Through the lens of a case study for a highly successful transition to Sharepoint 2013, this talk will give attendees a framework for integrating UX techniques into an Agile Sharepoint process. Relying on best practices and industry standards works well in a relatively simple business context, but when a business gets more complex, it’s vitally important to make sure the design process is iterative, that deliverables are structured to get meaningful consensus, and that business, design, and technical stakeholders can agree on functionality and priorities. The case study will take you through a project that was going off the rails, and how it was pulled back into a success that eventually led to users tackling the project sponsor with hugs. It will share what we did right, what we did wrong, and what we learned along the way to make every Agile Sharepoint project more successful.

1. Sharepoint in a
Complex Business Context
Sarah Barrett, Sharepoint Symposium, November 2015

2. Why a “complex” business
context?

3. Getting everyone
on board.

4. A B

5. Sender ReceiverChannel

6. Service UserExperience

7. Business EmployeeSharepoint

8. The project:
- Internal portal for underwriters at a personal
insurance company.
- Replatforming, partnered with SharePoint
specialists.

9. Underwriting 101:
1) Evaluate new policies.
2) Evaluate claims on existing policies.

10. Mistakes are inevitable.
Your job is to avoid doubling down on them.

11. Work from shared
experiences.
Set the correct course.

12. You, too, can do user interviews
1. Master the noncommittal noise.
2. Pause. Longer than you think.
3. Specificity is the soul of narrative.
Force it.

13. You, too, can do user interviews
Bonus points:
* Talk to the foot soldiers, not the
generals.
* Look for the gut-punch.
1. Master the noncommittal noise.
2. Pause. Longer than you think.
3. Specificity is the soul of narrative.
Force it.

14. Low-Fi Prototyping
No matter how ugly it is,
it’s too much, too soon.

15. First define what goes
on a page,

16. Then decide what’s important.

17. Iterate to create precedent.
“Good” is a moving target. You pin it down by
establishing precedent.

18. The issue is
rarely the issue.

19. Speak to be understood.
Some things aren’t about winning.

20. Success?

21. Success?
"First day, it’s already come in handy. Had to find
something and was able to quickly get the process
and check the regulations.”
"The site is also pretty neat since I can find quirks I
didn’t know about."

22. Adoption starts at the very
beginning.

23. Thank you!
#SharePointSym
@documentalope
@factorfirm