SPSColumbus - A SharePoint Designer’s Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned

A SharePoint Designer’s Lessons Learned
By Marcy Kellar

1 | SharePoint Saturday Columbus 2011

• Lessons Learned from SharePoint Branding Projects
• Stories and Lessons
• No Code
• No Demos


• Project Managers
• Business Decisions Makers
• Architects
• Designers
• Anyone who’s head will roll when things go wrong


• Key Lessons to Guide a Successful
Branding /Visual Design for SharePoint
• Identification of High Risk Projects
• A Copy of Beginning SharePoint
Designer 2010
• Branding Rockstar


Marcy Kellar
SharePoint
• 6 years experience in SharePoint
• Branding, Publishing, Intranets, Public
Facing SharePoint Sites with
Enterprise clients
• Touched over 50 intranets
• Co-Author, “Beginning SharePoint
Designer 2010 (Wrox)

Design
• Professor of User Centered Design at
Art Institute of Indianapolis
• Award Winning Photographer & Fine
Artist


What is Branding?


Branding: the use of advertising,
distinctive design, and other means to
make consumers associate a specific
product with a specific manufacturer


SharePoint Branding

Content Placement, Content
Layout, Interaction Design,
Site Architecture
Basically - Everything Else


SharePoint Branding

11 11 SharePoint Saturday Columbus 20112011
| | SharePoint Saturday Columbus

SharePoint Branding

Master Pages
Page Layouts
Css
Content Styling
HTML Editor Styling


SharePoint Branding /
UI Design Customization
is Challenging


But Not Impossible


1. Unknown Territory (Anything not using a templated design)
2. Undefined Vocabulary
3. Unclear Scope - Innovation vs Inspiration
4. Multiple Designs and / or Variations
5. Undefined Design Reviews and Change Management
6. Unclear Roles & Responsibilities
7. Highly Customized Sites
 Custom Site Definitions
 Highly Customized Site/Lots of Features
8. Team of Independent Contractors
9. Lack of Key Stakeholders (Committee Projects)
10. Poor Requirements (Non-Requirements)


• Unknown Territory (Branding Projects with New Content, Concepts and
Designs)
• Branding SharePoint is challenging
• Learn from the mistakes of others (you are here).
• Identify risk & mitigate.
• Basic PM 101.
• Have a contingency plan “what if things go wrong.”


• Unknown Territory (Branding Projects with New Content, Concepts and
Designs)
• Branding SharePoint is challenging You WILL get sucker punched. 
• Learn from the mistakes of others (you are here).
• Identify risk & mitigate.
• Basic PM 101.
• Have a contingency plan “what if things go wrong.”


Example: Branding Sucker Punches Happen

Experienced with SharePoint Branding

Build
32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
+ 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
40 hours

Test
10 hours for testing & bug fixes
_________________________________
50 hours total



Experienced with SharePoint Branding

Build
32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
+ 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
40 hours

Test
10 hours for testing & bug fixes
+_________________________________
8 hours SharePoint Sucker Punch

50 hours total
58



Experienced with SharePoint Branding Noob

Build Build
32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS 32 Hours to Build Master Page & CSS
+ 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart 8 hours for Jquery & CSS Webpart
40 hours +16 Hours to Ramp Up______________
60 hours

Test
10 hours for testing & bug fixes Test
+_________________________________
8 hours SharePoint Sucker Punch 10 hours for testing & bug fixes
50 hours total _________________________________
58 70 hours total




Build Build
60 hours

Test
+_________________________________
50 hours total + 8 hours Sucker Punch
58 + 12 hours Sucker Punch
+ 6 hours Sucker Punch
_________________________________
70 hours total
86

• Review project plan.
• Discuss activities.
• Create glossary.


Lesson 3: Verify The Problem You Are Solving


• Is branding really going to solve the problem?

• Branding / Styling is the solution when content and functionality are already
defined.

• If not, you are still defining functional and content requirements too.

• Use appropriate process to get requirements

 Review creative process with stakeholders.

 Show examples.


SharePoint – Inspiration Design Analogy

Your result still resembles the original structure


SharePoint – Inspiration Design Example


SharePoint – Innovation Example


Lesson 4: Multiple Designs Require Time to Architect


Multiple Design & Theme Implementation

• How would you architect this?
• # of master pages
 3 designs,
• Inheritance of branding  14 color variations for each one
 2 collaboration
elements  1 publishing
• Minimize “tweaking”  3 page layouts?

impact
• How many master pages?
• Any inheritance?
• What if you find several bugs
just before launch?
• How many files will you update?


