As we all know the functionality stack in SharePoint 2007 reads longer than a play by play of the NFL Super Bowl. In short, there are a lot of features in MOSS 2007. Most users, even skilled users, don’t utilise even a third of all the cool features within the product. Furthermore, many businesses have the product and don’t even know all its uses.
When implemeting SharePoint, the vendor typically has all the answers. They know how simple features can be used to add an immense amount of value, they know which features are a bit tough to get off the ground and they know which features to steer clear of in the initial phases of the project. In theory, this is how it works. In reality, vendors sell ALL the great features of SharePoint included from the start, thus creating the expectation. FAILURE! The users are so overwhelmed with features that the adoption is actually slower than when users are exposed to the features in a phased approach.
SharePoint is meant to be fluid – it’s meant to evolve, and the adoption of the features as with the metadata/taxonomy should evolve too. I found a great article authored by Joel that explains his deployment model. In the article he categorizes users from Newbie’s to Rockstars with a quick explanation of the level of components that should be exposed to the users at the different stages of experience. You can read it here
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Joel's Deployment Model
