OMIS 498 SharePoint Collaboration Portal

Problem Statement: Each semester, the OMIS498 Capstone course creates a new SharePoint site in order to facilitate team collaboration, causing wasted time and lost resources. When a new site is created, it a standard, featureless site that must be rebuilt from the ground up. The gap that my work addressed was to find ways to easier facilitate the SharePoint site in such a way to better utilize its features, and make transitions to future semesters more seamless. Methods: My work consisted of a four-phase process. It started with envisioning an optimal state of functionality. This was done by working with Dr. Aase to determine a desired state, and working with team leaders within our class. Then I planned my approach, which included research and working to get the SharePoint web server configured to allow features and maximum functionality. Next, I developed team sites, pages, templates and started enabling features such as alerts and calendars to improve class productivity. The class began using the SharePoint site early in the development phase. Finally, during the stabilization phase, I troubleshot any quirks, took requests for added features and made sure optimal features were being used. Results: As a result of the above process, the team collaboration portal has been used successfully by our class for the majority of the semester. Large quantities of data have been uploaded to the SharePoint site without issue, alerts and calendars are working and information is flowing as it should through the site. We also used the website to coordinate community service efforts with a local soup kitchen, Feed em' Soup. Conclusion: Overall, I am very satisfied with the results of the SharePoint team collaboration portal. There were some kinks in the beginning of the project relating to server configuration and settings within SharePoint itself. Once these issues were addressed, operations ran very smoothly. Ultimately, the class was able to fully utilize the team sites and its features, creating a better, more efficient flow of information for the teams.B.A. (Bachelor of Arts