The design goal of this tool was to showcase the capabilities of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007's out-of-the-box functionality. The tool was built using almost entirely out-of-the-box functionality with just a small amount of custom code to enhance the role selection control and the survey.

Features of SharePoint Server 2007 used in Gear Up:

• Default Publishing Template
• CSS modified Master and Layout pages
• Data View Web Part enabled Role targeting and filtering
• Uniform Metadata applied to all lists and libraries enabling multi-source data filtering
• Survey powered by Data View Web Parts to dynamically suggest content based on survey results
• Content source and search scope created to enhance end-user search experience

Microsoft hired Redmond Technology Partners to build Gear Up because of their experience working with customers in successful SharePoint Server 2007 deployments.