Without an effective governance strategy in place, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Sites can quickly go from an organized and effective workspace to an out-of-control, sprawling digital wasteland. Sound familiar? It’s very common for organizations to experience Microsoft Teams & SharePoint Sites sprawl. But, when it does happen, how can you tackle it? Join Microsoft MVP & 2toLead CTO, Richard Harbridge, as he explores: * Challenges organizations face with Microsoft Teams & SharePoint Sites sprawl. * Solutions to tackle Microsoft Teams & SharePoint Sites sprawl. * Best practices to get more from Microsoft Teams & SharePoint. * Real-world guidance on out-of-the-box solutions and custom approaches. * How Microsoft 365 can improve experiences, management and organizational outcomes.

1. #ScottishSummit2021
R i c h a r d H a r b r i d g e ( @ R h a r b r i d g e )
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3. @RHarbridge #SPSNH
RICHARD
HARBRIDGE
My twitter is @RHarbridge, I’m super friendly & I am proud to work at 2toLead.
CTO & MVP | SPEAKER & AUTHOR | SUPER FRIENDLY

4. MANAGE WORKSPACE SPRAWL...
WITH MANAGED PROVISIONING
WITH IMPROVED GOVERNANCE
WITH IMPROVED NAVIGATION

5. PROBLEM: CONTENT GROWS OVER TIME…
The modern digital workplace and Intranet has a continually increasing number
of digital spaces or ‘sites’ where content is stored and shared.

6. PROBLEM: CONTENT GROWS OVER TIME…
Most organizations don’t know who created a digital space (SP Site, Team, Yammer
Community, etc). What was its purpose? It’s department? It’s product, client, project, etc?
As an end user this
makes navigating these
spaces extremely
challenging.
Think it’s better as an
administrator or digital
workplace/intranet leader?
It’s not.

7. PROBLEM: CONTENT GROWS OVER TIME…
Most organizations don’t know who created a digital space (SP Site, Team, Yammer
Community, etc). What was its purpose? It’s department? It’s product, client, project, etc?
As an end user this
makes navigating these
spaces extremely
challenging.
Think it’s better as an
administrator or digital
workplace/intranet leader?
It’s not.

8. PROBLEM: CONTENT GROWS OVER TIME…
Be aware of the increased number of sites teams creates and by proxy greater importance of
governance, navigation improvements, content/site classification and more.
Projects
Project A Project B
Project A
Channels
Files
Project AB
Channels
Files
Project B
Channels
Files
Project A
Private

9. WHY DO WE NEED TO MANAGE SPRAWL?
What are the common issues that come with unmanaged sprawl of Microsoft Teams or
SharePoint Sites?
Ineffective
Naming
Unclear Purpose Or
Workspace Focus
Unclear Official vs
Unofficial
Cannot Differentiate
At A Glance
Inappropriate Name
Usage
Owners
Missing
Orphaned
Teams/Sites
Unmanaged
Teams/Sites
Sponsor vs Owner
Challenge
Private Channels
(Don’t Require
Owner)
Redundant
Teams/Sites
Decreased User
Confidence
Inconsistent
Workspaces
Increased
Operational Load
Increased Costs To
Support
Data Loss
Risks
Limited Ability To
Target Labels For
Information
Protection
Limited Ability To
Determine Risk
Limited Ability To
Pro-actively Mitigate
Risks
Limited Permission
Review & Increased
Chances Of Over
Sharing
Loss Of
Control
Often Unmanaged
Use Of Apps (Cannot
Target)
Unmanaged
Integration
Limited Ability To
Target Labels For
Retention
No Clear Escalation If
Owner Missing Or
Unresponsive
Slower
Team/Site
Start
Not Tailored Or Fit
To Purpose
Inconsistent
Design/Layout Leads
To Relearning
Hesitation To
Optimize Created
Spaces
Technically
Challenging
Navigation
Productivity
Costs
Challenging For New
Users To Ramp
Hard To Find
Workspaces
Uncertain Who
Owns A Workspace
Reliance On Others
To Link
Training &
Adoption
Challenges
When To Use What
Challenges
No Consistency
Makes It Harder To
Train
Unmanaged
Workspaces Cannot
Be Targeted With
Guidance
Difficulty Identifying
Champions & Pro-
actively Targeting
Champions

10. WHY IS IT HARD TO MANAGE SPRAWL?
Every organization that successfully leverages digital workplace solutions will have a
continually growing sprawl of sites, teams, communities and spaces. Why isn’t this solved?
https://sharepointmaven.com/20-ways-to-create-an-office-365-group/
Did you know
there are 20+ ways
to create a site,
team or group?

