Balancing user experience and responsible usage in SharePoint?

I’m currently part of a project to upgrade a SharePoint implementation to the 2010 version of the software, and incorporate a wider rollout of the system to allow more collaborative working across the organisation.  Apart from the usual angst regarding hardware and software requirement, the questions around responsible rollout of this have been huge.

This will be our first foray into widely accessible collaborative working tools, and this raises a number of issues around managing user training, user expectations, levels of support, etc.  It has also raised questions about information management, preventing the dreaded specter of SharePoint sprawl, and alike.

Much of the focus of discussions has been on development of content types, minimum levels of metadata in document libraries, etc.  Given our “traditional” technology stack and the way the organisation works, it seems that in the early stages of rollout the focus will be on collaborative working around document development, and implementation of more social features will be further down the road.  Ignoring for now the very interesting perspective that I read the other day about the document metaphor, and my own interest in driving the adoption of more social approaches to knowledge sharing/creation, it has to be recognised that this is a sensible step.  The culture shock of introducing even the more sober aspects of collaborative document development will be plenty to be going on with without the introduction of blogs, wikis, et al from the off!

So with that in mind, should the focus be on the management of information in the early stages of adoption, or allowing the user to make innovative use of what’s available?  Colleagues with a records management background are keen on treading carefully and establishing clear governance guidelines for the use of SharePoint.  This is a sensible (risk averse?) approach, as setting out clear guidelines about how the software should be used in relation to the existing technology stack prevents confusion amongst the user, and allows the management of expectations around all sorts of key areas such as roles and responsibilities of individuals/groups, provision of training, etc.  However, I don’t think that narrowing the parameters so the user has no room for experimentation is either workable or desirable.  Yes, information management has to be considered in the set up, but in a collaborative working platform the user must want to use what’s provided, or what’s the point?!  Straight-jacketing them with layers of bureaucracy won’t help them do their jobs more effectively.  And yet that is what I’m trying to achieve with this project – it’s a minimum requirement in my eyes.

I’m happy with the creation of user guidelines, managing expectations, and requiring certain levels of training and behaviour from users.  That way we all know where we stand.  To a certain extent the design of sites within the implementation should help to encourage “responsible” usage.   Once this understanding has been reached though, perhaps we need to take a step back and let the users make the most of what’s available to maximise their efforts for the firm.

Having written the above, and reading it back now, what strikes me about the whole information management  vs. user behaviour debate here is that it’s a matter of trust.  Do we trust colleagues to make responsible use of collaborative/social software to work smarter for the organisation or not?  This matter was crystalised for me today in an unrelated discussion around the use of instant messaging within a company.  The perceived risks of not capturing IM transactions in a structured way were raised, to which I was left wondering why, in that case, we don’t just ban telephones as well and allow only communication by email and snail mail!  Carrier pigeon, anyone? 😉

We are still at an early stage with this, and these discussions will continue.  So far my thinking is to provide a clear framework (in terms of information architecture and guidance for use) that allows users the freedom to work within it flexibly, in ways that suit them, make them more productive, and improve their end product.  We need to work towards putting the user at the heart of what we’re doing, rather than letting them watch on like a distant spectator from the bleachers.  Only by earning their trust and understanding will we maximise the benefits of the new technology and encourage responsible usage.

Twittering causes deafening silence

I’ve not written on this site for some time.  My general tardiness in this respect can be blamed on two things – getting to grips with a new job, and the discovery of Twittering!

Interestingly, the first problem led to the discovery of the second.  Allow me to explain.  When I first heard fellow bloggers talking about Twitter I freely admit that I didn’t know what the fuss was about.  I read all the posts about how wonderful it was, but just couldn’t see an application for it.  However, having my free time reduced by the new job I felt the need to find some way of expressing myself, getting in touch with like-minded people and generally networking.  Initially I was content with brief status updates on Facebook, but given the cross-over between personal information and work-based interests (and my general habit of keeping the two separate) I found that I wasn’t getting as much out of this method as I would like.  I considered LinkedIn, but I wanted something a little less formal and structured.

So, enter Twitter.  I signed up tentatively, but soon began to enjoy many of the things it had to offer.  I started out by finding friends, then bloggers that I follow regularly, and through this method also began to discover others with similar professional and personal interests.  I soon found myself drawn in, and now find it to be a great all-round solution for expressing myself, asking questions of a developing community, and even finding new people and resources.

