Articles by Month: March 2008

A 12-step program for behind-the-firewall search

Steve Arnold has written an article on a 12-step program for implementing search. To quote:

Step 2. You need to know a great deal about the content you plan to index. You want to know how much content you must index; how much change occurs in the content; how much new content becomes available every day, week, month, and year; access constraints; file types; and special issues such as chemical structures that must be indexed, among other points.

Posted by jamesr at 09:06 AM | Permalink
Categories: Search tools

Composite pages and embeddable content

Gadgetopia have posted an article on composite pages and embeddable content. To quote:

A composite page is a single page, made out of pieces. Your users can add a “Page” to the system, then add “Sections” to the page. They can pick from different types of sections, like “text with header,” “text with image,” “centered image,” etc.

The idea is that you stack these sections on top of each other, order them, and when the page is rendered, its sections are rendered in sequence from top to bottom.

Posted by jamesr at 08:00 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Photo: Angled lines on Mount Rigi

Angled lines (II)

I'm going to start blogging one of my photos each weekend, as part of a committment to focus more on non-work activities. If I'm travelling, I'll select one of the photos taken in the previous week. Between trips, I'll choose on of the 3000+ photos I have up on Flickr.

(I'll mark all these blog entries with "Photo" in the title, so you can skip over them if they aren't of interest.)

This photo was taken at the top of Mount Rigi, about an hour away from Zurich in Switzerland. This was the venue for the Stimmt Intranet Innovation Days event which I was a keynote speaker at. Beyond being a superb event with an extremely high level of interaction, it gave me an enjoyable opportunity to trudge through the freezing snow (and fog) in search of the perfect picture...

Posted by jamesr at 06:46 PM
Categories: Photos

Enterprise RSS Day of Action - 24th April

Moves are well underway to organise an Enterprise RSS Day of Action for 24 April 2008. To quote:

The purpose of the Enterprise RSS Day of Action on the Thursday 24th April is to help raise awareness for the potential for Enterprise RSS.

For more information, visit the The Enterprise RSS Day of Action wiki.

Posted by jamesr at 09:59 AM | Permalink
Categories: Enterprise 2.0

Across the globe for WWF

It's not every day you need a world map to plan a project. We're just starting work for WWF, researching intranet needs in field locations across the globe.

This was a draft map, and the final list of locations we'll be visiting will be: Australia, NZ, Jakarta, KL, Nepal (Kathmandu), India (Delhi), Geneva, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar.

It's sure to be an interesting project!

Posted by jamesr at 09:40 AM | Permalink
Categories:

Communicating with employees who are not connected to the intranet

Jane McConnell has written a post on communicating with employees who are not connected to the intranet. To quote:

Technology has advanced since then, and companies are doing things ranging from employee radio (a large bank in France is experimenting with this), videos in places where people collect, external web sites (Arcelormittal's webTV is an example), screen-savers for office-based people and same content short messages on TVs around the factories, and so on.

Posted by jamesr at 09:40 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

Your intranet app

Anu Gupta has reposted a funny cartoon on enterprise application usability. To quote:

Having spent a fair amount of time consulting on intranets and internal applications, as well as being on the receiving end as a user, one thing that's *almost* invariably true is the following...

Posted by jamesr at 09:25 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Search survey

Sue Feldman (research VP, content technologies at IDC) and Michelle Manafy (editor of EContent magazine and conference programmer for the Enterprise Search Summit) are running a survey on enterprise search tool selection.

It should only take 2-4 minutes to complete, and the results will be shared on the Enterprise Search Center and at the Enterprise Search conference. The more information we have on this important topic the better...

Posted by jamesr at 04:11 PM | Permalink
Categories: Search tools

Warning: third-party application usability is bad for your health

Frank Spillers has written an article on the usability of third-party applications. To quote:

What many companies are doing is writing usability guarantees into the contracts so that vendors are forced to adhere to your standards before they win the contract. This is the most direct and legally binding way to leverage usability in the vendor relationship and with the solution they deliver. Sound drastic? Many of our clients are doing this, having been burned by third party usability issues year after year.

