Avoid unique permissions wherever possible
Breaking inheritance at the item or folder level creates a permission model that becomes nearly impossible to audit. Wherever feasible, permissions should be managed at the site or library level using SharePoint and Entra ID groups.
Group-based access, not individual grants
Individual user permissions should be the exception, not the rule. Security groups aligned to roles — not to specific people — keep access reviews tractable and reduce the risk of stale permissions after personnel changes.
Sensitivity-based site templates
Classifying sites by sensitivity level at provisioning time — public, internal, confidential, restricted — allows permission templates to be applied consistently rather than negotiated ad hoc for every new site.
Auditing and access reviews
Regular, automated access reviews using Microsoft 365 governance tooling catch permission drift before it becomes a compliance finding. Treat access review as an operational cadence, not a one-time project.