Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've often said that a good Dummies book allows me to get a broad understanding of a product or technology so I "know what I don't know". This title is a classic example of that... Microsoft SharePoint 2003 For Dummies by Vanessa Williams. It's a non-threatening use-focused coverage of SharePoint 2003 that is a good introduction to the topic at hand...
Contents:
Part 1 - Getting the Lay of the Land: Getting to Know SharePoint; Starting with the Basics
Part 2 - Central Portal Administration: Configuring the Portal; Accessing SharePoint
Part 3 - Portal Design: Matching SharePoint to Your Business; Managing Portal Content; Branding the Portal
Part 4 - Build It, and Hope They Come: Collaborating with SharePoint Sites; Document Libraries;
Part 5 - Power to the People - Engaging Employees with SharePoint: Managing Employee Relations; Mixing Up Your Marketing Mix
Part 6 - Throw Away the Spreadsheets: Expense Reports; Technical Uses for SharePoint
Part 7 - Maintenance: Monitoring SharePoint; Backup and Restore
Part 8 - The Part of Tens: Ten Ways SharePoint Adds Business Value; Ten Ways to Screw Up SharePoint
Index
Williams goes after two different audiences here, and I'm surprised she pulled it off. She targets the average power user who might have access to build a site on the SharePoint server. With this book in hand, I would agree that a motivated person could do quite well on their own. She also targets tech people who want an overview of SharePoint so that they can get started quickly. Normally you can't mix those two groups and come out with something that's acceptable to either. Again, I think she actually succeeded. If I were going to start building SharePoint sites for a user base, I'd have enough information here to get started with an adequate mental framework of how it all fits. I'm sure I'd quickly need the "1000 page book" (as she puts it) to start pushing the boundaries of what's possible. But for basic "I need something now" sites, I could do it with the help of this book.
I was also impressed that she dealt with the cultural issue of collaboration software. As a long-time Notes/Domino developer, I know and understand all too well that collaboration isn't something you can mandate or force on people. People who get it will gravitate around the software right away. Those who view information as power will horde it and refuse to participate. And it doesn't matter how good of a developer you are or how slick the site is. The application will fail... By addressing these issues, Williams sets a realistic picture of what to expect if and when you install SharePoint.
Good material, and a good way to get your feet wet on SharePoint 2003...
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Corporations have finally embraced portals as tools for knowledge sharing, and SharePoint, which offers easy integration with Microsoft Office, is an increasingly popular solution, with ten percent of the portal market
Shows IT developers and administrators how to get up to speed fast on SharePoint portal technology
Topics covered include building sites with SharePoint and FrontPage, setting up document collaboration and information sharing, updating custom SharePoint sites using Microsoft Office, developing an HTML viewer for Office documents, creating custom reporting forms using InfoPath, and integrating SharePoint sites using SharePoint Services
