Project Snapshot: Microsoft® SharePoint® Redesign for Health Services Company
July 2010
Cognitive Technologies was engaged by a leading health services company to redesign the internal intranet portal,
powered by Microsoft® SharePoint®. Project goals focused on reinventing the concept of SharePoint from a document storage area
to an active information hub through the addition of new SharePoint 2007 functionality, fresh content, increased self-service and
value-added solutions.
Cognitive Technologies conducted requirements gathering sessions with key stakeholders from functional groups across the organization.
During these sessions critical information was collected to:
- Determine current employee usage of the existing portal
- Identify facilitators and barriers end users encounter when interacting with web parts on the existing portal
- Generate a list of desired business requirements for the redesigned portal
- Determine the desired use of the portal to mass distribute departmental information to employees
- Identify existing processes and procedures departments utilize when interacting with the SharePoint Administration Office to
distribute new information on the portal.
The business requirements analysis provided guidance for the project steering committee and implementation team on design elements
for the new intranet SharePoint portal. Design elements included corporate branding with custom colors, fonts and logos; user-friendly
navigation; customized web-parts; a rotating image reel; a personalized FAQ list and more. Additionally, the portal technology was upgraded
to Microsoft SharePoint’s 2007 platform, to enable process automation through workflow functionality. Cognitive Technologies also improved
the use of custom forms, utilizing Microsoft® Office InfoPath®, in conjunction with the workflow technology.
Requirements gathering and analysis enabled Cognitive Technologies to design not only a technically superior SharePoint portal, but one
that met the user’s needs and improved utilization and user acceptance. The newly designed portal drove project success because it became
an active internal information source and a tool to propel a decentralized organization towards a "culture of collaboration."
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