Discover the best approach for assessing user & organizational requirements for the optimal digital workplace. We share techniques for effectively gathering intranet requirements along with best practice methodologies.

1. Organizational & User Requirements
How to Best Gather Requirements for
your New Intranet
http://bonzai-intranet.com/

2. We want to hear from you!
Ask Questions throughout the webinar using the ‘Q&A’ button
Use hashtag #IntranetSuccess on social media
Connect with us on Twitter @Bonzaiintranet

3. @michalpisarek
michal@bonzai-intranet.com
Michal Pisarek
• Director of Product at Bonzai Intranet
• 6x Microsoft SharePoint MVP
• International Intranet and SharePoint Speaker
CoFounder of Dynamic Owl Consulting

4. INTRANET INNOVATION
AWARDS
What we’re all about
Dynamic Owl are
Thought Leaders in:
• Beautiful and functional Intranets
based on organization business
needs
• Promoting innovation,
engagement and collaboration in
organizations using
best of breed technology
• Intranets based on SharePoint
and Office 365 that embraced by
all levels an organizations
• SharePoint consultingservices
• Microsoft Gold Partner and Managed Partner
• End-to-end SharePoint Implementations
• 3x Microsoft SharePoint MVP’s on staff
• Branham ICT Companies to watch 2nd place 2015
• Commended entry Intranet Innovation Awards 2015
Bonzai Intranet Introduction www.bonzai-intranet.com

5. The Intranet Platform of Choice for 2018
http://bonzai-intranet.com/Bonzai Intranet Introduction
Why is Bonzai an Award-Winning Intranet?
The Bonzai platform offered a fully
responsive design, with ongoing software
upgrades…a friendly UI for content editing,
standard page layouts and templates, and
additional features— such as megamenu
navigation.”
-2018 Top 10 Intranet Design Award,
Nielsen Norman Group
Bonzai is an intranet accelerator solution
for both Office 365 and SharePoint… with
ready made designs, web parts and
workflows to enable the creation of
bespoke intranets.”
-2018 Intranet Choice North America,
ClearBox Consulting
Bonzai’s commitment to our mutual
customers’ success through creative
solutions, professional engagement and
ensuring that benefits can be realized in
the customer’s organization is to be
commended.”
-2016 Solution Innovation Award,
Nintex
Noted intranet platform for both "How to
deliver a SaaS-based Intranet after
deploying Office 365"and “What SharePoint
Is Missing and Which Third-Party Products
Can Help.”
-Gartner Inc, world leading research
& advisory company
SaaS-Based Intranet
Solution for Office 365
2016 Solution Innovation
Award North America
2017 Top Rated Intranet
North America
2018 Credit Union Website
Diamond Award
2015 Intranet
Innovation Award

6. Our Mission
To help organizations communicate,
collaborate and engage with the
SharePoint and Office 365 platform.
http://bonzai-intranet.com/Bonzai Intranet Introduction

7. Our 2018 Series Overview
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
How to create an award
winning Intranet
Part 1
Intranet
Governance
Part 10
Intranet Content
Planning (Part II)
Part 4
Intranet Content
Planning (Part I)
Part 3
Visual
Design
Part 9
Communication and
Change Management
Part 12
Training
Part 11
Information
Architecture (Part I)
Part 6
Defining an Intranet
Team
Part 2
Organizational & User
Requirements
Part 5
Information
Architecture (Part III)
Part 8
Information
Architecture (Part II)
Part 7
Bonzai Intranet Introduction

8. Today's Agenda
Intranet
Requirements
Overview
Requirements Best
Practices
Ask Questions
anytime!
Requirements
Techniques

9. Poll #1:
What type of requirements
activities did you undertake for your
Intranet?
http://bonzai-intranet.com/

10. • The biggest cause of
delays in Intranet projects
• Content doesn’t magically
appear on your Intranet
so make sure that you
have a plan
• Start content planning
very early in your Intranet
project
Content, Content, Content!
www.bonzai-intranet.comBonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

