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What is MOSS?  Just a fancy acronym for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server or better yet, just SharePoint.  I figured for my first contribution to this site, in what I plan to be a series of contributions, I will give our readers some insight into our experiences as we begin our implementation of SharePoint.  Over the course of the next six to nine months, I will be posting various entries related to all aspects of the project in the hopes of helping some of you with your SharePoint Implementations in the future.  I am a true believer that all successful projects have many aspects to them, not just one.  As you get started, I have provided below a list of the Top Ten “Must Haves” in order to ensure success.  Without these, you should not waste your time!!!

TOP TEN MOSS PROJECT MUST HAVES

1. Executive Sponsorship - Meaning, a high-level executive in the company is 100% behind the project, understands the business need and value, and is willing to put time, resources, and funding behind it.

2. Business Champions - There are a few key people in the organization that are 100% behind the project and will fight to ensure it is successful via promotion to their peers and others in the organization.

3. Document Project Charter - The project team must develop a project charter specifically defining the overall project mission, objectives, participants and guiding principles.

4. Scope - Well defined scope that is…..You must spend time up front defining scope and then throughout the project ensuring you manage to this scope.  If changes are required, and sometime they are, ensure that you have a change management process that allows for changes to the schedule, resources, and cost accordingly.

5. ROI - I know, I know, easy to say, hard to do………However, you must take the time to document the Return On Investment, even if it is intangible.  This way you know what you are striving for and in the end can measure against it.

6. Strong Program Manager/Project Manager - Whether a smaller project just needing a Project Manager or a much larger project requiring a Program Manager, you must have someone who has a strong business and technical background, someone with a collaborative style, and someone who can and will make tough decisions and drive execution.

7. Solid Infrastructure Platform - Spend money on your equipment.  You must make sure you perform an analysis of your needs from a number of users, transactions, etc. perspective and put time into planning the right platform.  Ensure you have the right number of environments (Development, Test, Production) and make sure each environment is properly sized for your organization’s needs.

8. Time Management - Plan properly.  Your overall project plan should include the “right” amount of time for all aspects of the project.  You want to have enough time to do it right, but you want to make sure you show progress and meet your deliverables.  Testing is extremely important, plan for it, don’t skimp on it!!

9. Strong User Involvement - Select a User Focus group that can help guide the functionality of the end-product.  They will be the ones using it day-to-day, make sure it performs the way they need it to.

10. Celebrate Success - Throughout the project, recognize the project team’s accomplishment and reward the team member for making successful progress throughout the project.

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