Bill English, CEO
Mindsharp
UNDERSTANDING HOW USERS
ADOPT SHAREPOINT
About the Speaker
 Bill English
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11 years as a SharePoint Server MVP
Author on 14 books (whew!)
Co-Owner of Mindsharp & Best Practices Conference
Blog: sharepoint.mindsharpblogs.com/bill
Twitter: @minnesotabill
LinkedIn: Bill English
Email: bill@mindsharp.com
Current Position: CEO of Mindsharp
Hometown: Maple Grove, MN
 Latitude: 45.129793; Longitude: -93.47391
 -6:00GMT
About Mindsharp
Mindsharp® Purpose
To best understand and deliver the essential
education that our customers need to be
successful.
Mindsharp Vision
To be a strategic partner with our customers,
helping them do more than they thought
possible through the people and technology
they already have.
Where is Minnesota?
What is Minnesota Known For?
July 6-12…
September 2011 “SharePoint Adoption: Content And Collaboration Is Just The Start”
Sites And Collaboration Are SharePoint’s Sweet Spots
September 2011 “SharePoint Adoption: Content And Collaboration Is Just The Start”
Sites And Collaboration Are SharePoint’s Sweet Spots (Cont.)
Adoption Theory
 Adoption occurs through a process in which:
A new idea (innovation)
2. Is communicated through certain channels
3. Over time
4. Among members of a social system
1.
 If it’s perceived as a new idea, it’s an
innovation
#1: New Idea
SharePoint Adoption
Adoption Theory & SharePoint
 SharePoint is a new idea.
 I would submit that each “feature set” within
SharePoint is a distinct innovation opportunity
 Reinvention will cause more innovation on
the application of SharePoint to business
needs and processes
Rate of Adoption
 Why are some new ideas adopted swiftly (cell
phones or iPads) and others take decades, if
at all? (Metric vs. Imperial systems)
 There are 5 characteristics of any innovation
that must be taken into account, as perceived
by the individual, if you’re going to
understand the rate (how fast or slow) of
adoption.
 This applies directly to SharePoint.
Relative Advantage
 Degree to which an innovation is perceived as
better than the idea it supersedes or is
replacing
 Does not matter if SharePoint has “objective”
advantage. What does matter is if the
individual perceives SharePoint as
advantageous.
Compatibility
 Degree to which an innovation is perceived as
being consistent with the existing values,
past experiences, and the needs of potential
adopters.
 SharePoint might be incompatible with:
 Existing ECM systems
 Existing intranet systems
 Existing information flow processes
 Another political ploy by group(s) with turf
issues??
Complexity
 Degree to which an innovation is perceived as
difficult to understand and use.
 The quality of relationships and the opinions
within the social system are foundational to
this characteristic
 New ideas that are simple to understand are
more readily adopted.
 This is why “dosing” out SharePoint features
is such a good idea.
Trialability
 Degree to which an innovation may be
experimented with on a limited basis.
 New ideas that can be tried on the
“installment plan” will generally be adopted
more quickly.
 “Learn by doing” overcomes risk and
uncertainty
 This is why training is so important to a
SharePoint deployment
Observability
 Degree to which the results of an innovation
are visible to others.
 The easier it is for individuals to see the
results of an innovation, the more likely they
are to adopt.
 Stimulates peer discussions
 Leads to re-invention
Reinvention & Technology
Clusters
 Reinvention is the degree to which an
innovation is changed or modified by a users
in the process of adoption.
 Technology Clusters consists of multiple,
distinguishable elements that are perceived
as being closely interrelated.
 “Package” innovations are usually adopted more
rapidly, assuming the five previous characteristics
are in play
Reinvention as
Personalization
 Reinvention helps adopters customize an
innovation to fit their unique situation.
 Innovations are adopted more rapidly when
they can be reinvented.
