Complex SharePoint projects may benefit from full project management sites, but even then, OneNote can play a major role in the documentation. Individual OneNote notebooks can be created in multiple locations, and when the project is completed, the notes can be easily moved, merged, or copied with a copy link provided. OneNote also provides a number of templates in the New Page drop-down menu that can be further customized to meet SharePoint needs, as shown in Figure 2-34. Once changes are made, the page can be saved in the Templates Task pane as a template for all future projects.
This should not be an exhausting process if the bulk of the work is done right in the room with stakeholders; the rest is simple image/screen capture with a few coherent notes thrown in for clarification. Just document with purpose. Consider this: if you have the unfortunate luck of being hit by a hog truck tomorrow on the way to work, your notes could easily make the difference between a sustainable or disposable solution.
A few things should always be documented, and content types are among them. Copy the configuration into OneNote, as shown in Figures 2-29 and 2-33. Document any reasoning behind the need to create a content type and also paste any parent/child relationships. These notes will be valuable should the content types need to be deleted or edited in the future.
I have a tabbed section defined in the notebook for workflow, but I also have created a OneNote tag so that any project with workflow, even out of the box, can be tagged for search purposes. As shown in Figure 2-35, right-click applies tags, and you can use the Customize Tags option to create new ones with labels that fit SharePoint development. OneNote even provides a Find Tags button in the ribbon that you can use to surface all tagged workflow on the site at the time of upgrades or patch testing.
OneNote’s Insert tab also has great options for attaching and inserting files into the notebook. The File Printout button will insert the file into the notebook in a readable printout fashion so Visio diagrams or flowcharts describing the workflow scenario can be copied directly onto any page, like the one shown in Figure 2-36.
Often, creating a New Item form requires working from an existing paper copy. Some of these forms can have 30 or more columns, which makes creating the lists and the associated forms a challenge. Scanning these forms to OneNote is handy for documenting requirements, plus you can use the drawing tools for highlighting and marking sections as the build progresses (see Figure 2-37).
Use of client-side scripts is a privilege, and applying them in my environment means adopting a responsible attitude toward documentation. My notes regarding scripts are a real time-saver. Take Easy Tabs as an example (shown in Figure 2-38). Easy Tabs is Christophe Humbert’s awesome JavaScript tabbing solution. You can find it at PathToSharePoint.com. I use Easy Tabs all over my sites to roll up content under other web parts to maximize page real estate. With the latest release of Easy Tabs, Christophe allows for multiple options in colors and functionality.
I document the configuration of each script with screenshots of which options were picked from Christophe’s site (see Figure 2-38), upload the TXT file to the library, then link it to the notebook page with the Attach File options. Since I use the relative URL of the script in the CEWP, I paste that to the page, too. Later, when Easy Tabs are needed on another site, the existing script functions are quick to review and, if they fit the need, I can grab the URL right from the documentation. Easy Tabs has its own tab in my notebook, and each variation of the script has its own page. To the left of the screen clipping, I record the URL where that script resides across my site (see Figure 2-39).
This copy-and-paste business may seem tedious, but in actuality, OneNote is open so often on my desktop that it is a snap. While the page is open, it is easy to drop in the URL of the new location where this script is being used. A search on the page URL will surface these notes if troubleshooting is ever needed should a page go down and will provide a handy link should something need to be tested at the time of an upgrade.
OneNote provides such excellent linking options that any time resources such as articles or videos are used for reference, they can easily be linked in to the documentation. In this way, the Rudder becomes an incredibly valuable learning tool, one meant to be shared with other Power Users.
Note
Power Users should meet on a regular basis. Using the SharePoint community as a model, the goal of the meetings is both for education and support. The SharePoint team should provide regular updates on topics that affect the farm, such as upcoming patch application schedules or other project rollouts. Users should be encouraged to share their discoveries and present their solutions. OneNote should play a major part in these discussions, since exposure to the documentation will encourage a like-minded and more consistent approach toward organizing notes.
Using SharePoint workflow for approval of more advanced development techniques such as those requiring Designer or jQuery is the backbone of this process and the key to providing IT with the oversight they need in order to be persuaded toward empowering users. OneNote provides an ideal canvas for documentation, however the structure of notes can be a bit problematic for workflow. Figure 2-40 clearly shows the tabs running horizontally across the top of the page, each of which creates a new item entry in the library. However, the pages within that tab (vertically listed) are not entries on their own. Any workflow employed here would initiate on the entire tabbed section, not a specific page. Of course, pages can be promoted as new tabs—restructuring notes in OneNote is easy enough, but there are a several ways to work around that problem.
Figure 2-40. Tabs running across the top create a new item entry in the library; the pages, listed down the right, do not
You can use an Initiation Form workflow like the one shown in Figure 2-41 to gather more information and further define which pages need review and approval. The form can prompt for the search parameters upon manual initiation of the workflow and pass those values through in an email notification.
Additionally, the OneNote tags can be employed to help with search, too. The tags are easily customized, but even easier to search. A Tags Summary pane is available, as shown in Figure 2-42, that allows for searching on all tags used in the notebook.
