Leveraging SharePoint 2007 for Program Management

Recently, CapTech was asked to support the program management office (PMO) for a leading mortgage sourcing and servicing provider. The client was embarking on a multi-year (and $MM) program and needed a qualified group of resources to manage and track the overall program delivery. Our initial responsibilities were to determine the PMO guidelines and, specifically, which tool would offer a collaborative platform between our team and the major stakeholders, such as the project managers (PMs).

Our team ultimately settled on SharePoint 2007 for a number of reasons. Known mostly as a document management platform, this tool can be leveraged to document information through its variety of features such as lists and team sites. Specifically, this web-based environment offers a healthy alternative to a complex array of manual processes and interactions between standalone EUCs (which was the standard at our client site).  Some of the other advantages are:

• Seamless integration with the MS Office Suite of tools
• Simplified program reporting and metrics through customized lists
• Task and document control through customized workflows

Leveraging these assets, our team developed specific guidelines so that our stakeholders could incorporate these rules into our SharePoint toolset. Although there was an initial learning curve, our team was able to demonstrate some of SharePoint's inherent functionality, such as:

• Efficient document management via version control and restricted permissions
  • Allowed Business and IT to manage separate document control
• Channel for all program communications and high-level materials
• Centralized issues/risks management and reporting
  • Synchronized with MS Excel to provide more advanced analysis
• Centralized change management guidance and reporting
  • Customized solution leveraged for a company-wide IT solution regarding change control
• Automated program reporting and metrics
  • Stakeholder input in customized lists; integrated with MS Excel to serve as reporting layer
• Created a significant, clear channel of communication between all associated parties and our team

While these results were well received, there are always certain drawbacks to a solution.  If using SharePoint 2007 out-of-the-box, the tool does not have all of the required functionality and features to act as a comprehensive toolset.  We successfully developed a few workarounds but this practice is quite exhaustive and requires continual guidance and maintenance. In addition, SharePoint 2007 is a extremely powerful tool that will work optimally if the user is able to build certain assumptions, such as:

• Creating customized workflows and developing well-thought business rules
• Developing an associated layer of well-defined processes and guidelines

The use of SharePoint 2007 was definitely considered a monumental success but should be used cautiously and should exist within the following guidelines.  First, the tool must be built upon a layer of well-defined processes and guidelines. Second, the stakeholders must understand the relationship between these processes and the SharePoint features. Finally, this tool should also be limited to smaller organizations and in specific cases only. In large-scale environments, SharePoint will work optimally if it is developed as the visual, graphical layer for the existing project management toolset. 

While I have discussed the successes in SharePoint 2007, there are other experts in this field that have explored this field in relation to the newer version, SharePoint 2010.  The 1^st link is from Bamboo Solutions, a premier SharePoint consultancy that develops customized, project-ready solutions such as Bamboo Project Management Suite.  The 2^nd link is from a renowned PM and SharePoint professional, Dux Raymond Sy, that defines the key pillars for Project Management Success with SharePoint 2010.

• Project Management Web Parts (for SharePoint)
• Seven Ways to Leverage SharePoint 2010 for Project Management Success