bringing web best practices to SharePoint intranets#SPSBE21Virgil CarrollApril 18th, 2015

Plat

inum

Gold

Silv

erThanks to our sponsors!

about me

• From the great State of Alaska• Certified Athletic Trainer• Masters in Instructional Design (from UAB)• User Experience Aficionado• Been building websites since 1998• Been building SharePoint since 2001• Blog: http://monkeyblog.highmonkey.com• Twitter: @vcmonkey

about high monkey

• Been around since 1998 (HMC name since 2004)• Offices in Minnesota and Michigan• Clients throughout the US and Canada• Core Competencies

• Web and interface design• SharePoint / CMS consulting• User Experience

why use web best practices?

• People think intranets are websites, not SharePoint• Most intranets focus on finding information not collaboration

• Like a website, if you have to teach someone how to use an intranet, you have failed

why use sharepoint for intranets?

• Unlike web sites, intranets are not about the page, but about the content.

• SharePoint does not excel at building pages, but excels at sharing information across multiple avenues

web best practices for intranets

talk to people not on your team

• Good intranets will include feedback from other people• Requirements interviews• Discovery workshops• Surveys

• You must balance opinions with the questions you ask• ‘What would you like to see’ vs. ‘What challenges do you encounter with

our current intranet’• A ‘wish list’ build will fail

REMEMBER Just because someone has an opinion, doesn’t mean they are right

example

good info• “HR forms are important, but

getting to my team site is more”• “Why do I have to go to 3

different systems to figure out all my employee stuff”

• “I don’t understand different department acronyms”

wishful thinking• “People really want to know

about project updates”• “The page should know who I am

and only show me what I want to see”

• “We should have a chat window where I can ask questions”

your people should always be first

• We believe our people know us better than they do• If ever in doubt, ask any person to recite your org chart• Often treat employees like its their first day

• Unlike Facebook, intranets are not suppose to help people waste time

• Focus on functional-based results• Latest news is only important to the communications group

• Understanding their stories• For large, multi-discipline organizations consider creating personas /

customer journeys• Accessibility

example

getting around should be easy

• Organize information according to how your people think

• Card sorting• Tree tests

• Navigation should be simple and act like a multiple choice question

• Mega-menus can be useful when used well

example

good design supports function

• We don’t call it ‘branding’ its design• Design should never be used for the sake of pretty colors

• Balance must be established between the design and getting people to what they need to do

• Color contrast can help people be successful• Making it mobile

• Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should• Popular frameworks: Bootstrap, skeleton, responsive grid system• Use media queries vs. 2013 device channels

UX best practices

example: too little

example: too much

example: just right

make sure search … works

• People are really poor searchers• You have to handle all the variabilities

• They don’t know what they are looking for• They don’t know how to spell

• Refiners that are relevant• Remove SharePoint objects from the results• Great use of 2013

example

documents are NOT content

• Documents are for reading ‘stuff’ longer than people will read on a screen

• Develop content standards, consistent tone and plans to govern

• Find a good balance between too much and too little• Just because content resides somewhere else doesn’t mean people want to go there too

tips: what people want to read

• Content that’s scannable• Bullet points• High level information up front, can dig further if desired

• Easy to read and understand• Up to date information

23

example: how do people read on the web?

24

example: how people spend their time

Above the fold80%

Below the fold20%

Reading Above and Below the Fold

Right Half30%

Left Half70%

Left vs. Right

• People at most read 20% of the words on a webpage• People are much more likely to scroll past the fold if the first content they see

matches their need

25

learn from your logs

• Search logs• Great source for understanding

• Spelling challenges• Search patterns• Many searches for obvious things mean they are not

• Web analytics• Great source for understanding

• What people really do on your intranet• How non-search people look for information• Creating ‘push paths’ or placing of content in multiple locations

• SharePoint web analytics is still crap, use Google analytics

example

separate storage from presentation

• Content may need to be re-used• Allows authors to store and work on content ‘where they want’

• Good use of 2013

• Roll up content summaries via CQWP or CSWP• Use audience targeting to further refine

example: content from different sources

example: content on multiple pages

Home

My Employment

Forms

Expense Sheet

Documents and Forms

Expense Sheet

Company News Departments

HR

Expense Sheet

example: sharepoint 2013

use the ‘modularness’ of sharepoint

• Centralize CSS and media assets• Use proper page structure for flexibility and future updates

• In 2013, display templates add another layer of flexibility

• Create structure that content contributors can expand easily

master page

• Can be applied to entire site or sub-sections

• Link global CSS & Script files• Establish overall look-n-feel

page layout

• The insides of an overall page

• Designers can create multiple, content creators can pick-n-choose

display template (2013)

• Represents the ‘container’ of a search web part rendering

item template (2013)

• Controls the rendering of each item in a Display Template

pay attention after launch

summary: why use web best practices• People already think your intranet is a website, so make it like one

• Web usability teaches us we shouldn’t have to teach• Good websites grow by learning what your people do and helping them do it better

• One path to success usually breeds failure

questions??

Virgil Carroll, President

High Monkey Consulting

virgil@highmonkey.com

763-201-6040

Blog: http://monkeyblog.highmonkey.com

Twitter: @vcmonkey