Item: OneNote
Rating: 9
Author: Justin Harbin

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use OneNote on a personal level to take notes and brainstorm less formally - integration with the Office for Business Suite, which my institution employs has been a significant reason for my own initial use. I use OneNote to collaborate with other faculty members and stakeholders as we co-design online and blended courses.
OneNote is primarily used within the Office of Digital Learning and Center for Teaching & Learning, rather than the entire institution. It provides a cloud-based canvas for brainstorming and notetaking for these teams who do not reside all in one location.

Pros and Cons

Fully integrated into the Onedrive for Business suite, so the transition is smooth if you are familiar with these products.
Clear tracking of collaborative work, including version tracking.

Can experience breakdown when collaborating with others who have a OneDrive account that is not a Business account - some faculty members had trouble logging in properly when the notebook was shared.
We often use a template to start collaboration on design, and the current version of the product lacks this feature to quickly and easily set up a notebook (there are workarounds)

Return on Investment

OneNote has enabled us to replace back-and-forth word documents in email for collaboration, a significant gain in efficiency.
OneNote has improved connections and collaboration among faculty and service staff.

Alternatives Considered

Quip and Evernote

For collaborative and informal notetaking, OneNote by far exceeds the more rigid structures of Quip and Evernote - these products do what they do well. Still, for my particular uses stated earlier, OneNote remains my go-to for personal notetaking six years in, even after trialing multiple other products.
The integration with OneDrive, in particular, has increased the value as my institution has committed to that route, so it makes sense to keep the products I use "in house."

Microsoft does an alright enough job supporting issues in OneNote and updated as of late have brought welcome features. Several years ago they were not as supportive, but current rating reflects updates as Microsoft has seemed to consolidate around the Microsoft Store app.
I haven't had many issues where I directly needed to call support.

Key Insights

Do you think OneNote delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with OneNote's feature set?

Yes

Did OneNote live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of OneNote go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy OneNote again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Quip, Evernote, Basecamp

Likelihood to Recommend

Onenote is excellent for less formal brainstorming and collaboration. My go-to uses are in meetings with others where I hand-write notes (I'm using a surface pro with stylus). Where greater structure and task management are needed, you'll likely need to supplement with a different product. Email notifications could also be improved, which is again where a more structured program might be useful if you need task management pieces.
I've often thought of it as my digital 3-ring binder, which others have also found easy to acclimate to compared to other similar products.

Onenote - excellent for collaborative brainstorming!

Overall Satisfaction with OneNote