variety of functional areas. Our clients include government; primarily defense, homeland security, aerospace and social services; and commercial industries such as oil and gas exploration, marine transportation, and healthcare. Through our experience working with both government and commercial organizations, Geocent has developed the flexibility and expertise to meet a wide range of technological and engineering needs for different clients.

Geocent is a full service information technology consultancy. We provide clients with motivated and trained technology consultants that are experienced in nearly every facet of information technology.

Metairie, LA(Corporate HQ)

New Orleans, LA

Baton Rouge, LA

Stennis, MS

Charleston, SC

Huntsville, AL

Tulsa, OK

About GeocentOFFICE LOCATIONS

Michelle Russo has a 25+ year history in the IT field, with nearly 15 years focused in program/project management, application lifecycle management, and business process optimization. She has successfully led IT programs and projects for Federal/State/Local government as well as private sector industry including finance and healthcare. Ms. Russo is expert at traditional Software Delivery Life Cycle (SDLC) planning and execution, and has specialized experience in delivery using lean/agile frameworks

Ms. Russo holds a current PMP® certification in addition to Microsoftcredentials including MCSD in Application Lifecycle Management (MCSD: ALM),and Microsoft Specialist Certification: Managing Projects with MicrosoftProject 2013. She also holds advanced agile/Scrum credentials: PMI AgileCertified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified ScrumProduct Owner (CSPO), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), and Scaled AgileFramework (SAFe) Program Consultant and trainer (SPC).

She is an active member and frequent presenter for Louisiana’s local PMI Chapters in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and she co-founded Agile New Orleans (Agile NOLA) as a recognized local chapter of the Agile Leadership Network, Agile Alliance, and the Scrum Alliance. Ms Russo served as Co-Chair for the Scrum Alliance Global SCRUM GATHERING® New Orleans 2014.

About the Authors

MichelleRusso

Dale Kirby is a business systems architect with over a decade of experience in the design, implementation, and rollout of major technology initiatives. He has played a principal role in creating complex solutions for businesses in sectors including energy, professional sports, finance and insurance, maritime, education, manufacturing, emergency management and disaster mitigation, and state and local government.

In his role at Geocent, Dale provides customers with strategic and operational guidance to align technical solutions with long-term business priorities.

Dale has broad and extensive experience in the Microsoft solution stack and holds numerous Microsoft technical certifications including two MCSEs (SharePoint and Private Cloud), an MCSA, and multiple MCITPs in technologies ranging from Dynamics CRM, Project Server, SQL Server, and .NET.

About the Authors

DaleKirby

Contact your Geocent sales representative today to schedule a discussion about how a

LASER could benefit your business!

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twitter.com/Geocent

sales@geocent.com

Visit our website at www.geocent.com/whitepapersto view more.