An involving approach to intranet design

Intranet challenges: an involving approach

the intranet challenges

1° ORGANIZATIONAL COMPLEXITY

2° GOALS’ HETEROGENEITY Giacomo Mason – Cristiano Siri

HR wants intranet to do this

Production wants intranet to do that

n. Department X wants intranet to do Y

n. Department X wants intranet to do Y IT wants just to do less

3° Legacy and already existent apps SAP

3° Legacy and already existent apps SAP , 3 Active Directory

3° Legacy and already existent apps SAP , 3 Active Directory , E-Procurement tool , Lotus Notes,

3° Legacy and already existent apps SAP , 3 Active Directory , E-Procurement tool Shared folders (or autodestruction button) , Lotus Notes,

3° Legacy and already existent apps SAP , 3 Active Directory , E-Procurement tool Shared folders (or autodestruction button) , Lotus Notes, and many many more

the technological approach

TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH Thanks to Dilbert!

TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/theolaphoto/2394966982/

TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/theolaphoto/2394966982/ A Websphere (or other proprietary software) out of the box installation in your enterprise

TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/46264733@N00/268156261/in/photostream/ but there’s no that big difference if you bought an open source one:

TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/46264733@N00/268156261/in/photostream/ but there’s no that big difference if you bought an open source one: It’s just cheaper

TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH They are monolith for which have spent $$$ and you can just workship

TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH They are monolith for which have spent $$$ and you can just workship (HR) I pray you to simplify the vacation planning system! (IT) Please speak to the Active Directory… (Production) I need your help to support my process!

the involving approach

INVOLVING APPROACH

Involve stakeholders

Involve users

needs first, then technology

Permanent beta

INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS

every intranet is different , since every enterprise is different

an intranet has a strong organizational impact , be prepared to afford it

an intranet could change not only the processes but also the approach to work

Training talk to Intranet project owner (HR) and to IT

INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS

to let them know we were working to create an intranet ( is not a monolith suddenly and unexpectately coming from the outer space )

to explain them what an intranet is and how it could affect ( and hopely improve ) their work ( intranet will not be MORE work, just work done simpler and more effective )

to get their engagement : “we want everyone among you help us with concrete ideas, we want you spread the words to all of your collegues”

to find champions and evangelist capable people between them to get them involved in the design and test phase.

Brainstorming about “Intranet” with more than 30 people form every Honda’s department

INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS Project overview to managers

to let them know we were going to involve a lot of people in our project

to get their sponsorship

INVOLVE USERS Brainstorming with more than 30 people from every Honda’s department Needs definition 85 ideas for the intranet!

INVOLVE USERS Needs definition Focus group

people who manage other people and people which don’t

people from every department

people working in the offices and people from the assembly line

people from Atessa and people from Rome (two main Honda locations in Italy)

INVOLVE USERS Needs definition Focus group

how they use computer and software in their everyday work

which processes could be improved and how ?

do they find all the information needed for everyday work ?

do they need different tools to gain better access and a better way to manage this information ?

and more questions

INVOLVE USERS Needs definition Survey To all 1000 workers to also have a quantitative analysis

INVOLVE USERS Design Card sorting, many open card sorting sessions were done to build the intranet Information Architecture Card sorting allowed us to build an user friendly navigation structure, where findability is really high

INVOLVE USERS

As soon as the first working software pieces became available, we started calling back several “champions users” groups:

to show them the work done

to understand if it met their needs

to fine tune our work and reschedule project priorities

Testing Feedback during development

INVOLVE USERS We met and talked directly to more than 100 people on 1000

NEEDS FIRST, THEN TECHNOLOGY After brainstorming, focus group and survey we had a clear idea of final users’ needs So we helped Honda to assign priority to some of those , using a scheme like this one Thanks to Alberto Mucignat http://www.mucignat.com/blog/archives/673-definire-le-priorita-di-un-progetto.html /

NEEDS FIRST, THEN TECHNOLOGY Thanks to Alberto Mucignat http://www.mucignat.com/blog/archives/673-definire-le-priorita-di-un-progetto.html /

NEEDS FIRST, THEN TECHNOLOGY Knowing needs we were able to choose the best fitting technology Benchmarking: Proprietary software Open Source software

NEEDS FIRST, THEN TECHNOLOGY Thanks to Dilbert

NEEDS FIRST, THEN TECHNOLOGY

The users define features end evolution roadmap

Time to market ( do i need a feature? I can ask the community or i can do by myself; i’ve not to wait months for a new commercial release )

Open standard (often easier to integrate)

Freedom from a unique vendor

Open Source benefit

NEEDS FIRST, THEN TECHNOLOGY (IT) Please speak to the Active Directory… No licenses, so all the money is spent not to buy a monolith, but to start answering user’s needs immediately, customizing and tailoring the software to Honda’s needs Open Source benefit (HR) I pray you to simplify the vacation planning system! (Production) I need your help to support my process! $$$

PERMANENT BETA The launch is a starting point, not an arrival point

PERMANENT BETA Intranets have to grow with the enterprise. If an intranet is unchanged after 6 months lifetime, it is getting obsolete: the enterprise is 6 month ahead. The launch is a starting point, not an arrival point

PERMANENT BETA Intranets are never finished An intranet is always a work in progress. Although initial intranet builds follow a reasonably linear path, once implementation has taken place there is no single path forward and the next steps will largely depend on a combination of organisational imperative and the constraints the team is operating under. Cairo Walker Step Two

PERMANENT BETA Doing Card Sorting using contents satisfying Needs group 1 (high priority), but also group 2 and 3, will permit the Information Architecture to include future content with no major change , avoiding user’s confusion

PERMANENT BETA Choosing a Open Source software will avoid waiting new commercial version to have new features (often not useful) added. Choosing Open Source will permit to follow the enterprise needs continuously and to adapt better and faster to new challenges (also thanks to what the community create and make public)

BRIEFLY