Importance of SharePoint Governance

In this article we can explore Governance, which usually fall into the Architect Track. The topic is very important for the successful implementation of SharePoint.

What is SharePoint Governance?

Governance is the set of policies, roles, responsibilities, and processes that guide, direct, and control how an organization's business divisions and IT teams cooperate to achieve business goals.

In simpler words, we can equate Governance to something we see in our daily life. For example we can use traffic control where there is a set of rules & procedures for the use of roads, including passing, parking etc. done by authorized persons.

The importance of Governance lies on the problems of No Governance!

What are the problems of No Governance?

Without proper Governance, the SharePoint implementation could end up without satisfying the Business Objectives. Some of the failure scenarios are the following:

Hundreds of unused sites as a result of unattended site creation, eating up disk spaces
Too many document versions taxing on content database size
Poor Performance & Unstable Environments keeping users away from SharePoint
Duplicate documents & contents that create chaos & a waste of productivity
Folders are used in a hierarchically and Metadata columns are deferred
Extranet Data is a threat since unauthorized external users can view confidential documents
Too many customized pages adding load to servers due to fetches from the content database
Users gaining power of SharePoint Administrators thereby decentralizing authority

Without Governance, in the long run a chaotic situation might occur as depicted by the traffic jam below:

After all, this is a Dynamic Topic and requires careful analysis before implementing any pre-defined Governance plans. The Governance Team formation & procedures explained here specify a typical Governance model & should be tweaked based on your organizational requirements.

A Proper Governance Plan is as important as a Proper SharePoint Implementation.

What are the steps involved in Governance?

The following are the steps involved in Governance Implementation:

Organize the Governance Committee
Decide the SharePoint Elements to be governed
Implement Rules & Policies
Monitor & Reinforce Governance

Step 1

Organize the Governance Committee

A governance committee includes people from the Business & IT divisions of an organization. A typical Governance Committee will have 5 Teams:

Business Strategy Team
Technical Strategy Team
Operations Tactical Team
Development Tactical Team
Support Tactical Team

Step 2

Decide which SharePoint Elements are to be governed.

The following are some of the SharePoint Elements that can be governed or controlled:

Site Collections & Sites: Creation, Deletion, Quotas etc.
Security: User Permissions, Groups, Policies etc.
Content: Document, List, Versions, Upload Size, Metadata etc.
Backup & Recovery
Customizations: Page editing, Branding, Navigation etc.
Document Versions

Step 3

Implement Rules & Policies

In this step the Governance Rules & Policies are implemented. The implementation includes the proper creation of Rules & Policies around the elements. Some of the activities during this step are:

Setting up Rights & Permissions for Users & Groups
Restrict Site Collection creation
Setup content approval & routing
Setup Locks & Quotas
Set Document Versioning Policies
Set Retention / Deletion Policies
Restrict page customization & usage of SharePoint Designer
Setup workflows for automating approvals & processes

The Policies created around Governance Elements should be communicated effectively with the users. Proper communication ensures higher productivity, less overheads & support calls.

Step 4

Monitor & Reinforce Governance

Periodic meetings are conducted by the Governance Committee to review governance. Any necessary change to the Rules & Policies is updated during this phase. In general a quarterly meeting is conducted.

Governance Pyramid

The following is the Governance Pyramid. It depicts that the higher the accessibility of the content is, the more Governance is required.

Scope of Governance in Water Fall methodology

The activities of Governance usually start after the System Analysis phase. The following diagram depicts the occurrance of Governance.

References

http://bit.ly/10uiVpB
http://oreil.ly/dm6GjL

Summary

In this article we have explored the importance of SharePoint Governance & how to implement it. You can refer to the References link for more detailed approach to Governance.