SharePoint for Project Management

Chapter 3. Adding PMIS Components

Virtually every company will be going out and empowering their workers with a certain set of tools, and the big difference in how much value is received from that will be how much the company steps back and really thinks through their business processes.

—Bill Gates, philanthropist

Now that our SharePoint site has been created and customized, the next step is to decide which features are necessary for our PMIS. At a basic level, PMIS components should allow the project team to:

Centralize project information

Project information includes project contacts, calendars, documents, templates, forms, and checklists. In addition to storing project information, the PMIS should maintain a history and define who has access to the information.

Facilitate project communication and collaboration

Collaborative project activities include scheduling meetings, jointly developing proposals, and informally brainstorming project strategies. All activities of this type should be supported by the PMIS.

Automate project processes

Automating project processes, such as change control, should be available in the PMIS. The PMIS can automate the submission of change request forms by sending the form to the appropriate members of the change control board, recording the decision, and routing the necessary actions to be taken to the appropriate stakeholder.

In this chapter, you will create essential PMIS components for the case study (see Table 3-1) using SharePoint lists and libraries. ...