11. MANAGE WORKSPACE SPRAWL...
WITH MANAGED PROVISIONING
WITH IMPROVED GOVERNANCE
WITH IMPROVED NAVIGATION

12. SOLUTION: OOTB CREATION EXPERIENCES?
While OOTB can work great for many smaller orgs (less than 100 users), most need more structure
to support governance, lifecycle management, and better search/navigation experiences.
Out Of The Box
●

13. SOLUTION: MANY OPTIONS!
Each of these capabilities can be leveraged in a solution to meet the needs of an effective
request and provisioning engine for Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Yammer and more.
SPFx Solutions Custom Sites
Azure
Functions
Logic Apps WebJobs
PnP
Provisioning
Engine
SharePoint
Site Designs
Teams
Templates
Power Apps
Power
Automate
Microsoft Lists
SharePoint
Lists

14. SOLUTION: REQUEST PROCESS!
It is important to have a process for new site and team creation and to automate the process so that you can
provide tailored, or templated experiences for users and better management/navigation.
Example of a High-level Site Provisioning process description

15. SOLUTION: METADATA DURING CREATION
Why is asking a few extra questions on provisioning so important? What value does this extra
metadata provide once we have it for reference?
Workspace
(Site/Team)
Metadata
Enables Default
Metadata
Empowers Effective
Labelling
Targeted Content
Protection
Targeted Retention
Management
Differentiate
Templates
Faster Adoption
Improved
Productivity
Consistency
Manage More
Effectively
Target Support
Improve Lifecycle
Management
Reduce Redundancy
& Empower
Discovery
Sample Metadata Questions:
• What is the purpose or business reason for
this workspace?
• What division does this relate to?
• What department does this relate to?
• What product does this relate to?
• What customer does this relate to?
• What project does this relate to?
• Will this workspace contain highly
confidential information?
• Who is the business sponsor for this
workspace?
• What should the visibility of this workspace
be? Should it be shown in the directory?

16. SOLUTION: POWER APP FORM(S)!
By centralizing and governing the creation of ‘spaces’ (groups, teams, sites etc.) we can improve
content organization and apply things like default metadata and pre-configured templates.
FREE: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/platform/samples/app-templates#request-a-team
Watch out for premium connector costs with Power Automate on the provisioning!

17. SOLUTION: REQUEST FORM(S)!
By centralizing and governing the creation of ‘spaces’ (groups, teams, sites etc.) we can improve
content organization and apply things like default metadata and pre-configured templates.
You can always create
your own forms and
embed them into your
digital workplace hub /
Intranet.
Here we have simple field
additions and a style that
displays based on an option
in the global navigation.
Requires Minor Customization
◑

18. MANAGE WORKSPACE SPRAWL...
WITH MANAGED PROVISIONING
WITH IMPROVED GOVERNANCE
WITH IMPROVED NAVIGATION

19. MANAGE WORKSPACE SPRAWL...
WITH MANAGED PROVISIONING
WITH IMPROVED GOVERNANCE
WITH IMPROVED NAVIGATION

20. SOLUTION: IMPROVE MANAGEMENT!
By centralizing and governing the creation of ‘spaces’ (groups, teams, sites etc.) we can
improve how we manage the lifecycle of these spaces.
Expiration &
Archiving
Policies
Duplication
Detection
Reduce Risks
(Owner, External
Sharing, etc.)
Associate Teams
& Sites To
SharePoint Hubs
Provide Training
Material
Improve Site /
Team Owner
Onboarding

21. SOLUTION: IMPROVE MANAGEMENT!
By centralizing and governing the creation of ‘spaces’ (groups, teams, sites etc.) we can
improve how we manage the lifecycle of these spaces.
Can we reduce redundant
spaces? Can we improve how
they are managed?
On the more custom side you
might see prompts based on
finding similar existing spaces
(reducing redundant spaces),
or automatic lifecycle and
governance, that occurs
based on re-engaging
users/owners etc.

