Help the IT Technical Team better support SharePoint Online end user requests by encouraging clearer communication and providing structured details whenever issues arise. End users should share specific URLs, screenshots, and descriptions of the affected site, page, or document library rather than vague statements.
Translating these requests into precise terms allows IT staff to quickly diagnose and resolve problems.
Well defined information
- The URL of the site they need help with.
- The primary owners of the site.
- Screenshots from their site.
- They need help locking down one of their document libraries (and they have included the URL of the document library)
- I need to copy one of my site pages to another site (and they provide the URLs of the source site and the target site)
Not so well-defined information
- User Says: I can't access my site (when actually, they can't access a particular page on their site)
- User Says: I'm locked out of one of my folders (when actually, they are referring to their document library)
- User Says: "The thingy on my page is broken."
- Intended Meaning: A specific web part (e.g., a list view, document library, or custom web part) on the SharePoint page is not functioning properly.
- User Says: "My files disappeared from the cloud."
- Intended Meaning: Documents in a SharePoint document library are missing, possibly due to accidental deletion, permissions changes, or a sync issue.
- User Says: "The website won’t let me log in."
- Intended Meaning: The user is unable to access the SharePoint site, possibly due to authentication issues, incorrect credentials, or single sign-on (SSO) problems.
- User Says: "The folder thing isn’t updating."
- Intended Meaning: A document library or list isn’t reflecting recent changes, possibly due to a sync issue, indexing delay, or view misconfiguration.
- User Says: "I can’t find my stuff on the intranet."
- Intended Meaning: The user cannot locate a specific document, page, or list on the SharePoint site, possibly due to navigation issues, permissions, or search misconfiguration.
- User Says: "The button to upload stuff isn’t working."
- Intended Meaning: The upload functionality in a SharePoint document library is not responding, possibly due to browser issues, permissions, or a broken web part.
- User Says: "My dashboard is acting weird."
- Intended Meaning: A SharePoint page with embedded reports, charts, or Power BI tiles is displaying incorrect data or not loading properly.
- User Says: "The form thing keeps crashing."
- Intended Meaning: A SharePoint list form or a PowerApps-integrated form is not loading or submitting correctly.
- User Says: "The search bar isn’t finding anything."
- Intended Meaning: The SharePoint search functionality is not returning expected results, possibly due to indexing issues, permissions, or incorrect search settings.
- User Says: "The links on the site are dead."
- Intended Meaning: Hyperlinks on a SharePoint page or navigation menu are broken, possibly due to incorrect URLs, deleted pages, or permission restrictions.
- User Says: "My calendar isn’t syncing with my email."
- Intended Meaning: A SharePoint calendar is not syncing with Outlook, possibly due to misconfigured calendar overlays or connectivity issues.
- User Says: "The site is super slow to load."
- Intended Meaning: The SharePoint site has performance issues, possibly due to large files, excessive web parts, or network latency.
- User Says: "I can’t edit the thing I’m supposed to."
- Intended Meaning: The user lacks permissions to edit a document, list item, or page, or the item is checked out to another user.
- User Says: "The app isn’t showing up."
- Intended Meaning: A SharePoint add-in or custom app part is not appearing on the site, possibly due to deployment issues or configuration errors.
- User Says: "The notification emails stopped coming."
- Intended Meaning: SharePoint alerts or workflow notifications are not being delivered, possibly due to disabled alerts, email configuration issues, or user settings.