Three Months, Eight Outside Consultants, and Microsoft Staff= One Web Site
June 19, 2009
Here’s the sentence that made me quack happily:
In only three months we were able to understand the existing Web site content, create a new information taxonomy and Web site design, develop the components, move content, conduct performance tests, and roll out the site to production. Building on the SharePoint platform allowed us to meet or exceed all of the project goals in a short amount of time. The product group is already realizing the benefits of the improved content publishing model and the Web site is growing and improving every day.
Who built what?
Microsoft’s SharePoint team created its own SharePoint Web site. If you find this expensive and a bit much for your constrained budget, you will want to read the case history “How We Did It: SharePoint.Microsoft.com” on the Microsoft SharePoint Team Web log.
The case is a lengthy write up with a number of workarounds and their solutions. One example:
Another interesting requirement was to display content for targeted audiences at the bottom of the home page. When users click tabs at the left side of the home page, relevant content is displayed without refreshing the page. Additionally, content authors needed to be able to update the content inside a Web browser without requiring Web site coding skills. To implement this requirement, Advaiya created a custom content type and page layout to store information that corresponds to the audience content requirements, and to provide an interface for authoring. Based on the custom page layout, we created publishing pages that correspond to each audience tab on the home page. Content is stored in a page layout so authors can easily write and update it, track versions, and take advantage of the Web content management approval functionality that SharePoint provides. Content authors can create and edit the audience content with out-of-the box SharePoint publishing functionality. Only authenticated users have permission to create, edit, and delete content in these pages, and publishing approval workflows ensure that only approved content appears on the home page.
Keep in mind that Microsoft’s engineers did not do this work. I find that quite interesting. I recall the “dog food” references I have heard at Microsoft conferences. Perhaps the notion does not apply to SharePoint because the system is too complex, too resource intensive, and too interdependent for Microsoft employees to tackle. Enter Advaiya. You will need Silverlight and some other plug ins to view this company’s Web site.
The vendor is described by Microsoft in this way:
The Microsoft® Office SharePoint® product group teamed with Advaiya, Inc. to rebuild the SharePoint Web site using the SharePoint Server 2007 platform. Microsoft chose Advaiya, a consulting company in Kirkland, WA, to work with the SharePoint product group because Advaiya has a long history of working closely with many Microsoft teams to develop strategies to roll out new technologies, content, and solutions.
Good work for Advaiya. Maybe not such good work for a small shop struggling with SharePoint. When the vendor needs help implementing a Web site, I think outfits like SquareSpace.com have a real business opportunity. Also, nary a word about search. I wonder how many people it would take to hook Fast ESP into this site. The SharePoint build, according to the write up, involved eight people from Advaiya. No report of the number of Microsoft engineers pressed into service. Quack!
Stephen Arnold, June 19, 2009
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Forgot to mention the dozen resources from India office?. And the other dozen from Microsoft and their local office in Kirkland. It took more than a year effort with several re-writes for the current look of the site.