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KPIs - a working example

Jun. 22, 2009 | Category MOSS, SharePoint

According to Microsoft, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a visual cue that communicates the amount of progress made toward a goal. KPIs are a part of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and are an out of the box feature. Unfortunately people often get confused as to how to actually implement KPIs in their environment. Below is an example of how to use a KPI. In this example I have a list of Performance Reviews. When a performance review is completed the status of the list will be updated to reflect completed. I then want a KPI to indicate how many reviews are completed based on the goals of 80% and 100%.

First let’s look at my performance reviews list. This is based on the tasks list template.

Next we will create the KPI list.

Go to View All Site Content
Click Create
Under Custom Lists, click KPI list
Give the list a name and description and click Create

Once the list is created you can populate a KPI

Click the New drop down and select Indicator using data in a SharePoint list
Enter a name of Performance Review KPI
In the Indicator Value section next to the list URL text box, click the Browse button
Select the Performance Reviews list and click OK
In the value calculation enter the following information

Set the Status Icon Rules as follows:

Click OK.

Your KPI should look somthing like this:

Now, when the status is updated in the Performance Reviews Task List the KPI should be automatically updated as well.

InfoPath Training References

Jun. 10, 2009 | Category InfoPath

Chapter 1 - Introduction to InfoPath
InfoPath Introduction - 8 Part Video Series
Creating a Basic Form in InfoPath (Video - 15 min.)
About digital signatures and InfoPath
A Getting Started Reference from LSU

Chapter 2 - Basic of InfoPath Form Design
Master/Detail control example
Implementing a Master-Detail on the web

Chapter 3 - Working with Data
XML Schema Example

Chapter 4 - Advanced Controls and Customization
Email validation function
Expression box - Conditional SUM example
An overview of functions
An introduction to data validation
Opening a hyperlink in the same browser window
Hyperlink syntax
Understanding Rules in InfoPath
Resource for pattern matching (regular expressions)
Regular expression quick start
Using regular expressions example (Video)
Regular Expression Cheat Sheet

Chapter 5 - Adding Logic without Code

Chapter 6 - Retrieving Data from External Sources
Integrating InfoPath 2007 with the Data Connection Library
Design a form template for offline use
Sample Applications for Sending Native XML Web Services Requests
Connecting InfoPath to Web Services
Exposing Product Information via Web Services
Working with Data Sources and Data Connections in InfoPath

Chapter 7 - Extended Features of Data Connections
Example Web Service: Cascading DropDowns in Browser Forms
Designing a Form Template Based on a Web Service
How to add a data connection to a SharePoint list or library in InfoPath
Developing Solutions for InfoPath (Ch. 7 Exercise)
InfoPath Data Connection Options
Populate a Drop-Down List Box via a Secondary Data Source
Using SQL Server 2005 Web Services with InfoPath

Chapter 8 - Submitting Form Data
Add a data connection to a SharePoint document library or list
Webservices, Business Data Catalog and InfoPath 2007 (article 1)
InfoPath 2007 Form submitting to webservice (article 2)

Chapter 9 - Saving and Publishing
3 Ways to Deploy Templates to SharePoint

Chapter 10 - Building Reusable Components
Creating Reusable Template Parts
Creating and Inserting InfoPath 2007 Template Parts

Chapter 11 - Security and Deployment
Restricting Permissions to InfoPath 2007 Forms and Form Templates
Enabling Digital Signatures in InfoPath 2007 Form Templates
Deploying and Managing InfoPath 2007 Forms

Chapter 12 - Creating Reports

Chapter 13 - Workflows
Building a Simple Custom Workflow in InfoPath (Video - 10 min.)
InfoPath and MOSS Workflow Demo (YouTube Viedo - 10 min.)
Using SharePoint Server Workflows with InfoPath 2007

Chapter 14
Creating InfoPath Form Templates That Work With Forms Services

Chapter 15

MISC

Microsoft InfoPath Labs
Create and Use a Data Connection Library with InfoPath 2007? (Video - 7 min.)
Codeless InfoPath Tutorials, Articles and Solutions
InfoPath 2007 Demo: Create reusable template parts
InfoPath 2007 Demo: Publish a form template as an e-mail message
InfoPath 2007 Demo: Store InfoPath forms in a document library on a SharePoint site
InfoPath 2007 Demo: Convert a Word Document into an InfoPath 2007 Form Template
InfoPath 2007 Demo: Populate a drop-down list box from a SharePoint list
Updating a Secondary Data Source in InfoPath Using AJAX
Download Site for the Example Files
Programmatically create a custom SharePoint list from a repeating table in an InfoPath web-based form

SharePoint Content Types - In Detail

Jun. 03, 2009 | Category SharePoint

After having written several blogs and published several videos on SharePoint Content types, I’ve become a bit of a zealot educating everyone I can how Content Types are really the foundation of SharePoint. Now there is finally some formal instruction on the subject. There’s a new book by David Gerhardt and Kevin Martin which goes deep on the subject, including a chapter on creating Document Information Panels using InfoPath.

If you have ever created or thought about creating document-centric SharePoint solutions, then this book is for you. It teaches power users, administrators, and developers how to use SharePoint content types and walks them through the process of creating one in a sample scenario. The first two chapters provide an overview of content types and can be read by anyone who has had experience with SharePoint. Chapters 3 through 8 are targeted at SharePoint power users and administrators, offering details about the components of document content types and walking readers through the process of creating a sample performance appraisal solution. The last two chapters are geared toward developers and describe how to programmatically manipulate the sample performance appraisal solution with Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. Topics covered include creating columns, associating document templates, customizing the Document Information Panel, adding workflows, defining an information management policy, reusing content types within a site collection, and programmatically manipulating a content type. Check it out!

SharePoint Application Servers

Jun. 01, 2009 | Category SharePoint

Installing SharePoint Services 3.0 in a Sandbox Environment
Useful Facts about SharePoint Farms
SharePoint Server Topology - Server Roles and Services on Server
10 Things To Optimize your SharePoint Server Indexing
Accessing Secured Web Services from Windows SharePoint Services Applications
SharePoint Services and Fault Tolerances

Browser Compatible InfoPath Forms

May. 29, 2009 | Category InfoPath

One of the major issues with InfoPath these days is that many organizations think they can simply use the browser to implement all of their forms needs. Although InfoPath has a robust set of browser supported features, not all of the InfoPath capability is browser compatible. Before you decide if you can forego the individual client licenses for InfoPath you should check out this compatibility list. If you have an existing form you want to enable for browser forms, open the task pane by selecting Tools –> Design Checker. Click the Change Compability Settings link and check the box for “Design a form template that can be opened in a browser of InfoPath”. Once this is enabled, the Design Checker will also list features in the current form that are not compatible with browser-capable forms.

InfoPath Browser Compatibility