Lists: Used, Abused and UnderappreciatedECM101

Wes Preston – Owner / Principal Consultant

SharePoint Lists

Outline No Code Customization Lists are used as the core of many things

SharePoint but they are rarely used as well as they can be. Learn the top tips and tricks for getting the most of your lists: How to build them smarter, how to display them more clearly, and how to use them in your environment for effectively. Also see how these practices evolve from 2007 to 2010.

Wes Preston Owner / Principal Consultant - TrecStone

Based in Minneapolis, MN

MVP – SharePoint Server MCITP – SharePoint Administrator 2010 MCTS - SharePoint 2010, Configuration MCTS - WSS 3.0 and MOSS Configuration

http://www.idubbs.com/blog Twitter: @idubbs

Lists (and Libraries) Things to take away that you can use NOW It’s all about raising the bar. The baseline

for business-user and end-user knowledge is too low…

If you use SharePoint, these should be core concepts

Other concepts build on these for more robust solutions, dashboards, etc…

Also applies to the ‘Cloud’ SharePoint Online - Office 365

SharePoint 2013 – Same concepts apply + more…

Note: Slides Will be available – don’t worry about

copying everything down.

Training Users don’t know the baseline capabilities

of SharePoint lists and libraries “What’s a view?” “What are properties?”

Too common of an issue Easy to mitigate BPC Survey Results: Less than 40% of

organizations using formal SharePoint training

That’s NOT going to work…

Training: Why The Bottom Line – Users will be more

effective Realize the ROI of the SharePoint

platform that you’ve already implemented/invested in

Enabled users are happy users The more users can do on their own, the

less a SharePoint team needs to do…

Training: Different Audiences Executive:

Understand the capabilities Start to align business needs with solutions

Power Users: Decision matrix – when to use which method How do I do it?

All Users: How to, tutorials, examples Structured and unstructured training On-demand

Training: Starter Topics (These are just ‘list’ starter topics…) 2007 and 2010

Columns, Properties, Metadata Views Alerts

New w/2010 Validation Easier form management Inline editing

Training: Options Have a Training Plan (governance) Partners Train the trainer Online materials, products Handout materials

Home-grown, BrainStorm, etc… User groups, Brown bag sessions, Labs

Internal and regional Newsletters, FAQS, Tips and Tricks…

Use Columns and Views Views provide a cleaner, more effective

user experience Effective views rely on useful columns to

filter and sort on

Columns and Views: Why Default views, especially libraries are just

like file shares – We can do better List by name, date, author

As libraries fill up, they’re just as confusing as file shares to navigate

Out of the box fields can be a step up Modified date vs. Created date Modified by vs. Created by

‘My’ Files and Items Different reasons

Issues or Tasks Lists -> ‘My items’ that were submitted

Issues or Task Lists -> Items assigned to me

Doc Libs -> Items created, owned or last modified

File Naming -> Properties Don’t keep those crazy file naming

conventions “supermonthlyreport_April_2010.xlsx” “Sales_Monthend_2009_09.xlsx”

Titles may not be indexed the way you think they are

Implement properties to replace them If they’re strict, migration can be

scripted

Groups vs. Views Different ways to display the same

information When to use each method is dependent

on the specific scenario, but there are pros and cons that might help shape the decision

Groups vs. Views

Straight up groups…

Groups vs. Views Separate Web Parts

Groups vs. ViewsGroup By Dates Products Departments Can do sub-totals, etc…

Separate Web Parts Status or Category Display different fields

depending on the group Different controls if desired Cleaner look – no goofy

automatic headings Can ‘fake’ headings with

CEWP

Edit the current view Available with List Views on

pages Use on pages to limit the

number of views displayed for the list

Better user experience

Folders Users are comfortable with them Views can be created to ignore folders 2010 allows default values based on rules

Ease some user input

‘My’ Files (and ‘Flat’ folders)

Intake List Email sent to a single person is not

scalable Email sent to a group isn’t measurable Content submitted isn’t standardized

Intake List Can put a link from

anywhere to ‘Add Request’ location

Can still be submitted via email

Can still be notified by email

Tasks can be assigned

Mitigates single person issue

More structured than email Can use Views!!

More options for automation

Metrics are easier to capture

Intake List

Intake List

List Features new in 2010 External Lists Multi-select items Much easier to change the forms

Recap: Best Practices Set users up for success – Train them Use Columns and Views Replace the Email queue with an

Intake/Request list

Recap: Worst Practices Don’t keep obnoxious file naming conventions Don’t create long lists of views if Edit the current

view can be used Don’t use item-level permissions unless needed Don’t display every column in every view Avoid the document library list view or educate

around it

Housekeeping Check slides out on

http://www.idubbs.com/blog Provide session feedback with

comments

SharePoint Saturday – Twin Cities – November 3

Minnesota SharePoint User Group – MNSPUG Live meetings, lots of historical content

available www.sharepointmn.com

Thank you!