22. MANAGE WORKSPACE SPRAWL...
WITH MANAGED PROVISIONING
WITH IMPROVED GOVERNANCE
WITH IMPROVED NAVIGATION

23. MANAGE WORKSPACE SPRAWL...
WITH MANAGED PROVISIONING
WITH IMPROVED GOVERNANCE
WITH IMPROVED NAVIGATION

24. PROBLEM: CONTENT GROWS OVER TIME…
The modern digital workplace and Intranet has a continually increasing number
of digital spaces or ‘sites’ where content is stored and shared.
How can we help our users navigate this?
With so many spaces (sites,
teams, yammer communities and
more) how can an Intranet (a
Digital Hub for your Digital
Workplace) improve navigation
of these spaces?

25. PROBLEM: CONTENT GROWS OVER TIME…
Most organizations don’t know who created a digital space (SP Site, Team, Yammer
Community, etc). What was its purpose? It’s department? It’s product, client, project, etc?
As an end user this
makes navigating these
spaces extremely
challenging.
Think it’s better as an
administrator or digital
workplace/intranet leader?
It’s not.

26. PROBLEM: CONTENT GROWS OVER TIME…
Most organizations don’t know who created a digital space (SP Site, Team, Yammer
Community, etc). What was its purpose? It’s department? It’s product, client, project, etc?
As an end user this
makes navigating these
spaces extremely
challenging.
Think it’s better as an
administrator or digital
workplace/intranet leader?
It’s not.

27. SOLUTION: LEVERAGE OOTB NAVIGATION?
Mega menu layout enables you to better organize and showcase the related content and sites
based on topic categories and headings. All with audience targeting and more…
Out Of The Box
●

28. SOLUTION: DESIGN BETTER NAVIGATION!
Navigation doesn’t need to be limited to top level links, or simple UI layouts. Here we have two
examples of content in the nav, and richer/deeper nav.
Requires Customization
◔
This design only scales to so
many links. There are other
options than a simple
sectional layout.

29. SOLUTION: DESIGN BETTER NAVIGATION!
Navigation doesn’t need to be limited to top level links, or simple UI layouts. Here we have two
examples of content in the nav, and richer/deeper nav.
Requires Customization
◔
This design scales to more
lower level links. There are
other options than the OOTB
simple sectional layout.

30. SOLUTION: HOW ABOUT SHAREPOINT HOME?
Office 365’s SharePoint home is now a more modern site directory experience that is more
personalized and dynamic. From recent sites you visited to recent activity relevant to you.
Out Of The Box
●

31. SOLUTION: HOW ABOUT SHAREPOINT HOME?
It’s a little hidden and most users don’t know it exists. Even when trained users often forget to
use it, because you have to navigate away from the places you work to visit it.
Out Of The Box
●
How do users get to it?
So… it’s another place to go?

32. SOLUTION: LEVERAGE OOTB NAVIGATION?
With improvements coming to global menu design can we leverage that to fill the hub mega
menu gaps?
Out Of The Box
●

33. SOLUTION: LEVERAGE OOTB NAVIGATION?
With improvements coming to global menu design can we leverage that to fill the hub mega menu
gaps? ADD your own app to this bar for a DIRECTORY as these default ones are not sufficient.
Out Of The Box
●

34. SOLUTION: LEVERAGE OOTB NAVIGATION?
With improvements coming to global menu design can we leverage that to fill the hub mega menu
gaps? ADD your own app to this bar for a DIRECTORY as these default ones are not sufficient.
Out Of The Box
●

