Saturday November 7, 2009

Chapter 2

Part 2

The Elements of Intranet Style

By Eric Brown and James W.Candler

Part Two of Excerpts From

Chapter Two

"Okay, NOW You Can Think ..."

DESIGN: Function Married to Form

DEDESIGN: FUNCTION
AN INTRANET WORKS WHEN IT WORKS
FOR PEOPLE.

The raison d' être for an Intranet should be what it can do for employees. Questions to consider: "What can an Intranet do to end repetitive phone calls for predictable information?" "What papers that we now send via inter-office mail and fax can be distributed by pages on the Intranet?" "What new information that depends on too-slow paper publication can be disseminated quickly over the Intranet?

CONDUCT A SURVEY.

Be bold and ask employees what they want to find on THEIR Intranet before you design it. The wisdom of typical Joe(s) will surprise you. The ease of meeting many of their needs will also surprise you. Employees will say outrageous things such as: "I would like to be able to find out who my benefits representative is without calling and getting stuck in voice-mail jail and/or being transferred to six different people; or checking in a pamphlet that is out of date even if I just received it yesterday."

DESIGN FOR PEOPLE AND FUNCTIONS, NOT FOR SYSTEMS AND TECHNICIANS.

The architecture and aesthetics of an Intranet should be set up for the people who will use the system. Functions of an Intranet should be ones people want. "Designs for function," for many companies, for example, might include a page providing information for those transferring from one part of the country to another, i.e., the Relocation Page.

This page could usefully have information on the cost of living differential in different parts of the country, the cost of a mortgage at current interest rates, and links to the Chamber of Commerce of branch office cities. That takes care of functions for people.

"Designs for people" on this page might include a graphic of a calculator shaped like a house; a click on the graphic brings up the cost of a mortgage at current interest rates.

Cost of living differentials and Chamber of Commerce information could be accessed by clicking the appropriate corporate city on a map of the U.S. with the next page offering city- specific information. Function and form thus marry to serve people's needs.

PLAN ON PAYING FOR YOUR INTRANET BY THE SAVINGS IN PHONE CALLS, PRINTING, AND PAPER.

It won't happen, but it is a good goal to start you moving in the right direction. If you think of decreasing phone calls, using print shops less, and cutting your paper costs, you will be looking at some of the best ways to make an Intranet useful right away. However, in reality, phone calls will not decrease; they will increase as people call to tell you how much they love the
Intranet services now available to them.

AN INTRANET'S USE SHOULD NOT BE SIMPLY "EVERYONE ELSE HAS ONE, AND NOW WE DO TOO!"
" No corporation would be so fiscally foolish. Right? Right ?

Bottom Line:

An Intranet is Information. Power to the People!

Ask people what they want on an Intranet. They know.

Create an Intranet for use; design it for ease.

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To purchase or find out more about The Elements of Intranet Style go to fatbrain.com or Communications Associates.

The Authors

Eric Brown founded his consulting firm Communication Associates in 1980. His clients include major Fortune 500 companies who use his presentation design, communication training, writing services, and web expertise in many contexts. He is author of Throw Away Your Pencil: Writing with a Word Processor (Prentice-Hall), of The FedEx Personnel Division Intranet Style Book, is a Houghton Mifflin Finalist, a writer for Hearst publications, and many professional journals.

James W. Candler is currently Vice President of Personnel Systems and Support at Federal Express where he has worked for the last 18 years. In that time he has been responsible for the design, development, and maintenance of the company's on-line, reql-time human resource information system called PRISM. PRISM has resulted in all employees being able to access personal, benefit, and similar HR information at the stroke of a key. Most recently he has led the development of Personnel.link, the FedEx Personnel Division corporate Intranet.He has presented across the nation and written frequently for IHRIM.link: A Publication of the Association of Human System Professionals where he has also served as editor.