Power User functionality in SharePoint 2013 - SP Intersection

SharePoint IntersectionSession

What’s in SharePoint 2013 for me as a Power User?

Asif RehmaniSharePoint MVP and MCT

SharePoint-Videos.com

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Asif Rehmani

CEO and FounderVisualSP / SharePoint-Videos.com ChicagoUSA

Contact

@[email protected]

Author

Trainer and Consultant

SharePoint MVP, MCT

Conference Speaker

SPCTechEdSPTechConSP ConnectionsSP FestDev IntersectionAnd many more…


Expert Tutorials


List of in-context Help ItemsHelp Tab

VisualSPIn-context support through Help tab

Help users when They need it most

Help items for current page and context


Giveaways for today’s session

1 Year access to

890+ SharePoint Video Tutorials

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Session focus

Understand the opportunities available for Power Users to build solutions on top of SharePoint 2013

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How I became a Power User

1995 – Started programming in Visual Basic 4

1998 – Created solutions using C, C++, ASP 2.0 etc.

2002 – Started with ASP.NET (C# mainly). Developed prototype solutions for SharePoint

2004 – Wrote a development course on SharePoint 2003 and taught it

2007 – Started with no-code development technologies and became a Power User evangelist (trainer, consultant, writer, etc.). Never looked back since then

© DEVintersection. All rights reserved.http://www.DEVintersection.com

Basically…

I’m a recovering SharePoint developer


Is there a difference between an Information Worker

and aPower User ?

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Information Workers and Power Users

Information Worker / End User –A person who uses information to assist in making decisions or taking actions

Power Users –Computer user who uses advanced features of programs which are not used by the average user (information worker)

The focus of this presentation is on : Power Users

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Power Users also known as -

No-code developers

Citizen developers

Enlightened users ;-)


“Citizen Developers will create 25% of New Business Applications by 2014”

Gartner, July 14, 2011

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How a Power User is ‘born’

Power User

Information Worker

Developer / IT Pro

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“Let’s not write code until we have to write code.”

Power User’s motto:


CustomizeSharePoint

Out-of-the-Box(sites, docs, lists,

social)

SharePointComposites

(Access App, BI,Workflow, BCS)

DeclarativeCapabilities

(Doc Sets, Records, Search)

Managed Code(Apps, CSOM,

Reusable components)

The customization continuum

http://chinacabinetplans.com/wp-content/uploads/Wood-Cabinet-Plans.gif


What can SharePoint do?


Collaboration Document management Internal Social Network Forms Process Automation

(Workflows) Business Intelligence Reporting Search Metadata Management …

Super secret The next version will even

make coffee!

NDA


Because it can, doesn’t mean you should

Focus on Quick Wins


Identify true pain points and focus in on them (sounds easy, right?)


Build Powerful and easy to maintain solutions

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Questions to ask yourself

Correct questions What do our users need? What does our business need? What’s the return on investment long term for those solutions? Who is going to maintain it?

Incorrect questions What can SharePoint do? How much is the initial cost of the solution?


What can SharePoint do for your business?

Human resource on-boarding process Vacation scheduling system Vendor management portal Employee training scheduling and materials Business performance reporting Company knowledge base Help desk portal Inventory tracking …


Build no-code solutions


Why go ‘no-code’?

Possibilities of what you can do are Enormous!

Quick learning curve

Easier ongoing management of solution

Delegate responsibility easily


How we define ‘no-code’

Yes Browser Office application Desktop application built for SharePoint and related

technologies Scripting technologies

No Visual Studio Managed code

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Creating Solutions

Recommended sequence when creating Your solutions:

Browser based only Use no-code tools Use code tools OR 3rd party product


Topics covered

SharePoint 2013 interface and browser based opportunities SharePoint Designer 2013 Overview SharePoint Designer 2013 Workflows Access 2013 Excel 2013 and PowerView Search Web Parts InfoPath 2013

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The new interface

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http://sharepoint-videos.com/module-1/walkthrough-of-sharepoint-2013-team-site/




Demo: SharePoint 2013 UI Walkthrough


Beautiful Intranets

Make your Intranet come alive


Geolocation column

Show a location map right within your list or libraryhttp://blog.sharepoint-videos.com/my-geolocation-video-on-mvp-award-blog/

http://blog.sharepoint-videos.com/my-geolocation-video-on-mvp-award-blog/


Demo: Geolocation


Self Service Powerful Search

Empower users to discover information


Demo: Search web parts


“Citizen Developers will create 25% of New Business Applications by 2014”

Gartner, July 14, 2011


SharePoint Designer 2013

What’s new and what has changed?

