Welcome to the Groove Advisor!

Readers probably know some of the Groove history, and know that Groove was acquired by Microsoft in 2005, and now ships with Office 2007. It probably comes as no surprise that one of our biggest post-acquisition challenges has been navigating Microsoft. You don't go from 170 heads to >70,000 heads without a joke or two about the Borg.

To make sense out of the system, I focused on three channels for feedback and outreach. First, we set up an email Distribution List for all those Groove questions. Anyone at Microsoft could drop a note to the DL and get a quick response from several seasoned Groovers. We had immediate insight into what was hurting or confusing our constituents, and could get them back on track with a well timed suggestion.

Second, I had a Groove workspace. Of course I did, I'm with the Groove Team, right? No doubt, any real product team has to eat its own dog food, but there are certainly distinct benefits of the Groove space that contributed to our success.

(Read the official top ten list here. Improve it here: feedback form).

The workspace was targeted at the team of worldwide Groove TSP's. We also had a number of MCS resources, as well as product management and program management. This was a small, tight knit community where I could be assured of direct and unvarnished feedback. Problems with the registration page? Confusing marketing material? This group was the first to report in, often with a solution in hand. I hope to have many of those members contribute here, too.

Third, we created the Grooveypedia. Using my favorite SharePoint feature, the Grooveypedia started as an internal library that was consumed and contributed to by engineering, marketing, and sales resources. The internal Grooveypedia is informative and informal. Look for a public version to spin up soon.

Now, after 6 years on the Groove team I have found that the most rewarding part of my job is talking with Groove customers, telling the Groove story, and hearing the questions and suggestions directly from them. Doesn't matter which "customer" - partner, field, SMB, Enterprise - it's in the conversations that I get the best insights into what works, what doesn't, and what we can do better (link to feedback form)

With this in mind we have created our fourth device for outreach and feedback, the Groove blog, Groove Advisor. Our hope is to extend the reach of community conversations and to connect the Groove team with all the powerful feedback from people like you. In return, we'll commit to providing you with fresh, useful information that will improve your Groove experience. Of course, if this is going to be a conversation, we'll need to hear from you (feedback form). Comment on topics you'd like to read about, things you find confusing, features you would like to see, and your hierarchy of needs. Give it to us straight, we can take it.

Coming Soon...

• How to find: links to some of the most important Groove info

• How to use: Groove and SharePoint together. When do I use Groove? When do I use SharePoint? Are they really better together?

• How to plan: for backup and restoring Groove accounts and workspaces

Link to this Article:

https://blogs.technet.com/groove/archive/2007/01/26/welcome-to-the-groove-advisor.aspx

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  January 01, 2003
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