Adoption: Start
Small, Bottom Up
Top Down
Bottom Up
Start Big
Start Small
• Relative Advantage: Show
how the solution eases pain
• Compatiblity: “Work up”
• Complexity: KISS, “Dose”
• Trialability: Training, Sandbox
• Observability: Learn/deploy in
groups
Adoption: Start
Big, Bottom Up
Top Down
Keep Complexity at Bay. Plan for Reinvention. Dose out in
clusters, if possible.
Bottom Up
Start Big
Start Small
Simplicity is Paramount. High visilbility leads to additional
conflict. Emphasize Relative Advantage and Compatibility.
Adoption: Start
Small, Top Down
Top Down
Bottom Up
Start Big
Start Small
• Likely a “pet project”
• Focus on point solution
• Emphasize compatibility and
complexity
• POC = Trialability
• Internal report = Observability
Adoption: Start
Big, Top Down
Top Down
Bottom Up
Start Big
Start Small
• Relative advantage &
Compatibility have been
decided at top layer
• Solution may be complex
• Overcome resistance with
Trialability and Observability
• Training on other three
#2 Communication Channels
SharePoint Adoption
Communication Channel Basics
 The nature of the information exchange
relationship determines the conditions under
which a source will or will not transmit the
innovation to the receiver and the effect of
such a transfer.
 Mass Media
 Personal
 Interactive (Internet)
Like it or not…
 Most people depend mainly upon a subjective
evaluation of an innovation that is conveyed
to them from other individuals like
themselves who have adopted the innovation
 Adoption is mainly a social process based on
interpersonal communication relationships
Homophily vs. Heterophily
 The transfer of ideas occurs most frequently
between people who are similar or
homophilous.
 A common problem: communication of an
innovation occurs between people who are
heterophilous.
 Best: homophilous on most variables, but
heterophilous on the innovation.
Communication
Top Down
• Grassroots may become “lost”
in the explanation of relative
advantage, compatibility and/or
complexity for a SharePoint
adoption.
• Best to have management use
others who are more
homophilous to “make the case”
• Homophilous is high, so
observability and compatibility
should be high too.
Heterphilous and homophilous will
need to be understood the larger
the divergent groups across which
SharePoint is being deployed.
Bottom Up
Start Big
Start Small
• Grassroots may become “lost”
in the explanation of relative
advantage, compatibility and/or
complexity for a SharePoint
adoption.
• Best to have management use
others who are more
homophilous to “make the case”
#3 Time
SharePoint Adoption
Time Matters
 Three Parts to the Time Element in the
Adoption of an innovation:
 The Innovation-Decision process
 The “innovativeness” of an individual to adopt
compared to others in their social system
 An innovation’s rate of adoption, measured by
sheer number of members in the social system
who adopt over a given time period.
Innovation Decision Process
Adoption Groups
Innovators: Venturesome
 High degree of mass media exposure
 Like new stuff because it is new
 Seek out new ideas
 Wide interpersonal networks
 Cope with higher levels of uncertainty
 Willing to accept certain levels of setback in
order to move forward
 Gatekeepers to new ideas in the organization
Early Adopters: Respect
 Highest degree of opinion leadership
 Serve as a role model (Observability) for
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others in the following categories
Help trigger critical mass when they adopt
and innovation
Respected by their peers
Embody successful, discrete use of new ideas
Decrease uncertainty about new ideas for
later groups
Early Majority: Deliberate
 Roughly 1/3 of the population
 Seldom hold opinion leadership positions
 Connected to both Early Adopters and Late
Majority members makes them an important
link in the adoption process
 Take their time – extend time period
 Deliberate over adoption
 Willing to adopt, but never lead in that
process.