35. SOLUTION: DIRECTORY EXPERIENCES!
What is shown below is a really simple mockup of a filtered OOTB site directory experience.
You can create many pages with different views/visuals and relevant links to resources (Team, Site, Yammer, etc.)
Our communities can be filtered or explored by hierarchies (site explorer), by focus area (topic map), by the ones you recently visited or have favorited (your sites, your
teams, your communities) or by filtering the columns below (just click the column header).
Link ID Community Manager(s) Practice Groups Date Created Category Private Owner
International Bank Of Banking EB001 Strange, Stephen; Connor, Sarah; Ripley, Ellen Corporate Securities 11/16/2018 RFP Y Snow, John
Travis County, Washington TCT001 Opel, Glenn; Knight, Misty; Allen, Tim; Banner,
Bruce; Marco, Polo, Rambo, John
Litigation; Environmental 11/15/2018 RFP Y Jones, Jessica
Gotham Housing Authority SAH012 Balboa, Rocky Government; Real Estate 11/03/2018 Pitch Y Jones, Jessica
Harbridge Corp HIL003 Parker, Peter; Spector, Marc; Segal, Steven; Bond,
James
Trademark & Copyright 10/30/2018 Proposal N Danvers, Carol
Metropolis Independent School
District
DIS020 Brooks, Mel; Knight, Misty; Grey, Jean; Banner,
Bruce
Public/Education Law 10/27/2018 RFP N Jones, Jessica
International Bank Of Banking EB001 Strange, Stephen; Connor, Sarah; Ripley, Ellen Corporate Securities 11/16/2018 RFP Y Snow, John
Travis County, Washington TCT001 Opel, Glenn; Knight, Misty; Allen, Tim; Banner,
Bruce; Marco, Polo, Rambo, John
Litigation; Environmental 11/15/2018 RFP Y Jones, Jessica
Gotham Housing Authority SAH012 Balboa, Rocky Government; Real Estate 11/03/2018 Pitch Y Jones, Jessica
Harbridge Corp HIL003 Parker, Peter; Spector, Marc; Segal, Steven; Bond,
James
Trademark & Copyright 10/30/2018 Proposal N Danvers, Carol
SITES, TEAMS & COMMUNITIES IN OUR ORG Not Following
BROWSE SECTIONS DEPARTMENTS SITES, TEAMS & COMMUNITIES MY LINKS
Org
Logo
Search
Out Of The Box
●
OOTB Lists and web parts
can give you directory
experiences if you simply
store the data from the
request process
(approved or already
created spaces).
* Public by default
scales and works
better in the long
run

36. Enabling a streamlined experience to guide users when the launch the app.

37. Simplified experience that gives you quick access to communities.

38. Reimaging the My Hub navigation experience within Microsoft Teams that gives users quick access
to tools for the job, support functions, industries & practices as well as their My Links.

39. MANAGE WORKSPACE SPRAWL...
WITH MANAGED PROVISIONING
WITH IMPROVED GOVERNANCE
WITH IMPROVED NAVIGATION

40. DIGITAL WORKPLACE PLANNING…
Intranets?
Extranets?
Departmental Portals?
Functional Areas?
Project Group Sites?
Team Group Sites?
Enterprise Social Network?
Document Management?
Records Management?
And much much more….
Provisioning and management planning is a small part of your broader digital workplace
planning and only the first (but important) part of Microsoft 365 Governance planning.

41. Thank You!
TheSummit,Sponsors&Y
ouForMakingThisPossible…
200+AwesomePresentationsAt.. Slideshare.Net/RHarbridge
600+PagesOfWhitepapersAt.. 2toLead.com/Whitepapers
WhenT
oUseWhat.com Office365Intranets.com
Office365Metrics.com Office365Campaigns.com
Office365Extranets.com Office365Resources.com
Message Me On LinkedIn or Email Richard@2toLead.com
CTO & MVP | SPEAKER & AUTHOR | SUPER FRIENDLY
Let’s connect and find ways to do more and work together.

42. #ScottishSummit2021
Thank You