Enhanced Self Service Site Creation

SO, self service site creation in SharePoint. Always a hot topic with the "Power User" in Company A and scares others in Company B. After all, we put a lot of work into building a SharePoint architecture that will help prevent and prohibit site sprawl. That, along with a recent deliverable, got me thinking.... Why not develop an easier way to automate this process and integrate an approval?

Problem:
We need to empower our business users/owners to create their own site collections. Or we may need to simply automate the creation of webs or site collections. We rely on the user to enter the correct URL to adhere to naming conventions, correct templates, security, etc.

Solution:
The solution is two-fold, and you guessed it.....it involves PowerShell.

1. Create a new list (or site with a list) called Auto/Self Service Site Creation
2. Have that list contain a few integral pieces of information such as:
• Title (Single Line Text)
• Owner (People Picker)
• Second Owner (People Picker)
• Abbreviation (Used for Site URL)
• Status (For workflow)
• Email
3. Now attach a workflow to this list that captures approval for each submitted site request.
4. Nightly run a PoSH script that will check that list for items with the status of Approved and automatically create the site using the SPFarm account or other privileged user. It can also send an email to the user notifying them that their site is ready!

This allows our users to submit site requests but ensures they are approved and reviewed. Hence, limiting site sprawl and maintaining our SharePoint IA where needed.