An excellent piece, full of very important points that would have huge impact on organisations if implemented. All too often we have seen applications with horrendous usability issued rolled out across organisations, with the expected (inevitable) outcome.

Posted by jamesr at 08:15 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Resist redesign

Gerry McGovern has written an article on resisting redesigns. To quote:

Your website is working. But it's four years old. What should you do? Leave it alone. Or focus on making it work even better. But let me tell you this, making it work better has rarely anything to do with its graphical design.

Posted by jamesr at 08:10 AM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture, Usability & user-centered design

Bridging the designer–user gap

Jakob Nielsen writes about bridging the designer–user gap. To quote:

The wider the gap between your situation and the users, their tasks, and their context, the more you need a systematic usability process to inform and adjust your design. In most design projects, the gap is wide indeed and you usually need more usability activities than you suspect. Even when you're a member of the target audience, the design should reach wider than just your corner of the group. To achieve that, you still need usability. Just not as much.

Posted by jamesr at 10:26 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Measure twice, cut once with web CMS

The CMS Myth have published a piece on measure twice, cut once when it comes to CMS projects. To quote:

Carpenters, of all people, have a great saying, one that everyone responsible for a CMS project should tattoo on their forearm, or at least write on their office wall in big red letters: “Measure twice, cut once.” It’s just four simple words, but oh-so-rich in wisdom and rife with pragmatism.

Posted by jamesr at 09:57 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

How to innovate right now

Scott Berkun has written an article on how to innovate right now. To quote:

he biggest secret of innovation is that anyone can do it. The reason is simple: It’s just not that hard. Look up the word “innovate” in any dictionary and see what it actually means, instead of what you think it means. You’ll find something like this: To innovate is “to introduce something new.” That’s it. It doesn’t say you need to be a creative genius, a workaholic, or even have on clean underwear. It’s just three little words: introduce something new. And I promise that by the end of this essay, you’ll have all the secrets needed to do it yourself.

Posted by jamesr at 11:15 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

SharePoint sessions for Intranet Leadership Forum members

Current members of our Intranet Leadership Forum have expressed an interest in deepening their understanding of SharePoint.

To that end, we've organised for Michael Sampson, a collaboration and SharePoint expert, to fly out from New Zealand. He will be running sessions for members in early April, and these will look at the business and technical side of SharePoint, including case studies, customisation, and how to fend off the SharePoint invasion.

(The sessions are just for ILF members, so this might give another good reason to join sooner rather than later.)

If you would like more details, contact Catherine Grenfell on 02 9319 7901 or catherine@steptwo.com.au.

Posted by jamesr at 11:03 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranet Leadership Forum

The Content Wrangler Community

A new social network for content management folk has been recently launched: The Content Wrangler Community. It's early days yet, but anything that helps to connect those working in this challenging field must surely be helpful. Connect up and start chatting...

Posted by jamesr at 07:40 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

IA mentoring podcast

Patrick Kennedy has been featured in a podcast on IA mentoring. To quote:

I am now live on the air…on the net. The latest edition of Gerry Gaffney’s UXpod, user experience podcast, features yours truly speaking on the subject of mentoring. It follows my presentation at last year’s OZCHI and OZ-IA on the same topic, based on my experiences mentoring a group of non IAs through the UCD process to create a new IA for their large website.

Posted by jamesr at 05:28 PM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture

Audience personas for the Macquarie University Library website

Macquarie University is an innovative university located on a single campus in Sydney, Australia. Macquarie was founded in 1964 as a second-generation Australian university with a focus on interdisciplinary research and teaching in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

In line with Macquarie's reputation as one of Australia's most innovative institutions, the Macquarie University Library (MUL) plays a key role in providing information resources to the University community.

Delivery of electronic services has been a growing focus of all libraries over the last ten to fifteen years, and recently there has been a sharp increase in the priority given to online services. The core element in this strategy for MUL is its website, which allows authorised users to access most of the material in the Library's collections.

The website consists not only of a public brochureware site, but also the 'business end' information portal; a powerful set of tools that allow users to search out and retrieve books, academic journals and other material.

