SharePoint Confessions: Metadata Mayhem, Subsite Chaos & Workflow Woes (and How to Fix Them)

Ever sat through a two-hour metadata committee meeting? Or clicked into a SharePoint subsite only to find… one lonely document? Or maybe you’ve heard the cubicle chorus of “You left it checked out!” echo across the office?

In this episode, I’m spilling my SharePoint confessions — the good, the bad, and the downright messy. From 13 mandatory metadata fields to 800 empty subsites and workflow meltdowns, these are the real stories from my early days in SharePoint.

But here’s the twist: for every confession, I’ll share the solution I use today that would have saved me (and my sanity) back then.

If you’ve ever lived through a SharePoint nightmare, you’ll laugh, nod along, and walk away with practical tips you can use right now.

And stick around to the end — I’ve got exciting news about a brand-new service I’ve just launched to help you fix your SharePoint chaos for good.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hi, everyone. Welcome to the latest episode of the Simply SharePoint podcast. SharePoint Confessions, the good, the bad, and the messy. Yeah, I'll admit it. I love SharePoint. I live it. I breathe it. I probably dream in document libraries. SharePoint is definitely my thing. But here's the truth. It hasn't always been that way. In fact, there were times when I thought SharePoint was the bane of my existence. And today, I want to share a few confessions from those early days. The good, the bad, and the messy. Music Music Music Music Music Confession number one, the metadata committee. Let me take you back to when I was working in a large organization and we were upgrading to SharePoint 2010. This was a massive project. I was flying around the world, holding meetings with stakeholders in St. Louis, Sydney, Singapore. It was huge. And of course, everyone had an opinion. Enter the metadata committee. Yes, an actual committee. More than 10 people, weekly talks, And what were we arguing about? Metadata fields. At one point, we had 13 of them. 13. And 7 were mandatory. Can you imagine trying to upload a file and having to fill out 7 mandatory fields before you could even hit save? Back then, I didn't get it. I kind of hated metadata. It felt like this overcomplicated thing that slowed everything down. And honestly, it was a dog's breakfast. Meetings went in circles, everyone thought their department's needs were the most important, and we just layered field upon field. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see it so clearly. Metadata is brilliant when it's done well. It's what makes SharePoint powerful. But 13 fields? 7 mandatory? No wonder people were frustrated. At the time, though, I'd walk out of those meetings absolutely drained, thinking, how did I end up in this? It was both funny and I've got to admit, painfully boring. And yet, those experiences shape the way I use metadata today. Keep it simple, keep it useful, and don't over-engineer it. So the solution, fast forward to now, and the best practice is simple. Don't drown people in metadata. Three to five fields is plenty, and usually only one should be mandatory. Start with fields that genuinely help people find or filter later, like document type, department, or project. Every single SharePoint library that I create now in an organization has at least department and document type. Everything else can be optional or added gradually. Keep it lean, keep it useful, and metadata will actually work for you instead of against you. Confession number two, the sub-site explosion. Now, while I was drowning in metadata debates, IT had their own special brand of chaos going on. They had spun up over 800 sub-sites. Yes, you heard that? More than 800. And here's the kicker. Some of those sub-sites only had one single document sitting in a lonely document library. Just one. No guidance, no governance, no plan. It was like the wild west of SharePoint. Every department doing their own thing, spinning up sites like Oprah giving out cars. You get a sub-site, you get a sub-site. Everyone gets a sub-site. The result? A giant digital junkyard. Clicking through it was like wandering a ghost town. Empty libraries, half-finished pages, and tumbleweeds rolling by. I laugh now, but it was a really good lesson. More sites don't equal more success. Without governance, structure, or a strategy, you end up with noise instead of value. And believe me, 800 sites worth of noise is deafening. What's the solution today? Well, in modern SharePoint, sub-sites are a thing of the past, although I've worked with a few people who still think that they should create them. The best practice is to use a hub-and-spoke model. One hub site at the centre, with connected sites branching off for actual needs, like projects, departments, or functions. Each site has a purpose and governance ensures nothing spins up without thought. Instead of 800 empty sub-sites, you get a clean, connected site architecture where everything has a home and a reason to exist.

UNKNOWN: 5:52

Music

SPEAKER_00: 5:57

Confession three, the workflow meltdown. Then there was the infamous workflow saga. We decided to roll out the out-of-the-box workflows in SharePoint 2010, you know, check-in, check-out, approvals, the basics, in one of our departments. We put together training sessions, we sent out the invitations, we booked the room, and guess what? Hardly anyone showed up. So instead, I'd be sitting at my desk and I could literally hear the chaos breaking out across the cubicles. People yelling out things like, I can't edit this file. You've left it checked out. Why is it locked? It was like a comedy sketch, except no one thought it was funny at the time. I'd just sink into my chair thinking, yep, this is my life now. It was one of those times where SharePoint's power clashed with human behavior. The tool was doing what it was designed to do, but because people skipped the training, it became a nightmare. And on Honestly, that's why I always say technology is only half the story. People and process matter just as much. So what would be the solution today? These days, modern SharePoint has made this so much easier. Instead of clunky check-in, check-out and limited workflows, we use Power Automate for approvals and collaboration features like co-authoring. That means multiple people can edit the same file at the same time without locking each other out. Training is still key, but the tools are far more intuitive now. The solution is, ditch the old check-in checkout model unless you absolutely need it. Embrace co-authoring and automate approvals with Power Automate so your team isn't stuck yelling across cubicles. So what did all of this teach me? Well, besides how to survive a metadata meeting without crying, it taught me that SharePoint doesn't have to be messy. The chaos comes when there's no strategy, no governance, and no training. It also busted a few myths for me along the way. Myth one, SharePoint is just a dumping ground for files. No, it's so much more when you design it properly. Only IT can set it up. Also false. End users can build amazing practical solutions. Myth three, nobody likes SharePoint. Untrue. People love it when it makes their life easier. They just hate when it's overcomplicated. And here are a couple of quick wins you can try today. Things I wish I'd known back then. Firstly, you can pin your most important documents to the top of a library. Think of it like putting your favorite coffee mug at the front of the cupboard. You can create custom views so you don't scroll endlessly through files. It's like Netflix categories. You get to see exactly what you want. You can use metadata like labels on a wine rack. You don't need 13 labels. Just a couple will help you find the right bottle at the right time. So those are my SharePoint confessions, the good, the bad, and the messy. And I know you've got some too. If you're listening right now and thinking, yep, I've lived through my own SharePoint nightmare, I'd love to hear it. Share your confessions with me. I've actually written a blog post about one of these stories. It's called Liza's SharePoint Chronicles, the Metadata Steering Committee. You can head over there, read the full story, and even leave your own SharePoint confession in the comments. I really love to see what messy situations you've all survived. And who knows, your story might make it into a future episode. And before I close out, I've got something exciting to share. I've just launched a brand new service, a dedicated SharePoint and Microsoft 365 help desk. Think of it as your direct line to real answers from someone who's lived through the chaos and knows how to fix it. The details are live on my site right now. So if you ever find yourself stuck, whether it's metadata confusion, workflow woes, or just figuring out which tool to use when, you can get help quickly without the stress. Because here's the thing, SharePoint doesn't have to be boring and it doesn't have to be painful. With the right support, it can actually be simple and maybe even fun. Bye for now and I'll see you in the next episode of Simply SharePoint.