Jan 18 2017 07:19 AM
So, I am starting to "migrate" the particular team that I work for over to Groups (that means from our existing SharePoint site, existing Yammer group, existing mailboxes, etc). Wanted to share the general experience and reception so far, with PLUS / MINUS perception notes:
Overall, it seems like it will be a positive adoption, but there are several things that just miss the mark, at least for how our organization works.
Jan 18 2017 08:12 AM
Jan 18 2017 09:24 AM
Jan 18 2017 11:31 PM
pretty much agree with all negatives and since you're coming from a mega menu the navigation will definitely be a step down in quality.
SharePoint Home is probably supposed to fill this gap, though is currently far from it. I have yet to find a way to show a user all TeamSites he or she's a member of.
Since we're coming from FileShares and a rather poor implementation of OpenText ContentServer, our experience is a little bit better compared to before.
Jan 19 2017 01:25 AM
Hi Brent,
Thanks for a really good write up. I agree with most of the points written.
because of the customization issues and the want to stay as light on customization as possible to adapt quickly to new changes I've started trying to train people to think of the App launcher as the mega menu these days. I know it isn't but it's transferrable understanding.
I say if you want to find files go to onedrive and search,
if you want to find sites go to sharepoint and search and if you want to find conversation go to mail and search.
I also find it a benefit to set up the "main" sharepoint site as a custom app in peoples launchers for ease of use.
It helps that people are heavy outlook users internally and in most of our clients as that's the easiest way to get people to "find" things in a manner most normal to them because the links to onenote and files are right there in the groups menu. It annoys me that these then can cause confusion because it opens up different browser tabs etc.
The mishmash web UI is absolutely abysmal at this time. I'd rather a client use teams than the Web UI at this time because if offers a more unified experience.
I agree the new "Group files" thing is badly implemented in the Mail app. It doesn't do a good enough job of seperating itself and showing the end user that it isn't the same as actually a proper browsable file structure.
I'd feel more comfortable if it was just labeled "Recent Group Files" and the link to the full files area was a bit more loud and proud.
as you've mentioned there are some glaring gaps in migration elements between services.
I look forward to you updating us with your user adoption findings.
Jan 20 2017 06:00 AM
Thanks for sharing this Brent. It's really useful to see the experince of people and organisations trying to implement something new and the challenge of getting users onboard and adopting the new platform.
As others have said, 'SharePoint Lite' has its limitations when used with Groups or Teams. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft builds on this and how it integrates with both Groups and Teams. Lots of organisations have invested heavily in building and designing SharePoint intranets. Now with 'SharePoint Lite' a lot of that work is being undermined and the users suffer as a result by getting lost in UI and navigation.
Jan 20 2017 09:02 AM
Jan 20 2017 12:02 PM
Is it possible to modify the views in the file areas of Groups? To add or subtract columns? I thought I could but don't see any commands that make this possible?
Thanks,
Rob.
Jan 20 2017 12:53 PM