What ‘sells’ an Intranet?
| Date | 01 February 2000 |
| Published date | 01 February 2000 |
| Pages | 33-37 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040748 |
| Author | Dot Duckworth |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
What 'sells' an
Intranet?
by Dot Duckworth, Internet Guides and
Web Design
What
is it
that makes an Intranet work? How
do
you get
members
of
the organisation to
use
it?
With apologies
to
Estate
Agents,
the
answer can probably be summed up
as
'Planning,
Planning and
Planning.'
That
is,
planning Who the Intranet is
for,
planning
What
it is
intended to
achieve;
and planning
How
it is
to be
achieved.
Intranets are not only fashionable; they can also be
very useful and cost-effective. For example, as a
recent paper in 'Aslib Proceedings'1, points out, an
Intranet can provide a very cost-effective means of
publishing, and distributing, internal documents.
Providing an Information resource, facilitating new
ways of working, 'Distributed Team Working' in
particular, and opening up new channels of com-
munication are among it's many other potential
benefits. However, these potential benefits will
remain only potential if the Intranet isn't used.
Mixing
metaphors,
just as "You can lead a horse
to water, but can't make it drink", you can design
and build an Intranet, but you can't make people
use it - although a recent response in "Exchange
Highlights"2, in Intranets Design Magazine,
"Force Them and They will Come" suggests
otherwise. So, what makes a successful Intranet?
How can it be 'sold' to it's intended users?
As with so many projects, it's success or failure is
often decided at the planning stage - be it the
planning of a new Intranet, or the re-development
of an existing one. If all interested parties are
involved at that stage, the purpose of the Intranet
can be more clearly defined, and Guidelines
concerning it's use and content agreed - both
preferable and easier than trying to impose 'rules
of
use'
later. It is also worth spending time, at the
planning stage, in considering what tools will be
needed to log, and provide useful statistics, regard-
ing the use of the service, and which may help to
'sell' the Intranet to Management. A recent study,
sponsored by Cap Gemini and conducted by
Cranfield University, covers this point, along with
'bench-marking'.
The summary3 is available on the Cap Gemini
Web site, along with details of how to get the full
report.
Who is the Intranet for? Planning a WWW site
and an Intranet have much in common, and also
some significant differences. Perhaps the most
important similarity is the need to determine the
target audience/s, in the case of a WWW site, and
intended users in the case of an Intranet. Most
WWW sites have more than one target audience,
and it is a rare organisation, however small, whose
intended users will all fit the same profile of
requirements and pattern of
use,
a point brought
out in a recent article, 'Marketing the Intranet
within an Organisation', by Jalyn Kelley4. The
same user will also probably have different re-
quirements, and patterns of use at different times,
and these may greatly influenced by changes in the
organisation, as well as changes in the interests of
an individual user.
One of the most significant differences between a
WWW site, even the most Interactive WWW site,
and an Intranet, is that Intranet users are usually
also intended to be active participants, not simply
passive recipients. If they are not invited to partici-
pate,
then, unless they completely ignore the whole
thing, they will probably demand their right to do
so.
As with the Internet, there is no technical
reason for all the parts of an Intranet to be on the
same Server - although hopefully, in the case of
an
Intranet, they will all be within the Firewall. This
can lead to maverick use and/or haphazard growth
if users feel isolated from the planning and devel-
opment of the 'official' Intranet. This can also
occur, even when the 'official' Intranet is well
received, if they are not aware of the implications
of 'growing their own' bit of the Intranet without
due regard for the whole. It is much harder to
retrieve such a situation than it is to agree clear
Guidelines right from the start.
What is the Intranet for? Taking these points into
account, the single most important factor in 'sell-
ing' an Intranet to it's users is to involve them
right from the start, and, within any constraints that
may exist, plan the Intranet around their needs and
requirements. This means really getting to know
what these needs and requirements are, and how
they fit with existing applications, and, if they
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