31

Lesson 4: Multiple Designs Require Time to Architect
• Split into new master page only when necessary.
• Minimize # of master pages and manage styling variations in page layouts.
• Inheritance is important – base CSS.
• Requires development and deployment strategy.
• Makes changes or troubleshooting much easier.


Lesson 5: Define how iterations, reviews , and approvals are managed.

Infinity Symbol


Lesson 5: Define how iterations, reviews , and approvals are managed.

• Inherent in some methodology (agile).
• Define # of iterations of Wireframes and Mockups before starting project
• Define approval process.
• Put in legal document (SOW).
• Define how changes are managed.

Infinity Symbol


Lesson 6: Define Roles & Responsibilities

Typical SharePoint Project Team
Project Sponsor Project Manager

SharePoint Biz Analyst /
Architect Site Builder



Typical SharePoint Project Team Possible Roles with Custom UX
Project Sponsor Project Manager UX Architect/ Developer(s)
Branding Lead

SharePoint Biz Analyst / UI Designer Front End
Architect Site Builder Developer



• Review together as a team (even if it seems to be common knowledge)
verify with SharePoint Project Team
Typical stakeholder. Added Roles with Custom UX
• Define who owns each task, who does what and when.
Project Sponsor Project Manager UX Architect/ Developer(s)
Branding Lead
• Ensure you have source control if multiple folks in same file (Subversion for
Photoshop).

SharePoint Biz Analyst / UI Designer Front End
Architect Site Builder Developer


Lesson 7: Mitigate Risk for Highly Customized Sites


Lesson 7: Mitigate Risk for Highly Customized Sites

• Custom Site Definitions • Proof of concepts
• Multiple Solutions and • Code reviews
Features • Multiple check points
• Public Facing Sites • Define assumptions
• Define stakeholder
responsibilities


Lesson 8: Understand and Confirm Skills Required


Lesson 8: Understand and Confirm Skills Required

• Discuss process & identify skills required.
• Make sure you learn experience level of team.
 Don’t assume credentials mean branding/UI design experience.
 Look at previous project experience.
 Web designer without SharePoint experience is not the same as one with. Plan for
some ramp up time.

• Determine which skills are required for project success (master pages, page
layouts, CSS, client side scripting, XSL styling).
• Identify any discrepancies early – build time in for learning/mentoring.


UX Strategists /
Designers UX Architects / Developers
Creative Director

Front End Information
Platform / IT
Developers Architects


Lesson 9: Have Single Contact for Visual Design Decisions




Build Build
60 hours

Test
+_________________________________
50 hours total + 8 hours Sucker Punch
58 + 12 hours Sucker Punch
+ 6 hours Sucker Punch
_________________________________
70 hours total
86

Lesson 9: Have Single Contact for Visual Design Decisions

• “Design by committee” doesn’t work without risk to timeline.
• Assign a creative contact.
• Define a role with veto power.
• Beware of IT Sponsor that “dabbles with design”


Lesson 10: Start with Good Requirements



1. Branding meeting with stakeholders.
 Walk through examples.
 Define whether you are creating an inspired design or an innovative design.
 Communicate cost and timeline implications of fully customized site .
2. Review functional requirements.


• Migrations (ghosting).
• Fixed-bid branding projects (without templates).
• Undefined/unclear methodology (agile/hybrid/waterfall).
• Unclear transfer points b/w design & development.
• Locked down dev box.
• Lack of project management.


1. Avoid getting sucker-punched by learning from others mistakes.
2. Share a common vocabulary.
3. Verify the problem you are solving.
4. Multiple designs require time to architect.
5. Define how iterations, reviews , and approvals are managed.
6. Define roles and responsibilities.
7. Mitigate risk for highly customized sites.
8. Understand and confirm skill set of team.
9. Have single contact for visual design decisions.
10. Start with good requirements.


• And always have a project manager or at least an agreed upon
project plan. User Interface/Branding and UX projects often have
tough conversations to reset and manage expectations.
• If you are a solo resource without a project manager, be sure to have
a plan for tough conversations.


My Tools of Choice

Conceptual Site Modeling Content Organization & Planning
 SmartDraw  Jumpchart.org
 Mindjet  PowerPoint

Wireframes / Functional Design Visual Design / Mockups
 Illustrator (make your own UI set)  Photoshop
 Mockflow.com  Illustrator (for lots of text)
 Visio
 Intranet Factory


Thank You
My Blog: The SharePoint Muse
Twitter @marcykellar
Linked in marcykellar


Thanks to Our Sponsors!


SPSColumbus - A SharePoint Designer’s Lessons Learned

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