June 2014 #CollabTalk TweetJam on SharePoint UX

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In this month’s CollabTalk tweetjam, we will be tackling the topic of the SharePoint user experience. CollabTalk TweetJam June 2014The issue has been around for quite some time, with many experts and ISVs jumping in with solutions when the 2010 platform did not quite meet UX expectations. Many organizations continue to struggle with adoption and engagement of SharePoint, leading to advances to the UI, mobile enhancements, and the support of device channels. But even with a huge focus on the presentation layer and personalization within SharePoint 2013, has it been enough?

Going forward, Microsoft is making major investments in the UX of SharePoint, from new social and search features (Oslo, Office Graph, Groups, Inline Social, etc) to powerful BI capabilities within Office365. In this month’s tweetjam, we will hear from some of the leading experts in SharePoint design and deployment talk about they think needs to be done to improve the user experience for SharePoint customers, making the platform more “sticky.”

If you’re new to the tweetjam model, basically its an hour-long public conversation held on Twitter and using a shared hash tag, which is #CollabTalk. You can use your Twitter platform of choice OR go over to http://twubs.com/CollabTalk which automatically appends each message with #CollabTalk, and has a nice feature that allows followers to actually slow the dialog down to a readable speed (it can fly by fairly quickly). The questions we will be discussing are listed below:

"Making the SharePoint User Experience More Sticky"

  • What are the biggest problems with the SharePoint user experience?
  • What are the back-end issues that inhibit the SharePoint UX?
  • Responsive vs Designed (device channels) – what do customers prefer?
  • What 3 recent or vNext features will most improve the SharePoint UX?
  • How important is Yammer to the SharePoint UX roadmap?
  • After Oslo and Office Graph, what are your predictions for the SharePoint UX?
  • How do you measure the ROI on SharePoint UX improvements?

As always, we will have an all-star panel of experts on hand to participate in the conversation and to interact with you directly – but anyone can jump in and participate. So don’t be shy — share your own perspective and company or customer experiences, or just lurk. It’s all good. But be sure to mark your calendars, tell your colleagues, and get involved!

Our panel this month will include:

  • Bradley Geldenhuys (@bradgcoza), SharePoint Jedi at GTConsult
  • Asif Rehmani (@asifrehmani), consultant, trainer and SharePoint MVP at SharePoint-Videos
  • Naomi Moneypenny (@nmoneypenny), cto at ManyWorlds
  • Nick Kellett (@nickkellett), SharePoint MVP and cto at Stoneshare
  • Kanwal Khipple (@kkhipple), SharePoint MVP and director of digital strategy at Envision IT
  • Marius Constantinescu (@c_marius), SharePoint MVP, managing consultant at blue-infinity
  • Francois Pienaar (@fhpienaar), business development manager at Mint
  • Barry Jinks (@BJinks), founder and ceo at Colligo
  • Randy Drisgill (@drisgill), SharePoint MVP and branding and design expert at Rackspace
  • Dan O'Leary (@danieloleary), solution architect at Box
  • Edin Kapic (@ekapic), SharePoint MVP and architect at Spenta
  • Eric Riz (@rizinsights), evp at Concatenate and SharePoint MVP
  • Hans Brender (@hansbrender), SharePoint MVP and ceo of sqtm PSC GmbH
  • Jeff Shuey (@Jshuey), director of strategic alliances at Gimmal
  • Juan Carlos Gonzalez Martin (@jcgm1978), SharePoint MVP, co-director of the magazine CompartiMOSS, consultant and solution architect at LKS
  • Jordi Plana (@joplana), founder and ceo of Spenta and social platform Beezy
  • Michael Greth (@mysharepoint), SharePoint specialist and community leader, SharePoint MVP
  • John Ross (@johnrossjr), SharePoint MVP and technical product manager at Rackspace
  • Cathy Dew (@catpaint1), SharePoint MVP, engineer and branding expert at Planet Technologies
  • Tamara Bredemus (@tamarabred), SharePoint consultant at RBA
  • Adam Levithan (@collabadam), consultant and social expert at Portal Solutions
  • Jeff Willinger (@jwillie), director of collaboration and social business at Rightpoint
  • Laura Rogers (@wonderlaura),  SharePoint MVP and consultant at Rackspace
  • Marwan Tarek (@marwantarek), SharePoint MVP and principal technology strategist at BrightStarr
  • Harout Katerjian (@haroutkat), founder and principal at EmGage
  • Dr. Steven Marsh (@drstevemarsh), director of product marketing at Metalogix
  • Marc Anderson (@sympmarc), consultant at Sympraxis Consulting and SharePoint MVP
  • Robert Toro (@SharePointToro), SharePoint practice director at Slalom
  • Michael Hinckley (@michaelhinckley), senior program manager at Tangram Resources
  • Alistair Pugin (@alistairpugin), SharePoint MVP and independent consultant
  • and myself as your host and moderator (@buckleyplanet), SharePoint MVP and chief evangelist at Metalogix

I’m sure we’ll be adding a few more names to the mix, but please feel free to jump in. I am excited to once again have a lively debate, and look forward to the interaction on #CollabTalk. I plan to provide a summary of the discussion on the ITUnity.com site within the next few days, so watch for an update via my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn updates. See you online this Thursday at Twubs.com/CollabTalk

Christian Buckley

Christian is a Microsoft Regional Director and M365 Apps & Services MVP, and an award-winning product marketer and technology evangelist, based in Silicon Slopes (Lehi), Utah. He is a startup advisor and investor, and an independent consultant providing fractional marketing and channel development services for Microsoft partners. He hosts the weekly #CollabTalk Podcast, weekly #ProjectFailureFiles series, monthly Guardians of M365 Governance (#GoM365gov) series, and the Microsoft 365 Ask-Me-Anything (#M365AMA) series.