All of this got me to thinking about the potential wider uses of Twitter (or general microblogging solutions), particularly within an organisation.  An organisation is a ready-built community of sorts, with multiple divisions and sub-layers – often along formal lines set out by organisational structures and teams.  However, traditional communication paths within an organisation don’t always allow for staff from one part of an organisation to get an insight into the work of those in another part.  What if that barrier were broken down, with everyone within a company able to see the issues that are excising colleagues, and with everyone able to contribute, suggest solutions and generally share knowledge and experiences – no matter where they were?  This is what Tweeting behind the firewall could provide.

I have read many posts and articles on Enterprise microblogging, and other Enterprise 2.0/social enterprise initiatives, and I know that this to some people will be old hat.  However, when examined closer the possibilities of such solutions for my own organisation would be endless, with multiple potential benefits.  The building of a collective knowledge base, selective following of “subject specialists” to help support best practice, improving communications between workers “on the ground” and support staff (particularly through mobile applications), marketing of internal resources to new audiences… I could go on.

Of course, my enthusiasm will have to be tempered by a bout of realism that will be injected once I formally propose this as a knowledge management/communications project.  No doubt there will be skeptics and people unwilling to participate, but the benefits in my opinion definitely outweigh potential negatives, and I shall definitely be putting forward the idea of enterprise microblogging services as part of an integrated programme of KM activities.  Watch this space!

UK Local election/London Mayoral election coverage

Intute is covering the London Mayoral election, as well as the UK local elections through its social sciences blog.  I’ve only taken a quick look, and the entries so far provide links to some very useful background information on candidates, the elections themselves, policy/discussion papers and alike.

I suspect that the coverage will remain largely gateway-like throughout the elections – Intute not really the place for expressing political opinions!  Keep an eye on the blog though because, like the rest of Intute, it really does look like providing links to a set of comprehensive resources.

JISC infoKits

JISC has developed a series of online modular information resources, called infoKits, aimed (I think) at helping and supporting people in the education sector to effectively plan, implement and manage information and communication technologies.  Modules cover diverse topics, including change management, records management, contract negotiation and systems implementation.  These are classified as “core” infoKits, but there are also what are described as “applied” infoKits, usefully covering more practical aspects such as effectively using virtual learning environments (VLEs).

I’ve taken a look at some of the more general information management modules, such as “Managing the information lifecycle” and “email management”, and they look very useful.  I’m sure that they are of great value to those working in education, but the broader topics will certainly have appeal for those working in other sectors.  Handily, you can choose to walk your way through different sections, skipping information you are more familiar with [so pedagogically sound in terms of allowing access to learners at different levels] or you can download the whole thing as a PDF file to print or save to a computer/mobile device as required

Spotted as one of Sheila Webber’s posts on the Information Literacy Weblog.

Designing a Presidential Library made easy…

Scott Carlson, writing for the Chronicle of Higher Education: Chronicle Review, has found a novel and cheap solution to the problem of commissioning and choosing library designs… ask readers for entries on the back of an envelope.

In this case the “competition” aims to find a suitable design for the George W. Bush Presidential Library – take a look at the results!

Sadly there isn’t a library shaped like a giant chimp, but I am rather partial to the “Hole in the Ground” design.

Some information please?

Spotted on Library Stuff... I love “A bit of Fry and Laurie”, but this is genius”. Stephen Fry plays the ultimate information professional… in terms of knowledge, anyway. Not so sure about the attitude though…

Facebook in libraries… day 2

A very brief post following up on yesterday’s post, just to document a few ups and downs in the process of developing a facebook page for my library…

Ups:

• Lots of good UK and North American examples of library facebook pages to take inspiration from
• Plenty of freely available widgets to turn to the library’s advantage such as a virtual bookshelf (showing new acquisitions – this is even RSS fed), RSS feed display tools, as well as COPAC, WorldCat and JSTOR search widgets
• The potential to adapt functions that will be familiar to most facebook users in novel ways (e.g. using a photo album with annotated comments as a virtual library tour and guide to resources)

Downs:

• The inability to use some widgets on developer pages – this is very annoying!
• The fact that I have to develop the page through my own personal account
• My general paranoia about security and sharing my own details with widget developers… but that’s my problem not facebook’s 😉

