What is SharePoint Governance?

Put simply Governance is a written guide to your SharePoint solution.

It is possible to roll out SharePoint with no plan and to build it organically. It is not normally recommended, but most small businesses try to use SharePoint in a way that fits their niche.

This can be said about a lot of software that allows customisation. But in SharePoint, it can be very easy to lose control and then reign it back in again.

This is where Governance comes in play.

The Plan

A governance plan for SharePoint can be as simple as outlining the goal, and listing who is responsible for it.

But it can also be more complex,

• outlining the structure of the sites
• where content types live
• who can create and where
• What the budget is
• All the key roles for supporting and maintaining the system
• Any training and adoption policies
• Data Classification

This sounds a bit much…

Well, I wont lie, it is. But you may find that if you are using SharePoint and need to govern its use, this plan could be a life saver.

You can start small, just outline the goals, the type of information you are creating, the strategy to roll out and then a summary of future-plans. This will get you started and then you can build your big complex document over time from there.

If you would like to know more, get in touch on 01962 711000