Stages of Intranet Life
Your Intranet will go through at least three phases of life.

1) Infancy: . A mewling, puling, puking time.. All due respect to the Bard.

In infancy, you will have a young, awkward site. It will be an uncertain time; no one can be sure of what life with this infant really means and implies. Many will say that the baby should be thrown out with the bath water because it will never amount to anything, will be a drain on everyone, and will probably end up a regrettable mistake, if not a candidate for reform school. Others will say it will go on to Harvard on a full scholarship, pay its own way, and make its parents proud. Reality is probably somewhere in the middle. (Isn't it always?)

The new site will make many missteps. At first it will be primarily a site for static publications-for information. If that information is not dynamic and compelling, the Intranet will seem an idle, high-tech substitute for paper publications; the reason for the existence and expense of the site will not be clear.

2) Adolescence: The awkward age and then some.

Everyone will be expecting real results in the adolescence of your site, just as they do with real, hapless teens. Just as you may have said to your kids at their most difficult time of growth, (It's about time to make a [wo]man of yourself. ) so will your sponsors and users be demanding adulthood before the adolescent is ready.

By this stage you will have had several successes, mostly with informational pages. Everyone will have loved your on-line organizational charts and on-line phone/fax directories. They will have loved the fact that they could print up necessary forms from the Intranet instead of calling and waiting two weeks for interoffice mail. This love affair lasts about a week. Enjoy that week; the next week they will demand on-line, paperless forms. Memories are short. Like poor Oliver, the cry will be for "More," never mind better.

But the mishaps of adolescence will make you infamous. It might be a phantom site, a wildly inaccurate application, or a crashed system during the CEO's first surf. Like a wise parent, keep a stiff upper lip and say only good things about your child.

During this stage, your adolescent will also, of course, be tempted by an undesirable peer group. In this case the temptation comes from the Internet with its untrammeled freedom and "anything goes" mentality. Users will be slipping all sorts of undesirables onto your site, despite your best efforts to maintain control with a style book and a review board. Hold the line, Dad! Remember tough love, Mom! This Intranet kid will soon be a productive member of society!

3) Maturity: The rewards. A mature Intranet is one with:

You can be sure your Intranet is mature when all employees use it and value it as much as the telephone.

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