Involving End Users in SharePoint Migration Planning
SharePoint migrations are much like an iceberg: what you see on the surface is the technical aspect of the effort -- the moving of bits between hardware. But under the surface is where the real work begins – the massive planning effort that really determines how and when your technical migration will take place, and whether the resulting SharePoint environment will, ultimately, be successful.
In my recent article for SharePoint Pro Connections, I outlined a number of suggestions for including your end users in the planning cycle of your SharePoint migration.
You must decide where and when to involve your end users before you begin. This is the most fluid of your strategic considerations as you balance the risks, requirements, and realities of your migration. How you include your end users really just depends on:
- who your users are (are they power users, or do they only consume content from pre-defined sites?),
- what the current environment looks like (not just look and feel, but how is it being used? Is it out-of-the-box or do you use it for more complex business processes?), and
- the overall goals of your migration (just move the content as-is, versus a complete transformation of content, taxonomy, and design?).
Another consideration when planning for end user involvement is to understand the culture of your organization. For enterprise-wide projects, how do you normally involve end users? Do they help drive the process, are they brought in as part of a clearly defined process or IT methodology, or is it completely ad hoc based on role or individual? Some of the areas where end users should be involved include the creation of use cases, creation of your as-is or current state documentation, prioritization of requirements for to-be environment, and the identification and reorganization of metadata and content. Your users know their content – so let them drive activities around file share migrations, taxonomy development, metadata assignment, and signoff of the overall project plan.
No matter how you involve them, remember this truism: end users who participate in the creation of a system are more likely to accept and support that system once deployed. Have a plan, reach out for feedback, and be flexible as you shape your future environment.