Presentation: How design is transforming modern intranets (World Usability Day 2012)
Filed under: Conferences & presentations, Intranets, Usability
I was pleased to be able to present in Canberra today, as part of World Usability Day. My topic was “How design is transforming modern intranets”.
The key points I covered:
- Intranets must be (and can be) much more than just a “dumping ground for boring documents”.
- The nature of intranets is fundamentally shifting, due to collaborative and social tools, mobility, and changing working practices.
- The starting point is to get the fundamental usability issues addressed, with good design for landing pages.
- Classic UX techniques such as card sorting, tree testing and usability testing add a lot of value (all of which are described in Designing intranets: creating sites that work).
- Design can go much further than just getting the right structure and page layouts. It can also deliver great business solutions that add strategic value.
- Coca-Cola Enterprise has delivered a strategy-focused intranet homepage.
- Framestore has reworked a key business system and process.
- NSW Department of Education (NSW DEC) have re-imagined the idea of a “portal homepage”, applying the highest standard of research and design.
- CRS Australia (a mid-sized government agency) has simplified access to key systems, and delivered a unique way of communicating policy changes.
- (All these organisations are Intranet Innovation Award winners.)
The take-away message: focus on the next project, and make it simpler, smarter, more aligned with needs, and beautiful.