Summary

This chapter discussed two important concepts related to information management: user access and personalization. User access is how you can control who can view, edit, or create content in a SharePoint environment. You can define access on the site level, document library, or list level through permission levels and site groups. For lists, you can also define rules on what content users can read or edit at the item level.

As a general rule, you should use existing Active Directory groups and objects when you assign permissions to specific roles in a SharePoint group. In most organizations, Active Directory is kept up-to-date as employees change positions, leave, or are hired. By creating a relationship between Active Directory and SharePoint site groups, you automatically keep user membership current without relying on manual updates

Personalization in SharePoint is delivered via features such as user profiles, audiences, and My Sites. When you use personalization features, users become exposed only to content that is relevant to them. Profile properties and My Sites also help encourage users to learn more about each other and interact with one another. In many organizations, users do not connect with one another because of a lack of awareness of what they have in common with one another or who has what skills.

When defining personal profile properties, users can determine if everyone, their colleagues, their manager, workgroups, or only the user can view information. This helps create a network of professional and personal information sharing that is controlled and secure so that users feel comfortable sharing specific details and know that these details will only be shared with the appropriate audience.

This chapter also discussed how you can create audiences to identify groups of users that share common profile properties, group memberships, or characteristics. Once an audience is created, content from the SharePoint site can be targeted at them. The more audiences are used for content, the more relevant the user experience becomes.