11. What is a content
audit?
What is it
“A content audit helps you identify the
content that will be part of your Intranet
and assign value and ownership to it”
Benefits
• Reduce the burden during content
migration by only bringing over high
value content
• Build engagement amongst the
Intranet team and content owners
• Discover content that might be of
high value that you didn’t know you
had
• Find out who your most engaged
content authors are
• Get an understanding of the content
you have for a great Intranet
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements www.bonzai-intranet.com

12. Performing a Content Audit
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements www.bonzai-intranet.com
Establish Scope
Decide on who should be involved
What format will be used?
Establish KRD and Transformation Criteria
Get to it!

13. Intranet Requirements Overview
20162013

14. What do Intranet requirements do?
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements www.bonzai-intranet.com
Help provide you with
an understanding of
what you want your
Intranet to do
Communicate needs
and wants
Provide a roadmap of
functionality
Help align
stakeholders and the
Intranet team
Help provide
constraints

15. www.bonzai-intranet.comBonzai Intranet Information Architecture
The one rule when doing ANY intranet requirements
gathering!
‘So what would you
like the Intranet to
do’ should NEVER
be asked

16. Terrible Intranet requirements
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements www.bonzai-intranet.com
Search should work like Google
System should be intuitive
System should integrate with XXXX
All content should be available to users at all times without users knowing
anything about anything
All pages should load in less than 1 second

17. Your Intranet
requirements
should be
documented in a
way that makes
sense.
Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Intranet Requirements Documentation
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Most organizations use spreadsheets to
document all requirements but this isn’t the
best way for all requirements.
We find that the more visual the representation
the better it is for everyone involved.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements
Requirement Type Format
Prioritized requirement listing Spreadsheet
Wireframes Online Wireframe Tool (Balsamiq)
Information Architecture Visual Representation (Xmind, Mindjet,
SlickPlan)
Visual Design Photoshop with Invision App for review
Intranet Goals and Vision Presentation (PowerPoint or other)

18. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Wireframes Documentation
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Lots of tools available but do NOT use
PowerPoint or Visio to do wireframes.
Balsamiq is a great way to do low fidelity
wireframes.
Envision is a great way to get feedback or
to show tour points.
Wireframes are not the same as design so
do not confuse the two.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

19. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Information Architecture Documentation
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
There is a lot of different types of IA
documentation produced including site
structure, site map and taxonomy.
For anything with a structure, as opposed to
list of options, we use a visual tool like Xmind,
MindJet or SlickPlan.
For navigation in particular a visual tool is
much better suited .
For taxonomy work using spreadsheets
works well.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

20. www.bonzai-intranet.comBonzai Intranet Information Architecture
Find out what
people NEED
versus what they
WANT

21. 20162013
Requirements Best Practices

22. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Have a broad representation of users
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
You NEED to have a broad representation
of users across:
• Business Units or Departments
• Job Types
• Positions (Executives and down)
• Geography
Your Intranet is a tool for everyone in the organization
so a broad range of user feedback and input is required
no matter how painful that might seem.
You will NEVER know the requirements better than the
people doing the job day-to-day. Don’t make that mistake
and involve them.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

23. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
What if you only have one type of stakeholder?
http://bonzai-intranet.com/Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements
IT/Technology Only
• Lots of technical features that might not really provide you value
• Organization rarely likes an IT driven business solution pushed on them
Communications Only
• News, Events, Spotlight and heavy on social features
• Rarely are tools, tasks and business process considered
• Intranet is a glorified news portal or newsletter substitute
Marketing Only
• More emphasis placed on how the Intranet looks rather than what it does
• Pictures, images and pretty content without maximum value
Operational Content Only
• Policies, procedures and forms focussed content. Lots and lots of metadata!
• Nothing else really – just forms, policies and procedures

24. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Communicate requirements to the right people
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
A frequent issue we see in Intranet projects is the communication of
requirement to the project team.
Different requirement types should be communicated to different
stakeholders.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements
• What value does the organization want from the Intranet?
• Gathered and communicated from the executive team
• Helps create a high-level vision for your Intranet
Business Goals
• What do you want your Intranet to do to support your organization?
• Gathered and communicated from stakeholders
• Helps you define your Intranet needs and wants
User or Business
Requirements
• How do you want your Intranet to do it?
• Gathered and communicated to the Intranet or Technical team
• Helps you define the technical platform your Intranet will be on
Technical Requirements

25. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Ensure your Intranet requirements are SMART
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Each requirement that you have should be SMART!
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements
Specific
• Described and
precise in a way
that makes sense
to most people.
Measurable
• Can be verified
as complete
when
implemented.
Achievable
• Can actually be
done given the
constraints of the
project.
Relevant
• Is aligned with
the intranet
project goals.
Time Bound
• Can be measured
over a period of
time.

26. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
What’s the difference between good and bad
requirements?
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
We see a lot requirements and most are not great 
• “The Intranet search must work like Google”
• “The platform should provide gamification capabilities”
• “The Intranet should be built on best practices”
• “Users should be able to find content in no less than 3 clicks”
As stated good requirements
• “The Intranet search should provide the ability to change the ranking of search
results based on metadata or ranking”
• “The Intranet should provide social features for all content including
commenting, liking, sharing and tagging”
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

27. 20162013
Requirements Gathering
Techniques

28. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Game-storming Workshops
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Great way for structured workshops that can
be used for elicitation and prioritization.
Number of techniques that can be done in
person with a group of people. We have run
these exercises with up to 50 participants.
Speedboat: Great way to identify risks in a
visual format.
2020 Vision: Great way to prioritize features
or benefits.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

29. User Story Survey
http://bonzai-intranet.com/Confidential
Format:
As a __________ I want to __________ so that I can _________________.
This is an optional activity at the start of the project.
Online survey (Survey Monkey) sent to end users of the intranet. Each participant
submits what their tasks and goals are for the new intranet. Each story represents the
participant (their role). The final deliverable is an Excel spreadsheet of the responses.
User stories provide insight into the content and tools that end-users expect to see on
the intranet. This informs Content planning, Landing page designs and Configuration
requirements.
Good example:
As a sales executive, I want to access pricing so that I can create sales quotes.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

30. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
General Surveys
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Surveys are a great way to gather
requirements but they should be structured.
When running a survey gather additional
data about participants: department, location,
years of service.
Have a selection of both choice questions
and also free text fields.
We always ask for a story about where the
Intranet was useful and where it’s not (great to
hear tangible examples that you can use).
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

31. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Focus Groups
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Interviews with a collection of
stakeholders within the organization.
Recommend between 4 – 12.
Make sure that you have a specific
topic in mind otherwise this can turn
into a session of people focusing on
negatives.
Multiple focus groups can be run on
either Intranet functionality,
outcomes, requirement validation or
other topics.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

32. Bonzai Intranet Introduction http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Workplace Observation
http://bonzai-intranet.com/
Going out in to the field and observing
users at work to determine usage patterns
and possible improvements.
Super useful in structured environments
such as call centers, field work,
manufacturing or customer facing
scenarios.
Can be used to identify other types of
tools or content workers use to do their jobs
that can become part of the Intranet
requirements.
Can be a good starting point to identify
other activities to be performed.
Bonzai Intranet Organizational and User Requirements

33. What’s Next?
Tuesday 26th June @ 11am PST
Intranet Information Architecture (Part I):
Intranet Information Architecture Fundamentals

34. www.bonzai-intranet.com
@bonzaiintranet
sales@bonzai-intranet.com
+1 (604) 559 - 8070
675 W.Hastings,
Vancouver B.C. V6B 1N2
SharePoint Intranet with BusinessSense