EGroupware: Implementation guideline

List of users and groups.
Which kind of groups are needed and useful regarding access rights, use of applications and exchange of information?

Which applications each group is starting with?
Does every user / group need all available applications? Too many can be confusing in the beginning.
Which applications should be used to share information effectively
Regarding knowledge management: use of Wiki or Knowledge Base, or both?
Regarding task management: does the sales department use the address book in combination with InfoLog as a CRM, while other departments (e.g. a service team) use the tracking system for process monitoring?

DISTRIBUTION OF RIGHTS | ACCESS CONTROL LISTS
Access plan for groups in each application.
How much each group is sharing information, on which level and to whom?
Right to read, edit, add or delete information has to be granted on level of each group in each application separately.
In general access rights are granted by a group and/or an user to other groups and/or users.
It is recommended to grant access rights on group level to keep track of the access rights situation in the company.
Note: granted rights for example between two groups are not automatically a two-way- road. A read right granted by Group A to Group B means not, that Group A has a read right for information of Group B. Those access rights have to be organized explicitly according the above mentioned access plan.

Preferences predetermine the look and feel as well as the functionality of each application.
The Administrator has to decide about the level of pre-definitions for users.
"Forced preferences", which cannot be changed by the user vs. ''default preferences", which can be overwritten by the user's personal preferences.
Reduce complexity by forcing as much preferences as possible on level of each application and for EGroupware in general (e.g. date format, languages, display of user data, user selection).

Plan the level of notification density.
Several applications allow notifications about changes of the data. Form (e.g. as email) and extensiveness have to be agreed with the users.
The content and the level of notification messages are customised in the application preferences.
Calendar: Notifications about an invitation or change of appointment.
InfoLog: Notifications about delegation, start, due date or changes in a task.

EGroupware offers a powerful IMAP client, which can manage as many different IMAP email accounts as needed on user level.
It has to be decided whether EGroupware's email client will be used on the web platform.
The email application opens interesting organisational opportunities by converting incoming or outgoing emails on click to EGroupware tasks, which can be embedded into further processing.
In combination with open LDAP EGroupware works as your Email management interface to reduce the administrative effort to maintain email accounts significantly.
Stylite EPL hosting together with Stylite Email Services provides solution consequently. By setting up a user account in EGroupware the email account is created automatically.

In a team management suite like EGroupware it is important to specify in advance how certain data and information will be proceeded.
Team agreements on base of a common understanding of the capabilities of the software are helpful to obtain the best possible result.

EGroupware: