Pressehaus Stuttgart
Pressehaus Stuttgart
SharePoint integrated process documentation with Visio at Pressehaus Stuttgart Infotechnik.
Problem description and scenario
Pressehaus Stuttgart Infotechnik (the IT organization of Pressehaus Stuttgart) needed to build a centrally stored, simple and easy to use process documentation system. Microsoft SharePoint was already in use as the central information and collaboration portal for the modeling of processes. Microsoft Visio was the ideal tool to create process modeling. This allowed business unit end users, not IT professionals, the ability to create documentation correctly including all mandatory information. The customer also requested that users store the documentation in a central location not in local files on their machines!
the demand of the customer
The customer wanted a solution that provided:
- Central storage of process documentation in SharePoint with visualization of the process hierarchy
- Simple creation of process diagrams with support of the user during the creation (highlighting of wrong data or missing mandatory data)
- Simplification of the user interface so the end user is not ower whelmed with unnecessary functions
- Central storage of metadata (e.g. list of departments) in the documentation
- Additional documentation or information files, that belong to the process should be stored with the process
The solution: the maguro DataAssist Process Documenter for SharePoint
The ProcessDocumenter is basically an extension of Microsoft SharePoint with a Visio-based Webpart. This delivers the basic infrastructure to create and use a Visio-based business process documentation portal in SharePoint without ever having to leave the SharePoint user interface.
Visio and SharePoint standard functions were used whenever possible to centrally store and maintain the list of values: process documentation is saved in an extended SharePoint document library.
Overview
The visualization of errors or missing data in the documentation is happening with intelligent Visio Shapes, the Shapes mark erroneous or missing data by a change of color. Additional files that belong to a process (technically: a Visio file) are uploaded and stored within the same folder within the document library. Connections between the single process files can be created through hyperlinks creating a connected process structure by this, also hyperlinks can be used for connecting other types of information (e.g. Web site or some other external file) with the process.
ProcessDocumenter
Implementation and technologies
The implementation took 2 months, with the following technologies:
- Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
- Microsoft Office Visio 2007 Professional Edition
- Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 Second Edition
- Microsoft SharePoint Webparts Technology
