Typical scenario example: the Project Management Office (PMO) has a program manager and a number of project managers and consultants for their projects. A standardized methodology has been defined with phases, goals, and a document template. The projects are similar in resources and time length.
The main challenges for the PMO include:
- Project issue tracking
- Storing documentation
- Restricting access to certain documents
SharePoint's functionality can be applied to the described PMO activity with the following sections:
The project collaborative platform can address all of the challenges of this department by following these high level steps:
- Create a site with the Project Site Template. The Team Site name should be the project name.
- In the Shared Document Library create folders after each of the phases in the PMO's methodology and upload project-related templates, such as Change Request forms. Metadata fields could also be added to this library, which could be applied to filter views or aid information discovery.
- Create a custom list called Project Goals and create the following fields in this list: Status: Incomplete and Finished.
- Adjust security levels on the folders so budgets can be restrictive.
- Save this site as a Site Template called Custom Project Site.
With this saved team site now stored as a template, there is a repeatable layout for all projects, so each time that a new project requires a SharePoint Team Site, this Team Site template should be used with the project. It also specifies the path to the site gallery to view other site templates to confirm if a similar template already exists.
One of the ways a PMO can undertake more projects with the same amount of resources is to define repeatable processes in the way projects are managed. This has been mentioned in this section of the chapter, with team site templates that contain documentation and custom lists.
The site template approach can be sophisticated enough to accommodate different types of projects with different templates, but this can only be done if the project methodology and project types are understood, or you are willing to create new site templates ad hoc.
We do not see anything wrong with an ad hoc approach, but it is important that project managers know the most appropriate site template to create a site.