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What’s gone

Design View http://blog.sharepoint-videos.com/sharepoi

nt-designer-2013-data-view-web-part-list-view-web-part-design-view-is-gone/

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http://blog.sharepoint-videos.com/sharepoint-designer-2013-data-view-web-part-list-view-web-part-design-view-is-gone/



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Workflow tools

Browser SharePoint Designer 2013 Visio 2013 Visual Studio 2012/2013

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SharePoint Designer 2013 Workflows

Automate business processes


SharePoint Designer Workflow Types

Attached directly to List

Associated to Lists/Content

Types

Site based – not associated to List or Content Type

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2010 and 2013 style workflowsSharePoint Designer

2010

2013

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Workflow Manager 1.0

SharePoint 2013 workflow processing moved to Workflow Manager (WM)

Workflow no longer runs in the SharePoint content farm / servers

SharePoint farm & Workflow Manager farm can be on same / different servers


New Workflow Activities & Actions

New Actions & ActivitiesMicrosoft Project Specific Actions

Assign a Task Get Property from [Dictionary/DynamicValue]

Create a Project from Current Item

Start a Task Process Count Items in [Dictionary/DynamicValue]

Set the current project stage status to this value

Go to This Stage Trim String Set the status field in the idea list item to this value

Call HTTP Web Service Find Substring in String Wait for Project Event

Start a List Workflow Replace Substring in String Set this field in the project to this value

Start a Site Workflow Translate Document

Build [Dictionary/DynamicValue]

Set Workflow Status


The ‘New Stuff’ Stages• New base level concept of

stages

Visual Designer• Direct Visio incorporation• Stage-Level Diagrams

New Task Actions• Quick and easy to create

tasks and approval processes

Web Services• Able to call into Rest/HTTP

web services

Loops!• Able now to loop indirectly

with stages or directly with the new Loop actions

Copy/Cut and Paste• Core copy/cut and paste

abilities now introduced



Demo: SharePoint Designer 2013 Workflows


Creating / Acquiring new Workflow actions

Create new workflow actions using Visual Studio

Acquire workflow actions through vendors:http://www.harepoint.com/Products/HarePointWorkflowExtensions/Default.aspx

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What will happen to my workflows when we upgrade from SharePoint 2010 to 2013?

They will get transferred as SharePoint 2010 workflows

You can modify them with almost* the same type of environment as in 2010

* With the added ability to use copy/paste functions

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Copying a workflow to another List or Site

Save as workflow template

Export to Visio

Copy / Paste stages


Packaging a workflow

SharePoint Designer 2010: Only reusable workflows can be packaged

SharePoint Designer 2013: List workflows, Reusable workflows and Site

workflows can all be packaged as a wsp


Example of fairly advanced workflow

http://sharepoint-videos.com/pull-info-from-a-blogs-rss-feed-using-sharepoint-designer-2013-workflow/

Example of using:

• Stage

• Loop

• Web service

• Workflow variables

• Dictionary variable

• XML to JSON

• Calculation

• Creating items




SharePoint Composites Showcasecreated by Mark Gillis from Microsoft

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dn594430

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dn594430

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No-code (low-code in this case) leaders in the industry


Workflows Designer capabilities

Free video showing many capabilities (22 mins)


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Dynamic Dashboards

PowerView to visualize data


Using Access 2013 to simplify web development

Access 2013 – Used to create the interface of the app

SharePoint 2013 – Used to host the front end of the app

SQL Server 2012 – Used as the backend data storage technology for the app


Powerful No-Code Apps

Access apps for easy development


Demo: Access Apps


Ability to disable Access apps at the tenant level

SharePoint admin center Settings


And now.. The story of InfoPath


Powerful no-code forms InfoPath based web forms

Forms update (from Microsoft)FORM TYPES USER SCENARIOS TIMEFRAME

Excel Surveys DesignExcel Online—Excel Surveys

CompletionWeb

OnlineContinuouslyshipping

On-premisesIncluded with Office 2013

List Forms Design“FoSL”—Forms on SharePoint Lists

CompletionSharePoint

OnlineSummer 2014– October 2015

On-premisesSharePoint vNext

Structured Documents

Word Plans at the end of 2014

App Forms DesignAccess

CompletionSharePoint

OnlineContinuouslyshipping

On-premisesIncluded with Office 2013


FoSL – Forms on SharePoint Lists (coming soon..)


Empowering the Power User

Formal training on SharePoint at the Power User level – browser and no-code

Ability to tap into available knowledge base as needed Wiki pages and documentation Video tutorials Established connections with

department/team evangelists Online resources

Remote consultation with SharePoint experts


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Power User functionality in SharePoint 2013 - SP Intersection