SharePoint offers the promise of instant functionality for all sorts of business needs: collaboration, document management, Internet/intranet web content management, search, business intelligence, etc. In addition there are seemingly endless possibilities for configuration and customization, much of it easily accessible to business and power users. Do SharePoint deployments and customizations need formal requirements gathering, business modeling, and functional analysis as part of the project plan? Or is it all about the technical infrastructure and IT configuration? Let’s discuss some real-world project scenarios and share our experiences to answer this question.

1. JohnCalvert (Software Craft)
May 1, 2014
IIBA Ottawa-OutaouaisChapter – Breakfast Roundtable

2.  http://www.cloudshare.com/

3.  Intro
 What is SharePoint?
 What is business analysis?
 What are SharePoint projects?
 Business analysis on a SharePoint project?
 Roundtable discussion
 Conclusion

4. Who am I?
 .NET / SharePoint solution architect
 Over 18 years experience developing business
solutions for private industry & government
 Recent clients include Justice Canada, NRC,
NSERC, DFAIT, CFPSA, OSFI, MCC
 Specialize in Microsoft technologies
 Speaker at user groups and conferences

6. Short answer:
 Suite of ready-to-use content and
collaboration business solutions
 Platform / framework of capabilities with
which to build business solutions

7.  Store, sync and
share your
content
 Stay on track and
deliver on time
 Find what you
need
 Keep everyone on the same page
 Find the right people
 Make informed Decisions

10.  Document / Records Management
 Collaboration
 Social
 Composites / Mash-ups
 Web Content Management
 Enterprise Search
 Insights and Business Intelligence
 Platform / Framework for Custom Solutions

11. Set of tasks and techniques
used to liaise among
stakeholders in order to:
 Understand the structure,
policies, and operations of an
organization
 Recommend solutions that
enable the organization to
achieve its goals
IIBA BABOK, section 1.2

12.  Identifying business needs
 Determining solutions to business problems:
 Systems development component
 Process improvement
 Organizational change
 Strategic planning
 Policy development
Wikipedia – business analysis

13.  Document / Records Management
 Collaboration
 Social
 Composites / Mash-ups
 Web Content Management
 Enterprise Search
 Insights and Business Intelligence
 Platform / Framework for Custom Solutions

15.  Involving the right people
 Understand their different
perspectives
 “Too easy” to deploy
 “Too much” when
deployed
 Business changes slowly

16. What role for business analysis?
 DigitalWorkspace – document / records
management; collaboration; social
 E-Records – corporate document / records
management
 Research Portal – financial reporting and
document management

17. What role for business analysis?
 Translation Bureau – workflow and document
management
 Intranet – web content management
 Line of Business Solution – document
management

18.  Involve the business (senior executives,
project sponsor, end users)
 Elicit the business and stakeholder
requirements
 Assess organizational readiness
 Understand each stakeholder, their needs
and perspectives
 Planning for and communicating change
 Solution assessment and validation

19.  What SharePoint projects have you been
involved in?
 How important was business analysis and
requirements gathering?

20.  Business Strategist
 Enterprise Architect
 BusinessTransformation Architect
 Change Management / ChangeAgent
 Process Re-engineering
 Information Architect
 Web / SharePoint Designer
 Platform and Infrastructure Configuration

21.  Some SharePoint projects are >80%
OOTB, mostly design / config
 Other SharePoint projects require lots
of analysis
 Business needs should drive solutions
 Technology / features should not drive
solutions
 Business analysis is key to successful
solution

22.  Role of the Business Analyst in SharePoint –
C. Buckley, 2012
 Rise of the Role of the SharePoint Business
Strategist –World Association of SharePoint
Business Strategists, 2012
 Other links throughout the slides

23.  John Calvert, ChiefArchitect
 Software Craft, Inc.
 Johnmcalvert at hotmail dot ca
 softwarecraft dot ca
 at softwarecraft99