The primary goal of this project was to help Ophtalmic, a specialized French pharmaceutical company in ophthalmology achieve ISO certification. To support this, they needed a centralized digital workspace that could streamline interdepartmental collaboration, ensure regulatory compliance, and automate critical business processes. We led the end-to-end design and deployment of a SharePoint platform, initially on-premises and later migrated to SharePoint Online using ShareGate.
Project Objectives
The project’s primary goals were to formalize processes, centralize documentation, and enforce traceability across all departments. The on-premises solution included several key features:
Departmental Sites with Consistent Design
Each department had its own site. All sites shared a consistent design language and were provisioned via PowerShell scripts. Each site included four core web parts:
- Department staff directory
- Managers directory
- Document library
- Team-specific component (either a chat widget or a custom list view)
Intuitive Navigation with Organizational Chart
To improve navigation, we implemented a browsable organizational chart. This visual map of the company structure allowed users to jump directly to any department. This feature greatly enhanced usability.
Automated Workflows for Efficiency
Quality control divisions used a “non-conformities” list. This list tracked the department, issue type, and resolution status. Custom workflows routed approvals and managed continuous improvement cycles. Additionally, the purchasing team handled furniture requests through a dedicated form and approval flow.
Bulk Profile Updates with PowerShell
To populate staff photos in directory web parts, we developed a custom PowerShell script. This script synchronized images from an internal photo repository into SharePoint user profiles, saving time and ensuring accuracy.
Improved Document Management
We eliminated folder based navigation to speed up document retrieval. Instead, we defined content types and configured metadata columns. Custom views were built to surface pending approvals, recent submissions and other key items. We also enforced lifecycle policies and versioning at the content type level.
Migration to SharePoint Online
During the migration, we re-implemented Nintex workflows in Power Automate to preserve approval chains. ShareGate carried over lists, libraries, permissions and content seamlessly.
User Adoption and Training
To encourage user adoption, we provided role-based training sessions and created short video tutorials. We also identified knowledgeable staff within departments to offer peer support and help colleagues get comfortable with the new system. These steps contributed to smoother onboarding and ongoing assistance.
Results and Impact
The final solution delivered a secure and efficient portal. It reduced email dependency, reinforced compliance controls and ultimately enabled the ophthalmic company to achieve ISO certification.