Late Majority: Skeptical
 Roughly 1/3 of the population
 Adopt due to peer pressure and/or economic
necessities
 Most uncertainty needs to be removed before
they will adopt – Trialability and Observability
are important components
Laggards: Traditional
 Many are considered isolated in one way or
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another from the social system
Point of reference is the past
Suspicious of new ideas
Adoption lags far behind awareness
Must be certain the new ideas will succeed
Fairly impervious to peer pressure
Usually economic forces that drive them to
adopt
“Quickness” of Adoption
Avoid the Hype Cycle
Avoid the Chasm
 Reasons people adopt new technologies are
vastly different
 As adoption moves through the groups, the
ease of use must increase
 As adoption moves over time, the more
pragmatic the solution must become
#4 Social System
SharePoint Adoption
Understanding social systems
 The social system defines the boundaries in
which adoption occurs
 Norms are established behavior patterns for a
social system.
 Some norms can be barriers to adoption
(Compatibility and Relative Advantage)
 Opinion Leaders influence others’ attitudes and
behavior
 Opinion leadership is earned based on competence,
accessibility and conformance to the system’s norms
Opinion Leaders Count
Don’t Ignore Them
 More exposed to all forms of external
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communication
More cosmopolitan
Generally have higher socio-economic status
More innovate (compared to others in their
social system)
At the center of the interpersonal
communication networks within the social
system
Social System
Top Down
• Authority innovation-decisions
• Authority innovation-decisions
Start Big
Start Small
• Collective innovation-decisions
Optional innovation-decisions
Bottom Up
Scale #2
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT
Commitment
Top Down
• Team or Department level
commitment.
• Work to find Top Down/Start
Small pet project to move up
• Work to generalize adoption to
move bigger
• Must be some level of
commitment by the
organization to enable systemwide usage of SharePoint
features
• Bear in mind – you have higher
visibility than you think
Bottom Up
Start Big
Start Small
• Commitment by single authority
or very small group of
individuals
• Make their project “shine” to
gain credibility to move bigger
• Commitment usually based on
global, strategic needs.
• Unusual to have SharePoint
defined as strategically
necessary by CEO
• Know your place. It’s usually not
here.
Other Indicators of
Organizational Commitment?
 Champion at VP level or higher
 Funded, approved budget
 Hire/fire authority
 Clear connections between strategy, goals
and SharePoint
 Have both bottom up and top down support
Scale #3
FEATURE ADOPTION
Several Main Points
 Do not try to align feature adoption rates
across all features.
 Best to measure maturity based on
fulfillment of clearly articulated business
requirements
 Global use does not indicate maturity
 Correct use of features to support business
requirements, strategic goals, etc… is how
maturity is measured
September 2011 “SharePoint Adoption: Content And Collaboration Is Just The Start”
Sites And Collaboration Are SharePoint’s Sweet Spots
September 2011 “SharePoint Adoption: Content And Collaboration Is Just The Start”
Sites And Collaboration Are SharePoint’s Sweet Spots (Cont.)
Other Notes on This Scale
 Lack of use of any given feature might
indicate maturity in the Enterprise
Application Architecture (see later slides)
 Slower than anticipated adoption may be due
to
 Longer adoption periods within social groups
 Lack of adequate education (trialability)
 SharePoint hype led to dissonance and rejection
Scale #4
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS
Adoption hindered when…
 Lack of
 Core Ideology
 Core Values + Clear Purpose for the Organization
 Long-Term Vision
 Clearly articulated short-term mission that is
derived from the long-term vision
 Little connection between vision, mission and
strategic plan
 Written business requirements that translate
purpose and vision to an operational-level plan
(cont.)
 Lack of ability to resolve conflict at higher levels
within the organization
 When governance is thought to be created rather
than derived from risk and compliance
assessments.
 When there exists redundancies in your enterprise
ECM architecture because no one has done a
gap/redundancy analysis with a view to
articulating where Sharepoint starts and stops
Truths You can Count On
 Gaps and/or immaturity in your business
model or in those holding positions in your
business model will hurt and potentially
reduce the “maturity” of your SharePoint
deployment.
 CEOs generally don’t care what software
platform is utilized. Get over it.
 Work with who you can.
Contact Information
Bill English
7767 Elm Creek Blvd, STE 220
Maple Grove, MN 55369
bill@mindsharp.com
www.mindsharp.com
@minnesotabill
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