However, there was a general recognition throughout MUL that the website needed improvement, both in its appearance and usability, but also in its usefulness for the intended audience.

MUL also recognised that it needed to understand its audience better, so it could deliver appropriate targeted services both online and in person.

MUL sought the assistance of Step Two Designs to begin the process of evaluating and redesigning the website. This case study aims to give an overview of the process undertaken and the key outcomes.

Project goals

Library staff had seen the website through several previous redesigns, so they had a good understanding of what is involved in designing and maintaining a website, but they needed some assistance in specific areas.

In particular, we helped with user research, information architecture and general web design and usability expertise.

The goal was to review the website in preparation for a major redesign. This required substantial user research, and it was decided to undertake this more broadly, because gaining a clear picture of MUL clients and their needs would also be useful for the website.

It was also necessary to gain an understanding of the organisation itself, how it functioned and how this affects the delivery of services to Library clients.

[Case study written by Patrick Kennedy, read the full article]

Posted by jamesr at 02:53 AM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture, Usability & user-centered design

Exploring the Intranet Hive (part 2)

This is the second of a two-part article on the Intranet Hive. For a complete view of the Intranet Hive, the two articles should be read together.

The Intranet Hive is a new concept that provides awareness of the activities that underpin the ongoing management of an intranet. The Hive informs teams about the six broad areas they must work through in managing their intranet. These six areas are:

• Strategy - know where you are going
• Design - make it easier for staff
• Content - meet the business need
• Change and communications - inform and support everyone
• Technology - keep it all working
• Team - be effective

Within each of these broad categories the Hive outlines six specific activities. The total of 36 provide a firm basis for long-term intranet success. Intranets are complex and without some guidance even identifying the wide range of necessary activity is difficult.

The Hive is not a linear model; teams should begin by performing a self-assessment across the six areas so that they know their current capabilities. Teams should focus on the areas of most need for their given situation.

Last month's KM column explored the strategy, design and content sections. This article examines the remaining three areas: change and communications, technology, and team.

[March KM Column written by Cairo Walker, read the full article]

Posted by jamesr at 02:49 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

Two workshops at the IA Summit

Just a reminder that I'm running not one but two workshops at the upcoming IA Summit (Miami, April 10-14). In particular, my one-day intranet workshop is the full masterclass that I run all over the globe, so this is worth heading down to Miami just for this.

The two workshops:

Successfully deploying collaboration (half day)

Collaboration is the big unmet need within organisations, and this is the reason for the rapid spread of new tools such as SharePoint. While these tools are hugely valuable, they are also bringing real challenges for information architects.

If left unmanaged, the spread of collaboration tools can be ‘anti knowledge sharing’. What works well for local teams can easily lead to the ‘fragmentation’ of information, with key content locked up in local silos.

This is an information architecture challenge, as much as it is a knowledge management or information management one. As IA’s, we need to understand collaboration, when it work and how to make the best of it. We also need to find ways of slotting in collaboration tools alongside the existing platforms, such as the intranet.

This workshop will explore collaboration and collaboration tools. A new model will be provided that positions collaboration within organisations, and highlights where it can be used most effectively.

Strategies for innovative intranets (full day)

While the concept of the intranet as an ‘internal website’ has done much to improve the quality and status of these sites, it has now stuck intranet teams in perpetual ‘maintenance mode’. This metaphor also struggles to provide a vision of how to move intranets forward. To be effective, intranets need to innovate, to find new ways of meeting organisational needs. They must also become a valuable business tool that delivers tangible and visible benefits for the organisation as a whole.

The growing recognition of ‘enterprise 2.0’ and rich internet applications is further putting pressure on intranet teams to move the site to become a more interactive environment. The challenge is how to deliver this additional functionality when resources (and other constraints) are so tight.

This workshop provides practical approaches for managing and growing intranets. Central to this is the new ‘6x2 methodology’, which offers a rigorous framework for intranet planning. This unique approach focuses on carefully scoping the next six months of work, to ensure that what is planned is not just achievable, but is also worth doing.

Posted by jamesr at 03:49 AM | Permalink
Categories: Conferences & presentations

Spam from corporate communications?

