Providing Support to Clients
The organization needs to decide what level of support is appropriate based on the different types of client access supported, and ensure that non-employees who are given access to the SharePoint 2003 infrastructure also can receive adequate support.
A combination of online support and live support should be devised to meet the range of needs of different users. SharePoint 2003 sites include links to the following resources accessible by clicking on the Help button on the portal site or on a top-level site:
SharePoint Portal Server Help Table of Contents
Quick Installation Guide
SharePoint Portal Server Administrator's Guide Table of Contents
Windows SharePoint Services Help Table of Contents
Other Resources, which provides links to the following:
Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Assistance Center (http://www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/Assistance/)
Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies website (http://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint/)
Microsoft Product Support Services (http://support.microsoft.com/)
Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server on Microsoft TechNet (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/office/sps2003/default.asp)
Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Team Services from Microsoft on TechNet (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/technologies/sharepoint/default.asp)
Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server on MSDN (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/nhp/default.asp?contentid=28001891)
A SharePoint Portal Server 2003 portal home page also includes by default a Portal Owner QuickStart Guide (outlined in Figure 7.15) which can provide useful basic information for the portal administrator or power user.
These resources can certainly be useful, but they can be intimidating to new users, so some more basic orientation documents should be created to cover the basic new features offered by SharePoint 2003 sites. A basic orientation document should explain the goals of the portal site and the features it offers such as Areas, Announcements, Links to top-level websites, and My Site. Explanations of the features contained in the top-level websites and how to use the Web Parts they contain should also be provided. Step-by-step instructions on standard daily tasks such as posting a document to a document library, or taking part in a threaded discussion can be helpful.
It is also important that the individuals appointed to manage the site collections are well trained prior to full implementations so that they are ready to handle the different questions that come their way.
These documents can be emailed in advance to the users, or introductory training sessions can be arranged that walk the new users through the features offered by SharePoint 2003.