Document Management in Sharepoint

[elliottchandler]

I am looking for best practice resources for configuring/using/maintaining Sharepoint as a document management system.

I am looking for documentation that shows/demonstrates how it would work for the end user.

I am aware of the meta data that Microsoft Word and Excel offer and that this can be exposed as columns in Sharepoint.

I was hoping to find best practice that shows how Sharepoint is setup so that it is simple for the end user to access, save, search and retrieve documents without having to necessarily know the entire structure. 

I was hoping that it might be possible for the end user to be guided when creating/saving for the name of the file, the meta data and the final location to save.

It would then be simple for the documents to be found. 

[#2]

@elliottchandler 

When it comes to configuring, using, and maintaining SharePoint as a document management system, there are several best practices and resources you can consider. These practices can help simplify the end user experience, enhance document organization, and improve search and retrieval capabilities. Here are some recommendations:

1. Information Architecture Planning: Take time to plan and design the structure of your SharePoint document library. Consider creating a logical folder structure and defining appropriate metadata columns to tag documents with relevant information.
2. Document Naming Conventions: Establish consistent naming conventions for documents to ensure uniformity and ease of search. Encourage users to follow these conventions when saving new documents.
3. Metadata Management: Define and enforce metadata requirements for documents. Leverage SharePoint's metadata features, such as columns, content types, and managed metadata, to capture important information about documents.
4. Content Types: Utilize SharePoint content types to organize and classify different types of documents. This helps enforce consistency and facilitates document management processes.
5. Search Capabilities: Configure SharePoint's search features to enable powerful document discovery. Ensure that the search indexes are regularly updated and optimized for accurate results.
6. Training and Documentation: Provide end-user training and documentation that explains the document management processes, including how to access, save, search, and retrieve documents. This can be done through user guides, online tutorials, or internal knowledge bases.
7. Document Templates: Develop standardized document templates that include predefined metadata fields. This helps guide users during document creation and ensures important information is captured consistently.
8. Version Control: Enable versioning in SharePoint to track document changes over time. This allows users to revert to previous versions if needed and helps maintain document history.
9. Security and Permissions: Set appropriate security permissions on document libraries to control access and ensure document confidentiality. Regularly review and update permissions as needed.
10. Continuous Improvement: Continuously monitor and gather feedback from end users to identify areas for improvement. Regularly review and refine your document management processes based on user needs and changing business requirements.

In addition to these best practices, you can refer to Microsoft's official SharePoint documentation, such as the SharePoint documentation on the Microsoft Docs website (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/), to explore detailed guides, tutorials, and resources specifically tailored for SharePoint document management.

*This post was created with the help of AI.