Jane McConnell has posted an interesting observation on "spam from corporate communications". To quote:

This is the second firsthand anecdote I have heard recently where intranet users have complained about "spam from corporate communications". In the first case, a few months ago, it was an IT person who told me that the number of "deleted without being read emails" from corporate communications to employees was in the high 80-90%. A figure like this should make people stop and think about what their "all" email policies are.

Posted by jamesr at 01:02 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

Closing the communication loop

Steve Baty has written an article on closing the communication loop, in the context of usability activities. To quote:

Call centers, in particular, provide us with a real-time snapshot of our customer’s needs. Incorporating issue logs into our project research allows us to react to those needs on a regular basis, minimizing or eliminating potential pain points before they get out of hand. Online channels can be similarly useful when undertaking a review of a Web site.

Posted by jamesr at 12:55 AM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture, Usability & user-centered design

Thoughts on Google’s 20% time

Scott Berkun reports on Google's 20% time, as a way of driving innovation. To quote:

Google’s 20% time is more of an attitude and culture than a rule. First, hourly time isn’t tracked there, so there’s no way to enforce or even know what percentage of time people are spending on side projects. But more importantly, the entire idea seems to function more as an attitude - that new projects should be spawned by whoever has the best ideas, not who is in what place in the hierarchy, and the culture is based on this fundamental belief. There seems to be way more support for the pursuit of ideas generally than in most cultures, and simply creating a 20% rule doesn’t give you that culture.

Posted by jamesr at 08:11 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Community of practice success story

Mark Schenk has written a post on a case study from Rio Tinto on their community of practices. To quote:

Rio Tinto has made a short video on one of the stories and this is publicly available on their website. Well worth checking out and using as an example of how collaboration can make a big difference in unexpected ways.

Posted by jamesr at 05:32 PM | Permalink
Categories: Collaboration, Knowledge management

Awards ceremony in the US

I'm pleased to announce that we've organised an awards ceremony for the Intranet Innovation Awards, to be held at the KMWorld & Intranets 2008 conference in the US (San Jose, September 23-25).

This will give a great opportunity for winners to showcase their work at one of the leading intranet conferences in the world, and maybe even a chance to fly into the US for some serious shopping!

Another reason to get your entry in before 16 May 2008...

Posted by jamesr at 07:03 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

Staff directories report second edition - have you got a good case study?

We are currently working on a second edition of our Staff Directories report. As part of this, we are looking for further examples of good design and functionality, to include in the report.

In particular, we are seeking:

• screenshots of good staff directory functionality
• case studies of staff directory projects.
• examples of "expertise directories" (a topic we're expanding in this edition of the report)

All those that provide examples used in the report will receive a complementary copy of the report. They'll also gain some valuable visibility for the work that they've done.

Contact Rebecca Rodgers if you'd like to help out with this.

Posted by jamesr at 05:10 PM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

Some general questions (and answers) about site search analytics

Louis Rosenfeld has written an article on site search analytics. To quote:

Knowing what keywords users enter to search in Google, Yahoo! or other web-wide search engines to reach your site is incredibly valuable. It also enables you to fine-tune a keyword ad campaign; perhaps, a campaign that could be designed specifically to draw visitors to your site accordingly. Once users reach your site, however, their needs often change. For many who search the web, the process unfolds in two stages: First, they figure out which site might have the answer to their query. Second, they search within that site for the answer. Because users’ information needs have changed, the data from these two stages of search will necessarily vary. SSA will help you do a better job with that second stage.

Posted by jamesr at 05:00 PM | Permalink
Categories: Search tools

Speaking to the Geneva Web Group

Just a quick note to say that I'll be speaking at the Geneva Web Group on Monday March 17th. This is what I'll be covering:

Intranets must succeed. While they have progressed greatly over the last decade, they still struggle to get the support and recognition they need to truly prosper. James Robertson, international intranet expert, will share his insights into how intranets have evolved, and where they need to go next. He will also describe the four key purposes of an intranet, and how they need to be balanced. Examples from the Intranet Innovation Awards will also be shared, inspiring intranet teams to deliver new functionality that demonstrates clear business benefits.

