By Aaron Cutlip

Q: What suggestions do you have to start with document management practices on SharePoint?

Cutlip: I would recommend that you start by modeling your information architecture. In SharePoint terms this means creating the site structure along with the content type hierarchy metadata (columns) associated with the content. Try to think about the documents at a higher level and understand their lifecycle in terms of creation, consumption, archival/destruction. Identify how the documents will be used and any workflow processes around those documents.

Q: Where does a SharePoint-hosted environment fit with other on-premise or SaaS integrations?

Cutlip: It depends on who is hosting and the type of communications channel that is established. For instance, Microsoft Online Dedicated can be setup and integrated with on-premise systems but requires a secure communications channel. Other hosting vendors offer similar integration strategies. If you have the ability to deploy custom code/solutions to the hosted servers then you can write any needed integration with SaaS systems you may need.

Q: Does anyone have some examples of the time required, elapsed time and hours expended, for an actual deployment?

Cutlip: SharePoint deployment times vary based on the nature of the solution and what features are being used. I would refer you to the Microsoft Gear Up site which does contain some planning and time estimation resources which will probably help you out. Based on their low and high range they say anywhere between 5 and 13 months, which I think is fairly accurate, but can be less or more depending on that nature of you implementation. (http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/gearup)

Q: What is your take on how content is stored in SP (SQL) vs. file system-based storage? Which one is the industry ready to embrace?

Cutlip: On the one hand, storing documents in the database makes a lot of sense because a database backup also backs up your documents. It also allows for different mirroring and disaster recovery scenarios. On the other hand adding an additional file server tier to your infrastructure allows your database size to be smaller and gives you more flexibility in how the files are stored. I am not sure the industry will ever embrace one particular way of doing things. It is hard to say if SharePoint 2010 will change the way in which files are stored, but you can almost guarantee Microsoft will improve the document management capacities and capabilities of the product.

Q: Any advice on how to build a strong business case for using SharePoint (replacing intranet)?

Cutlip: The Microsoft GearUp site has a page dedicated to developing a business case. (http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/gearup/Pages/BuildaBusinessCase.aspx)

Q: What is the current standard practice for deploying forms to SharePoint? Say you have 50 to 100 Infopath forms that vary from an active Enterprise used form to a work group form. Do you deploy all the forms to their own form library? Or is it better to build a single repository for all forms?

Cutlip: Having 50 to 100 forms in a single form library would probably be a little overwhelming to the users and may make browsing the library more challenging once you have a few thousand submitted forms. It is typical for companies to organize forms at the top level of their site structure along with other enterprise data and push department forms down to the department sites. If you have an enterprise license you can take advantage of InfoPath Forms Services and create globally managed forms that can be used in multiple sites in your hierarchy without having to duplicate the form. Also consider using promoted properties when publish your forms so that you can then create views on those columns.

Q: Please explain what you mean by "SP is more file-centric than metadata-centric."

Cutlip: Traditional ECM systems store documents in repositories in which users use metadata to store and sort the documents. In SharePoint you typically organize document in different libraries and sites based on the nature of the documents. Metadata is also applied to these documents. However, it is the nature of the document that dictates in placement. Additionally, with no configuration or setup of metadata SharePoint document libraries function in a similar fashion to traditional file shares in which little to no metadata is collected.

Q: Is there a best practice you suggest in dividing what content should go into Sharepoint's Doc Mgmt versus a pre-SharePoint existing ECM (that has robust document mgmt. system)? Divide wheat from chaff?

Cutlip: A simple and common answer is to use SharePoint as the collaborative platform for your documents and the existing ECM for completed/official/records. In reality you should ask questions such as "what is the lifecycle of my documents, and what system do we have to best support that life cycle?". For some companies setting up SharePoint is a highly disciplined and structured way would be sufficient to support the complete document life cycle and can support most of the functionality of traditional ECM systems.

Aaron Cutlip (aaron.cutlip@corridorconsulting.com) is a consultant with Corridor Consulting, where he focuses on tying together ECM and SharePoint, slippery beasts both.