Position descriptions describe the key responsibilities and duties of the intranet manager, fulfulling two audiences, the intranet manager as well as the organisation.

There is a ‘rule of thirds’ that can be used to categorise the main types of forms that exist on an intranet.

It goes without saying that an intranet is only successful if staff can easily find the information they need, when they need it. Recognising this, the majority of intranet teams follow a 'user-centred methodology' when they redesign the intranet. This involves making use of core usability and information architecture (IA) techniques, such as card sorting and usability testing. In many cases, intranet teams bring in external consultants or contractors to assist with the redesign project, relying on these individuals to provide the necessary usability and IA skills. While there are many good reasons for doing this, what is often not

Usability and information architecture (IA) are core areas of expertise for intranet teams, and all organisations should take steps to build this expertise internally.

Perhaps the single greatest pleasure of the work that we do is the opportunity to conduct "needs analysis" that involves getting out into the front-line environment of organisations. Following an "ethnographic" approach, we're able to spend time with the staff who do the actual work, building an understanding of their real needs and issues. While we use a range of techniques (such as one-on-one interviews, workplace observation, contextual inquiry), the basic approach is incredibly simple. At its heart, it just involves going out with eyes and ears open, asking naive questions, and getting amazing answers. Front-line environments are endlessly fascinating,

Today I completed the draft of what will be our next report: the 6x2 methodology for intranet planning. This is something that I've hinted at for the last few months, but I can finally unveil what it actually consists of: Step 1: Give the intranet a version number Step 2: Scope the first six months Step 3: Determine a new version number Step 4: Review the in-scope list Step 5: Create a detailed project plan Step 6: Sketch out the following six months Step 7: Create an executive briefing Step 8: Create an 'intranet concept' Step 9: Implement the six

The most successful intranets are those that directly reflect the unique nature of the organisations they serve.

here are many staff that have little (or no) access to a computer during work hours, and there are two main approaches for making intranet…

The design of intranets can be pretty standard, with many sites following the same basic layout. The diagram above shows a typical intranet page, consisting of the following elements: page header, containing global navigation left-hand navigation, containing local navigation body of the page page footer This is all pretty standard, nothing that anyone wouldn't immediate recognise. By default, new intranet designs tend to automatically follow this model. All that being said, I'm nonetheless starting to wonder: is left-hand navigation evil? The good Left-hand navigation is obviously not inherently evil. There is a clear need to help users to navigate their

It has to stop. The current metaphor of the intranet as an "internal website for staff" is crippling us. This metaphor is a direct cause of our unhealthy focus on just the usability, information architecture and content of the "site". We spend endless amount of time working on maintaining intranets, and yet intranets today are little different from the way they were ten years ago. Along the way, the road is littered with burnt out intranet teams, wearied by the struggle to get organisations to finally "recognise the value of the intranet". Instead of the "intranet as website" metaphor, we