It's not too late to signup, and there's cocktails after for some serious networking...

[Read full details]

Posted by jamesr at 03:54 PM | Permalink
Categories: Conferences & presentations

Enhancing dashboard value and user experience

Joe Lamantia has written an article on enhancing dashboard value and user experience, the fifth in a series of articles on designing portals. To quote:

Portals gather and present content from a wide variety of sources, making the assembled items and streams more valuable for users by reducing the costs of content discovery and acquisition. By placing diverse content into close proximity, specialized forms of portals, such as the dashboard, support knowledge workers in creative and interpretive activities including synthesis, strategy formulation, decision making, collaboration, knowledge production, and multi-dimensional analysis.

Posted by jamesr at 03:00 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management, Information architecture

Presentation: Understanding staff needs and how to meet them

| View

These are the slides from my keynote presentation at the IntraTeam conference in Copenhagen today. 200+ intranet folks made for a great event, with some good questions and discussions. Jane McConnell's presentation was also a highlight.

Posted by jamesr at 02:41 AM | Permalink
Categories: Conferences & presentations, Intranets, Usability & user-centered design

How to win an Intranet Innovation Award

We received a hugely diverse range of entries for the inaugural Intranet Innovation Awards in 2007. To make things easier, we've pulled together some observations and suggestions for this year's entrants.

Browse through this presentation to obtain tips and guidance on how to win an Intranet Innovation Award in 2008. Above all, it's the outcome and value delivered that counts, not the technology, size or cost!

Posted by jamesr at 04:55 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

2008 Intranet Innovation Awards are now open for entries!

The 2008 Intranet Innovation Awards are now open for submissions, with a closing date of 16 May 2008.

All intranet teams are encouraged to enter their innovative approaches to the design or delivery intranets. This may be may be an entirely new piece of intranet functionality, or a good idea implemented particularly well.

Uniquely, these awards recognise individual intranet improvements, and not intranets as a whole. Submissions can be made across four categories:

• core intranet functionality
• communication and collaboration
• frontline delivery
• business solutions

Winners will be showcased in the Intranet Innovations report, as well as in articles, YouTube interviews, online presentations, international conferences and major industry journals.

The inaugural Intranet Innovation Awards in 2007 attracted entries from across the globe, uncovering and sharing many great ideas. Winners came from Italy, USA, UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.

Fiat Automobiles, the platinum winner, used their "Avanti e Veloci" web portal to help turn around the fortunes of their whole business. The Environment Agency developed a rich set of personas to support the delivery of better intranet content and functionality. City of Casey and SunGard AvantGard innovated the traditional staff directory.

Perkins Eastman created active collaborative communities, while Nycomed brought product information together in a single location, no small challenge for a global pharmaceuticals business. QBE created an interactive 'Investigator Wizard' to assist in assessing insurance claims.

With entries open for the 2008 awards, this is another opportunity for intranet teams to have their time in the light.

Visit the Intranet Innovation Awards page for full details, including an entry form.

Posted by jamesr at 04:50 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

A moderated approach to user-generated content

Marisa Peacock has written an article on moderation and user-generated content. To quote:

Adding it all up, user-generated content isn’t the menacing monster that legal feared it to be, after all. In fact, with more people moderating than generating, it seems that user-generated content is apt to be more self-censoring than most editorials.

Posted by jamesr at 06:56 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management, Enterprise 2.0

Workshops: information management and information architecture

Just a quick reminder that the early-bird rate is just about to close for two of our upcoming workshops:

• Innovative Information Management Planning
  Sydney, 2 April 2008

  Cairo Walker outlines new approaches to information management that provide practical ways of delivering solutions even in complex organisations.

• Information Architecture Essentials
  Sydney, 9 April 2008

  One-day workshop run by Patrick Kennedy providing core IA methodologies and techniques.

These are both great workshops, grounded in real-life projects and providing a range of practical techniques and approaches. Also keep an eye out for the rest of our upcoming workshops (in Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane).

Posted by jamesr at 02:31 PM | Permalink
Categories: Conferences & presentations