A Halloween-inspired discussion of the 10 scariest intranet mistakes and how to avoid them. Presented by Carmine Porco, Prescient's GM and VP of Client Deliverables and Chris Chambers, Prescient's VP of Client Development. View the webinar video here: http://bit.ly/tuO5KU

1. 10 Scariest Intranet Mistakes
Watch the webinar video instead & How to Avoid Them
October 31, 2011
Carmine Porco, Prescient Digital Media
Chris Chambers, Prescient Digital Media
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2. Twitter hashtag
#Intranet2
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3. Agenda
o Who we are (5 mins.)
o 10 scariest intranet mistakes (30 mins.)
o Questions and answers (15 mins.)
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4. Who We Are
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5. Highly effective intranets & websites
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6. Listen. Understand. Deliver.
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7. Intranet or Frankenstein’s Monster?
o Its parts are bolted
together from various
sources, some of
which aren’t quite
official.
o Some of its parts are
missing and some
expired a long time
ago.
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8. Intranet or Frankenstein’s Monster? (cont’d)
o It lacks a brain and
has taken on a life of
its own.
o Your audience runs
screaming when told
to interact with it.
o It frightens its
creator.
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9. 10 Scariest Intranet Mistakes
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10. 10. Non-existent executive sponsor
o Must secure buy-in from an
executive sponsor.
18% State lack of executive
support as the #1 barrier
to implementation.
9% State lack of a business
case as the #1 barrier to
implementation.
Source: Social Intranet Study 2011
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11. 10. Non-existent executive sponsor
(cont’d)
o Executive satisfaction with Intranet 2.0
tools is still dangerously low (28%).
o Executives aren’t contributing to social
media tools as frequently as
employees.
o Solution: Business Case, Executive
education
Source: Social Intranet Study 2011
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12. 10. Non-existent executive sponsor
(cont’d) Nexus of Intranet Success
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13. 9. No ghouls (goals)
o Knowing the future of your
intranet isn’t as easy as looking
into a crystal ball.
o Need to define:
• Mission & Vision
• Long and short term goals
• Critical Success Indicators (CSIs) for
measuring the future success of the
site.
• Governance
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14. 9. No ghouls (goals) (cont’d)
o Majority of organizations Solution: Strategic Plan
don’t have an intranet Vision
strategy (or they have one
and don’t follow it). Mission
o Need to determine how Objectives
intranet strategy fits into
overall corporate strategy. Goals
KPIs
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15. 8. Nauseating homepage
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16. 8. Nauseating homepage (cont’d)
Can’t just spin a wheel…
Red
Communications Kitchen sink
Personalized
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17. 8. Nauseating homepage (cont’d)
Or put lipstick on a pig…
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18. 8. Nauseating homepage (cont’d)
Need…
Assessment Planning
• Business stakeholder • Strategic
input • Functional
• Employee input • Information
• Benchmarking input architecture
• Wireframes
• Creative brief
• Design
• Design Style guide
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19. 7. Out-of-the-box search (no customization)
o Can’t just purchase and install a search tool.
o Need to find the right balance between
usability and functionality.
• Too many search options = overwhelmed users
• Too few search options = frustrated users
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20. 7. Out-of-the-box search (no customization)
(cont’d)
o Considerations for search:
• Integrate meta-data into search.
• Allow users to search by sites, people, doc's,
blogs, etc.
• Make banner search accessible from every page
within the intranet.
• Enable fuzzy-search terms.
• Hardwire common search terms.
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21. 6. Design your intranet like a website
o Don’t be fooled. Intranet ≠ external
website.
• Different users with different
intentions accessing different
information.
o Design must be supported by
Information Architecture and
Wireframes.
o Personas & Use Cases
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22. 5. Try to boil the ocean
o Don’t try to do everything yourself.
o Redeveloping your intranet is a collaborative project
requiring input from IT, HR and Communications.
o Phased approach: Don’t try to
launch an intranet all at once
with everything turned on.
Source: Social Intranet Study 2011
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23. 4. Not summoning help from beyond
o Benefits to hiring an outside
consultant:
• Non-partisan
• Intranet specific-expertise
• Benchmarking capabilities
• Knowledge of intranet best practices
o Avoid the political pitfalls that can kill an
intranet.
• e.g. Consultant can mediate between IT and Communications.
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24. 3. Being sold a solution, rather than
selecting a solution
o No one-size-fits-all solution.
o Thousands of technology
solutions to choose from.
o Follow proven process to
ensure the technology you
buy is right for your
organization.
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25. 3. Being sold a solution, rather than
selecting a solution (cont’d)
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26. 2. Failing to involve your audience
o Involving your audience:
• Eases political tensions by giving different
departments a voice.
• Ensures business requirements are accurate,
when they’re gathered from a representative
sample of users.
• Reduces the likelihood of intranet silos.
• Increases adoption rates. Users are more
likely to use something they’ve helped
create.
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27. 2. Failing to involve your audience (cont’d)
Business Focus Groups User Survey
Requirements
Interview
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28. 1. Assuming SharePoint is a silver bullet
o “Silver bullet”: A simple remedy for a difficult
problem.
o SharePoint: “Jack of all trades, master of
none.”
o Can’t just use it out of the box.
o Expensive to customize.
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29. 1. Assuming SharePoint is a silver bullet
(cont’d)
o “It’s a mile wide, and an inch deep.” T. Ward
o Offers everything and the kitchen sink, but is
best-of-breed for virtually nothing except
Team Site deployment and My Sites (when
deployed correctly).
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30. 10. Non-existent executive sponsor
9. No ghouls (goals)
8. Nauseating homepage
7. Out-of-the-box search (no customization)
6. Design your intranet like a website
5. Try to boil the ocean
4. Not summoning help from beyond
3. Being sold a solution, rather than selecting a solution
2. Failing to involve your audience
1. Assuming SharePoint is a silver bullet
Questions and Answers
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31. www.IntranetGlobalForum.com
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32. Contact Information
Carmine Porco Chris Chambers
Vice President, Vice President,
Client Deliverables Client Development
cporco@prescientdigital.com cchambers@prescientdigital.com
(416) 926-8800 (416) 926-8800
(416) 728-2226 (416) 450-9732
@carmineporco @chris_chambers
Skype:carmine.porco
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