1. Planning for MySites and
Social Features in the Enterprise
Charlotte SharePoint User Group
Mike Oryszak
November 17th, 2010

2. • Principal Consultant with Intellinet
• Microsoft SharePoint Server MVP
• Dev and Architect with MS stack since 1996
• Working with SharePoint since 2002
• Raleigh-Durham, NC Area since 1998
About Me

3. • Architecture and Feature Overview
• Planning for Deployment
• Planning for User Profiles
• Approaches to Governance
Session Overview

4. ARCHITECTURE AND FEATURE
OVERVIEW
Planning for MySites and Social Features in the Enterprise

5. • Two sections
– Shared MySite Host
– Personal Site Collection
• Shared Host Includes
– Newsfeed
– User Profile Pages
• Personal Site Collection
– “My Content”
• Can Include Targeted Links
Architecture and Feature Overview

6. • Aggregated List of Events
– Profile Changes
– Anniversaries
– Birthdays
– Blog Posts
– Tagged Items
– Status Messages
• Settings Personalized
– Subscribe to Events
Architecture and Feature Overview
Newsfeed

7. • Bio Info
• Organization Browser
• Extended Profile
• Content Authored
• Note Board
• Colleague List
Architecture and Feature Overview
User Profiles

8. • Personal Site Collection
– User is the Owner
– Personal & Shared Content
– Can Create Sub-Sites
– Great “home base”
Architecture and Feature Overview
My Content Site

9. PLANNING FOR DEPLOYMENT
Planning for MySites and Social Features in the Enterprise

10. • Always Deploy MySite Host
– My Site Host Site needed to support User Profiles
– Set User Permissions to:
• Allow Personalized Features
• Allow Provisioning of My Content site
• Allow Social Features
• Without MySite Host
– Cannot view User Profiles
– Social Features only partially functional
Recommendation: Deploy MySite Host and set appropriate
permissions.
Planning for Deployment
MySite Host Configuration

11. • Decide Where to Configure MySite Host
• Dedicated Web Application
– Segment Personal from Intranet and Collaboration Sites
• Provides better scalability
• Dedicated Content Database(s), can be restored separately
• Apply different Policies
• Within Existing Web Application
– Very small number of users (under 25 users)
– User Profiles only, limited or no My Content sites
– With Custom Auth to prevent additional Auth request
Recommendation: Plan ahead and separate unless requirements
dictate it is on the Shared Web App.
Planning for Deployment
MySite Host Location

12. • Calculate Potential Site Collection and storage numbers
– # Users = # of Potential Site Collections
– # Users * Quota = Potential Space Requirements
• Consider Impact on Servers and Database
– Allocate multiple Content Databases
Planning for Deployment
MySite Capacity Planning

13. • My Content Sites - Minimize Customizations
– Maintaining customizations difficult across n site collections
– Use Feature Stapling if needed, avoid Custom Site Defs
• User Profiles
– Easier to customize since shared by all users
• Limitations
– Turning some features off can be difficult (ex. User Status)
– Privacy Policies Pre-Set
Planning for Deployment
MySite Customization

14. • Share Services Between Farms
– Can centralize User Profiles in Multi-Farm Global Deployment
– Can specify multiple MySite Host Locations with targeting
• Segment User Profiles
– Can provision additional User Profile Service Applications
• Internal versus External users
• Segment by organizational boundaries
Planning for Deployment - Advanced
Multiple Farms or Groups of Users

15. PLANNING FOR USER PROFILES
Planning for MySites and Social Features in the Enterprise

16. • Attributes
– @60 Out of the box attributes
– Can define custom attributes for your organization
– Makes finding people easier
– Highly Configurable
• User Editable
• Show on Profile
• Show on Edit Form
• Show in Newsfeed
• Privacy Policy
Recommendation: Define attributes that describe and support your
organization and processes.
Planning for User Profiles
Custom Attributes

17. • Privacy Controls
– Defines who can see what;
– Default Global Policies
– User Override
– Standard Levels (not customizable)
• Only Me
• My Manager
• My Team
• My Colleagues
• Everyone
Recommendation: Be mindful of sensitive data (pay grades) but as
open and transparent as possible.
Planning for User Profiles
Privacy Policies

18. • Leverage Existing Systems
– Create a comprehensive profile with attributes from each system
– Continue to manage attributes in the Source Systems
• Source Options
– Active Directory
– BCS calling Custom DB or Line of Business System
• Example:
– Active Directory for core attributes
– HR System for Position and Education Info
– Learning Management System for Training and Certifications
Planning for User Profiles
Profile Synchronization

19. • Can Provide Be Leveraged in Workflow Processes
– Centrally maintained, not process dependent
– Key attributes like:
• Manager
• Delegation
• Division
• Department
• Approval Budget
– Fully accessible via the API and Web Services for use in
other systems
Planning for User Profiles
Support Business Processes

20. APPROACHES TO GOVERNANCE
Planning for MySites and Social Features in the Enterprise

21. • Leverage or Reference other Appropriate Use Policies
– Information, Email and Internet Use Policies
• Match to organization’s maturity
– Harassment incidents, IM or Social Networking abuse?
• Strike balance appropriate balance to build teams
and support collaboration
• Make the policy accessible
Approaches to Governance
Appropriate Use Policies

22. • Provide a mechanism to report violations
• Allow the community to self-police as much as
possible
• Take action for any valid incidents and reinforce
expectations
Approaches to Governance
Enforcement

23. • Administrators can find (and delete) Tags and Notes
– By User
– By URL
– By Keyword
Approaches to Governance
Monitoring Tags and Notes

24. • Focus on Business…
– New Products, Industry News and Reports
– Keep employees informed and connected
• Support Social Interactions
– New Baby, promotion, softball league
– Strong social ties enhances collaboration and engagement
• Allow Creativity
– Support creativity and expressiveness within reason
– Some employees are clowns or jesters
• Employees Already Using Social Tools
– Already using tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter
– These other tools cannot be fully monitored
Approaches to Governance
Setting the Tone

25. • Large Enough to Be Useful
• Compare to Shared Drive Quotes
– Groups used to strict quotas adapt easier
• Considered Tiered Quotas
– Personal – 75mb
– Personal Plus – 150mb
– Executive -300mb
• Balance User Needs with Maintainability and
current storage availability.
Approaches to Governance
Quota Management for My Content

26. WRAP-UP
Planning for MySites and Social Features in the Enterprise

27. • TechNet – User Profile Service Overview
– http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee662538.aspx
• User Profiles – Creating Custom Properties
– http://nextconnect.blogspot.com/2010/06/user-profiles-creating-custom.html
• User Profiles – Driving Business Process
– http://nextconnect.blogspot.com/2010/06/user-profiles-driving-business-process.html
• My Site Provisioning Methods
– http://nextconnect.blogspot.com/2010/03/mysite-provisioning-methods.html
• Configuring Social Aggregation Jobs
– http://nextconnect.blogspot.com/2010/06/configuring-sharepoint-2010s-social.html
• Social Computing Posts
– http://nextconnect.blogspot.com/search/label/Social%20Computing
Additional Resources

28. Questions?

29. Contact Info
• Blog - http://nextconnect.blogspot.com
• Twitter - @Next_Connect
• Email – nextconnect@live.com
• LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeloryszak