SharePoint Success: Crafting the Perfect Intranet for the Salvation Army

Key insights

• SharePoint Branding: The design uses the Salvation Army’s signature brand colors to create an engaging and functional intranet that aligns with their unique identity.


• Core Features: Includes a home page for news, a resource center for policies, collaboration tools like team sites and document libraries, a volunteer portal, event management calendars, optimized search and navigation, and mobile accessibility.


• Modern SharePoint Experience: Utilizes modern web parts such as news feeds and quick links. Integrates with Microsoft 365 tools like Teams and OneDrive for seamless communication and document sharing.


• User-Centric Design: Developed user personas to reflect diverse needs. Focused on branding with consistent layouts using headers, quick links, and footers. Provided training guides to help staff adapt.


• Testing and Feedback: Conducted user testing to ensure platform effectiveness. Collected feedback post-launch to make improvements for ongoing relevance.


• Achievements Highlighted: Improved communication through centralized updates, streamlined operations by reducing email overload, and enhanced engagement by empowering volunteers with easier access to resources.

Introduction to SharePoint Intranet Design

In a recent YouTube video, Dougie Wood, a Microsoft MVP, delves into the intricate process of designing a SharePoint intranet for the Salvation Army. This video serves as a comprehensive guide for organizations seeking to customize their SharePoint Online environment to reflect their unique identity. By using the Salvation Army's signature brand colors, Wood demonstrates how to create an engaging and functional intranet that aligns with an organization's values. This article will explore the key aspects of the design process, the challenges involved, and the trade-offs necessary to achieve a successful SharePoint intranet.

Understanding Organizational Needs

One of the first steps in designing a SharePoint intranet is understanding the specific needs of the organization. For the Salvation Army, this involved engaging with stakeholders such as leadership, department heads, and end-users. Through these meetings, Wood was able to gather essential requirements, including the organization's operational structure, communication challenges, and tools needed to support their mission.

• Mission Alignment: The intranet was designed to support the Salvation Army's focus on community services, donations, and volunteer coordination.
• User Personas: Personas were developed to reflect the diverse user base, including administrative staff, field officers, volunteers, and donors.

Balancing these needs required careful consideration of various factors, such as ensuring the intranet was both functional and visually appealing.

Defining Core Features

The next step involved defining the core features of the SharePoint intranet. These features were tailored to meet the specific needs identified in the previous stage.

• Content Hubs: A home page featuring news, announcements, and success stories from various Salvation Army branches was created. Additionally, a resource center for policies, training materials, and forms was included.
• Collaboration Tools: Team sites for departments like HR, Outreach, and Logistics were established, along with document libraries featuring version control for storing donor records and campaign materials.
• Volunteer Portal: A dedicated section for volunteers to find schedules, guidelines, and upcoming opportunities was developed.
• Event Management: Calendars for events, fundraising drives, and community services were integrated.
• Search and Navigation: The navigation was optimized with a clean, hierarchical structure for quick access to information.
• Mobile Accessibility: A responsive design ensured accessibility for field officers and mobile-first users.

These features were carefully selected to enhance collaboration, accessibility, and overall user experience.

Leveraging SharePoint Features

To maximize the functionality of the intranet, Wood leveraged several modern SharePoint features. These included the use of modern web parts like news feeds, quick links, and countdown timers to create dynamic and interactive content. Furthermore, the integration with Microsoft 365 was crucial for seamless communication and document sharing.

• Integration with Teams: This allowed for seamless communication across the organization.
• Utilization of OneDrive and Power BI: These tools facilitated document sharing and performance dashboards, respectively.
• Automation with Power Automate: Workflows were automated for tasks such as approving budget requests or scheduling events.
• Security & Permissions: Permission levels were defined to ensure sensitive data, like donor information, remained secure.

These features required a balance between functionality and security, ensuring that the intranet was both user-friendly and protected against unauthorized access.

Designing with Usability in Mind

A crucial aspect of the intranet design was ensuring usability for all stakeholders. This involved customizing the intranet with the Salvation Army's branding, including logos, colors, and fonts, to create a sense of unity. An intuitive layout was developed with consistent page elements like headers, quick links, and footers.

• Training and Support: Guides and workshops were developed to help staff and volunteers adapt to the new platform.

The challenge here was to create a design that was both aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate, ensuring a positive user experience.

Testing and Refinement

After the initial design was implemented, user testing was conducted to ensure the platform met the needs of all stakeholders. Feedback was gathered post-launch to identify areas for improvement and ensure the intranet remained relevant and effective.

• Improved Communication: Centralized updates for staff and volunteers were enabled.
• Streamlined Operations: Email overload was reduced through collaborative tools and document sharing.
• Enhanced Engagement: Volunteers and donors were empowered with easier access to resources and events.

This iterative process highlighted the importance of continuous refinement to maintain the intranet's effectiveness.

Conclusion

Designing a SharePoint intranet for an organization like the Salvation Army involves a complex interplay of factors, including organizational needs, core features, and usability. Dougie Wood's video provides valuable insights into this process, demonstrating how modern SharePoint features can be leveraged to create a customized and impactful intranet. By balancing functionality, security, and user experience, organizations can develop an intranet that supports their mission and enhances collaboration and engagement.

Keywords

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