SharePoint folders

Debim

Registered
Hello,

can anyone advise on how to manage project folders in SharePoint? How to check who created a new folder in the project site, how to manage draft documents and obsolete documents in SharePoint. Thanks
 

Tidge

Trusted Information Resource
I'm not at all a fan of SharePoint(*1). The only project where I approached neutrality (from the general direction of negativity) was one in which the project manager was the de facto librarian and self-managed the content, structure and meta-data (e.g. naming conventions) of the site.

Even on that project, there was a brief period where the live edits/draft versions features were used by a small number of people on specific documents but something happened such that the PM disallowed that practice. I can't recall specifics, but I think some of the elements were the confusion about "rolling back" documents, clobbering intended changes, and poor management of "locking" documents (intentionally or otherwise).

(*1) In my business, we generally have documents that iterate during development and require a formal approval by the author and diverse hands, at which point they become official records that have a prescribed home in some other record retention system. For two-person teams that don't have strict regulatory concerns or can tolerate poor document controls I'm sure it can be made to "work", but even in that circumstance it's basically a problem of (re)inventing a document control system.
 

ECHO

Involved In Discussions
How to check who created a new folder in the project site
See Here

Given that you posted this under "Document Control Systems, Procedures, Forms and Templates", I am assuming you are using SharePoint as your Document Control System.
First, clearly distinguish in your folder structure between the controlled documents and the non-controlled documents. Only controlled documents are allowed on your "DCS" side, so all drafts will be in the non-controlled documents side.
For obsolete documents, I would keep it where it was but watermark it and indicate it as such.

I work in a similar field as @Tidge and I agree with him. This can quickly become someone's full time job managing all of this.
 

optomist1

A Sea of Statistics
Super Moderator
Hi Debim, Echoing Echo's fine comments, (no pun intended), I have used SP at three large entites; although not perfect when used correctly it is an effective tool to control documents as well as revisions to them. The one beef, many have really relates to the lag or delay experienced by users, and this can be a function of the firm's IT infrastructure...lastly, users must be properly trained on SP....much like Power BI, a very powerful tool, but adequate training is essential...

Optomist1
 

FRA 2 FDA

Involved In Discussions
We use it and I'm the one who manages it and we have had no issues (caveat being we are a small company with only about 4-6 people accessing and using the electronic QMS and everyone has had training on dos and do nots). We have a QMS folder that has all of our released controlled documents divided into sub-folders by document type (SOP, form, list, template). In that folder is an archive folder where all our obsolete revisions go. Outside of that folder, I have a separate folder set up that mimics the format of the QMS folder and this is where all the unreleased working drafts of documents live while they are undergoing change. I'm the only one who moves anything into or out of the QMS folder. For everyone else, it is read-only and is where everyone knows they can reliably access the current revision of any controlled document.
 

optomist1

A Sea of Statistics
Super Moderator
We use it and I'm the one who manages it and we have had no issues (caveat being we are a small company with only about 4-6 people accessing and using the electronic QMS and everyone has had training on dos and do nots). We have a QMS folder that has all of our released controlled documents divided into sub-folders by document type (SOP, form, list, template). In that folder is an archive folder where all our obsolete revisions go. Outside of that folder, I have a separate folder set up that mimics the format of the QMS folder and this is where all the unreleased working drafts of documents live while they are undergoing change. I'm the only one who moves anything into or out of the QMS folder. For everyone else, it is read-only and is where everyone knows they can reliably access the current revision of any controlled document.
Good post...when I have experienced SP Issues...frequently they are due to larger IT issues, servers, location and such.

Cheers Optomist1
 

AprilH

Starting to get Involved
Question - we have just started using SharePoint and it manages our revision status and numbers. We also have permissions set-up with different logins able to view/edit etc.

One issue I'm trying to work through is the version number on the actual document, we have it listed in the table.
 
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