I’m looking forward to carrying on working on this tomorrow 🙂

Libraries on Facebook

I’m a fan of the social networking site Facebook, I can’t deny it.  It has helped me to get in tough with loads of people who, for one reason or another, I had grown apart from.  It lets me keep track of what my friends are up to, and even reminded me of the delights of playing Scrabble…

…and yet, despite lots of talk of social networking and libraries I have yet to build a Facebook page for my  own library.  Reasons for this are plentiful:

• Time – as a solo librarian I have lots of other responsibilities, and additional “projects” such as this are always at risk of being put on the back-burner
• User demographics – the profession I work for has a predominant make-up of middle-aged and over… would a Facebook group get any use?
• Added value? – would a Facebook page really provide extra value for library users?  Would it be a valuable use of my time on their behalf?

I could go on…

However, that’s all about to change.  I’ve bitten the bullet and started to build a library page.  So, why the change of heart?   Well, the biggest factor is library users.  Whilst digging around on Facebook I found that some members of my organisation had started their own social group, and it had a reasonable number of (young) members.  This got me thinking about librarianship and the importance of horizon scanning and early adoption of new technologies.

Despite the current makeup of my organisation’s membership, the future will inevitably bring new blood, wanting new services and diversity of information provision.  The new generation will expect their organisation to move with them, and to deliver information in the ways they expect, not just sticking with the “tried and tested” methods because that is what has always been done.

A facebook page will allow the promotion of the Library and events that I am running (even offeringthe possibility of booking management made easy),  will allow me to provide regular updates of new resources available to members in real time (rather than just through the bi-monthly organisational publication) and will also allow new lines of communication to be opened between the Library and the organisation’s members – perhaps even members who would not be reached by more traditional methods.

I don’t expect this to be an instant success – it will take plenty of promotion, persistence and [crucially] sticking power before it comes to fruition.  However, the minor investment of time and effort now promises to provide a wave of benefits in the future.

Should it prove unpopular or unsuccessful what has been lost?  A few hours here and there… no more, no less… and I think I can just about justify that 😉

Cute librarian?

According to my blog viewing stats, the most popular search terms that have been used to find my ramblings are “librarian” and “cute”…

You guys know me too well 😉

OpenLearn – Open Educational Resources from the Open University

OpenLearn is the Open University’ (OU) educational resources (OER) website, which offers free access to a wide variety of educational content and learning materials. Initially inspired by MIT’s OpenCourseWare, the OU now provides over 900 learning hours of materials covering a range of different topics – from science and IT, through to the arts and languages.

Apparently this was launched in 2006, but the first I heard of it was when a leaflet arrived at my workplace this morning advertising this as a resource (very remiss of me!). Thank crunchy for good old-fashioned advertising though, because this really is a resource worth investigating!

I’ve not had chance to try any of the course materials yet [I dare say I’ll post something once I’ve given it a test-drive], but the fundamentals as I see them are as follows:

• Anyone can use the resources and study materials provided – just turn up to the website, register, then get cracking
• Once inside you are presented with what is effectively a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) that offers you a number of different options. You can browse through courses on offer by following topic links (e.g. “Technology” or “Study Skills”), or by more specific terminology in the form of a tag cloud.  Additional support modules include forums where you can discuss ideas with other participants, video conferencing software and instant messaging (allowing contact with learners from around the globe).
• There’s also a “learning journal” module, allowing you to make notes on courses.  These can either be made private, opened up to other participants, or made public to anyone who visits the site.  Effectively they are learning logs or blogs, and so come with similar benefits such as tagging and RSS, and thus you can track the public posts of other people and make use of their observations.

This all falls within a module called LearningSpace.  Interestingly though, there is also an additional module called LabSpace, which contains all the resources from the LearningSpace, along with additional material from obsolete OU courses.  The LabSpace section aims to encourage learners and, more specifically, educators, to manipulate and reuse course material (the online resources fall under a creative commons license), as well as to create and upload new learning material to share with other practitioners.  So, when combined with courses on education and pedagogical practice within the LearningSpace section, this makes this a very appealing resource for both learners and educators.

For anyone involved in teaching or instruction within the workplace this could well prove to be both a useful (and very cheap!) source of CPD activities, whilst also providing interaction with/support from other educators, and inspiration for new teaching methods/resources.

On first impressions, this is definitely worth further investigation.  More from me on this later.  For more information on OpenLearn check out the details of their story so far.