Got a messy metadata moment (or a subsite horror story)? Tell me!
I’m collecting your funniest, most frustrating, and most unforgettable SharePoint tales for future episodes. Scroll down and share your confession in the comments — or keep reading and drop it in at the end.
Share your confession ↓Yeah, I’ll admit it — I love SharePoint. I live it, I breathe it, and I probably even dream in document libraries. 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.
So today I’m sharing a few of my SharePoint confessions — the good, the bad, and the messy — and most importantly, the solutions I use today that would have saved me back then.
Because let’s be real: anyone who’s worked with SharePoint long enough has at least one horror story.
Confession 1: The Metadata Committee
Back when I was working in a large organisation during the big upgrade to SharePoint 2010, I was flying around the world for meetings in New York, London, Singapore, Sydney… it was huge.
And of course, everyone had an opinion. Enter: the Metadata Steering Committee. More than ten people. Weekly meetings.
At one point, we had thirteen metadata fields — seven of them mandatory. Can you imagine trying to upload a file and having to fill out seven fields before you could even hit save? It was a dog’s breakfast. Everyone wanted their department represented, so we just kept piling more and more on.
Back then, I didn’t get metadata. I kind of hated it. It felt like an overcomplicated system that slowed everyone down.
✅ The Solution Today:
The secret to good metadata is simplicity. I recommend keeping it to 3–5 fields, with only one mandatory. Start with fields that genuinely help people find or filter later, like Document Type, Department, or Project. Anything else can be optional or introduced gradually. Metadata should help, not hinder.
Confession 2: The Subsite Explosion
While I was buried in metadata meetings, IT had their own chaos unfolding. They spun up over 800 subsites. Yes, 800.
And here’s the kicker: some of them had just one lonely document in a library. No guidance. No governance. It was like the Wild West of SharePoint. Every department was spinning up their own space like Oprah: “You get a subsite! You get a subsite!”
The result? A giant digital junkyard. Clicking through it was like wandering a ghost town.
✅ The Solution Today:
Modern SharePoint no longer needs subsites. Instead, use a hub-and-spoke model: one hub site at the centre, with connected sites branching off for real business needs — departments, projects, or functions. Every site should have a purpose, and governance should keep sprawl under control.
Confession 3: The Workflow Meltdown
Then there was the infamous workflow saga. We rolled out out-of-the-box workflows in SharePoint 2010: check-in, check-out, approvals.
We scheduled training sessions… but no one showed up. Instead, I’d hear chaos breaking out across the cubicles:
- “I can’t edit this file!”
- “You’ve left it checked out!”
- “Why is it locked?!”
It was like a sitcom — except no one was laughing.
✅ The Solution Today:
Thankfully, modern SharePoint makes this easier. Use Power Automate for approvals and modern co-authoring instead of relying on clunky check-in/check-out. Multiple people can edit a file at once without locking each other out. Training is still key, but the tools are far more intuitive now.
Lessons Learned
Looking back, these messy experiences shaped how I work with SharePoint today. They taught me that:
- SharePoint chaos comes from a lack of strategy, governance, and training.
- Metadata is powerful, but only when it’s kept lean and useful.
- More sites don’t mean more success — structure matters.
- And technology only works if people know how to use it.
Final Thoughts
So those are my SharePoint confessions — the good, the bad, and the messy.
Now it’s your turn. Have you survived a metadata meltdown? Lived through subsite sprawl? Endured workflow woes?
👉 I’d love to hear your stories. Share your SharePoint confession in the comments below. Because here’s the thing: SharePoint doesn’t have to be boring, and it doesn’t have to be painful. With the right approach, it can actually be simple — and maybe even fun.
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