Sharepoint Content Management with Workflow

SharePoint is a great repository of information and very capable collaboration platform. The ability to get rid of shared drives and provide access control, check-in and check-out, post messages, etc., makes building a functional intranet a breeze. However, like shared drives, there are no processes that manage the information when you implement SharePoint.  Word of mouth agreements about how a library is to be used is about all you're able to do out of the box.

The "SharePoint Wild Wild West Syndrome

wild wild west A typical installation of SharePoint at major corporations is "self-serve". That is, IT managers create sites for departments or projects and let that entity manage its data as it sees fit.  This is a huge step forward since these knowledge workers can have a baseline of organization and information sharing.  Seldom does anyone think about the process of what information is appropriate to share, who can share it, who can approve it, or what ttributes need to be tracked. Furthermore, what should happen if and when the information is published or changes?

Often ad hoc processes shared by word of mouth come into existence after a few shoot-outs at the OK Coral.  Turf wars, mistakes, miscommunication or lack of communication can lead those using the SharePoint site to make bad (or no) decisions.

The good news is that it doesn't take Secret Service Agents West and Gordon to save the SharePoint installation. With a little forethought and a simple tool, these problems can be solved without a shot being fired. It doesn't take much for a department to sit down and determine what the rules for information creation and modification should be.  For example, John, the technical writer, can submit documents to the library.  Joan and Phil, the product developers, need to review them and approve them for technical accuracy.  Pete, the document controller, needs to review and approve them for grammar, keywords, title, etc. Jane, the product manager, needs to give final approval of the document. When all of this occurs, the document should be published out on a public site that everybody has access to.

Sounds simple, but what is driving it?  What assures that Joan and Phil are the only people who publish, or that Pete really does review the document for grammar?

Workflow Tames the SharePoint Wild Wild West

Using a simple to use workflow tool, your organization can express these rules easily and "publish" those rules to a SharePoint document, forms library, or list. SPS Workflow can assist you in the development of these workflows if they are complex, but in most cases you'll be able to do these on your own with little or no help from your IT department.

What you'll find is that, in a few hours you can solve all of these problems, and provide extensive information about the who, what, when, why, and how of all of the information for the project or department.