Let me clarify what I mean by “3 role” environment. When looking at the division of roles with products, solutions or environments, it has been very normal to break it down into IT Pros (Admins), Developers and End Users. And many approach SharePoint in the same style. Does it fit? Sure. Is it the most effective approach? HECK NO!
Let’s look at it piece by piece. Now the question is where do we start?
We need to redefine this. In all cases leaving it as IT Pros, Developers and End Users is too broad. It really does not push to truly have an understanding what the solution should be about. Within the IT Pro role, you have server admins, dbas, infrastructure/solution architects and in many situations the farm administrator is not part of those roles.
Developers are also part of this mix, but this can also be a complex breakdown, as you will likely have your developers, designers, web developers and so on. And within the End User community it is even more complex. I have in the past referred to SharePoint as a solution that is an End User owned solution. Yes, many IT folks do not like that. Why? Because they feel they are losing control of the platform and they will end up supporting, fixing and in the end stuck with it. Yes, that is also part of the reality of many SharePoint deployments. And not only in deployments, the way people are being trained is this same way. There are training materials that I have seen change their approach. I will cover the materials I have experienced having a change in the mindset and style of delivery.
In this series, I will go deeper into each role and the importance of understanding the breakdown. All in all, it meshes with a topic that has been a passion for me over the last couple of years and that is looking to Application Lifecycle Management to help us define that breakdown. ALM is not a software development approach, it goes beyond software development. It goes deeper into being the overarching umbrella that will include the solution ideation/planning, planning/implementation, implementation/stabilization, and stabilization/operations. We talk Governance, Taxonomy and many other topics that many have considered fluff, but are they fluff? When I look at the process, many would refer to End Users receiving their piece once, and only when, Operations has a hand in it. There is some truth to it, but in the effort of driving user adoption, acceptance and so on, we will expand that activity and therefore the involvement. And diving into ownership.
So, come along with me in this series and let’s explore what my thoughts are and keep me posted on what your thoughts are, and how they may align.
Part 2: How IT Pros are involved.
Part 3: Here come the Developers, guard your deployment
Part 4: Let the End User own it
Part 5: From Meal Plans to Learning Plans