A Framework for an Intranet Strategy IntraTeam 2009, Copenhagen

1. A Framework for an Intranet StrategyIntraTeam 2009, Copenhagen Martin White Managing Director, Intranet Focus Ltd.

2. Background Intranet Focus Ltd. • Founded in 1999 • Main areas of practice are • Intranet strategy and operational management • Search specification and selection • Enterprise information strategy • CMS specification and selection • International client base Martin White • Information scientist • Author of • Successful Enterprise Search Management (2008) • Making Search Work (2007) • The Content Management Handbook (2005) • “Behind the Firewall” column in EContent magazine since 2001 • “Eureka” column in EContent • Visiting Professor, Dept. of Information Studies, University of Sheffield www.intranetfocus.com

3. Introduction • Far too few intranets are managed within a strategic plan • As a result they often fail to achieve any visible impact on the performance of the organisation or make a case for an appropriate level of resource and support • This 13-element framework provides the basis for such a strategy • It will need to be adapted to meet the specific needs of an organisation • Ideally an intranet strategy should be a component of a corporate information management strategy www.intranetfocus.com

4. The benefits of a documented strategy • Making the invisible visible • What should be the role of the intranet? • How does this role fit within other strategic plans? • What are the one year and three year objectives for the intranet? • What resources are required to achieve these objectives? • How will the attainment of these objectives be measured? • What are the operational risks and how will they be managed? • The process of writing the strategy, especially working with other managers, can be as valuable as the finished document www.intranetfocus.com

5. Executive summary Business objectives Mission statement Link to IM strategy Technology Governance Content Contribution User requirements Collaborative working Marketing Financial plan Risk register Three year plan Operational plan Intranet Strategy section headings www.intranetfocus.com

6. Executive Summary • So many requirements and objectives are poorly defined and starting out with the Executive Summary can be quite an education • Ideally this should be no more than two pages in length and require the reader to have no knowledge of technology or of TLAs • There should be two versions • One written as the opening section of the intranet strategy • One written specifically for publication on the intranet www.intranetfocus.com

7. 1. Business objectives • An intranet is a decision support application • This requires that the business objectives of the organisation are reviewed in detail to identify those which are the most highly depended on effective access to information. • The provision of this information may not always be through the intranet, but that issue is covered in the Information Management section. • This process is invaluable in engaging the commitment of senior executives towards the intranet. • It can be of particular value to relate the intranet to the risk register of an organisation. Building the business case around reducing operational risk can be very effective in gaining senior executive support. www.intranetfocus.com

8. 2. Intranet mission statement • This should summarise the main objectives, together with the technology and governance strategy of the intranet • As an example • Locate dependable information on which to take decisions about the development and provision of services to other employees, the public and other partners and stakeholders • Provide access to information to ensure that employees are able to meet their personal career objectives within the Council and to take advantage of the services that the Council provides to them • Work effectively with other employees through the sharing of documents, information and expertise to the mutual benefit of the employee and the Council • To be aware of actions taken by the Council that could influence the decisions employees make www.intranetfocus.com

9. 3. Information management strategy • In most organisations there is a range of information platforms, such as client relationship management, document management and records management applications. • The relationship of the intranet to these applications needs to be defined, primarily in terms of whether content is uniquely held in the intranet or is duplicated in other applications • The objective of this section is not just to ensure that there is a clear content strategy but that the dependencies of the intranet on other applications are recognised so that changes to one of the applications do not inadvertently impact the value of the intranet www.intranetfocus.com

10. 4. Technology strategy • This section sets out the current and proposed IT applications that support the intranet or are accessed through it • These would typically include • Content management • Search • Web analytics • Document and records management • HR applications • One of the objectives of this section is to identify the three-year road-map for technology upgrades so that an early indication is provided of any need to change the core intranet applications www.intranetfocus.com

11. 5. Governance strategy • This section sets out how the intranet is managed, and includes references to internal standards and good practice codes • The key objective is to define who is managerially responsible for the quality and fitness to purpose of the intranet • This should ensure that the content and the information architecture continue to support business objectives • The membership of the Intranet Steering Group should be set out in terms of roles and responsibilities rather than in terms of named members of staff • This is a good place to document legal and regulatory requirements, such as data privacy www.intranetfocus.com

12. It is very important to set how content is contributed and reviewed All too often content contribution is a ‘hobby’ with employees fitting it in around other tasks This brings in issues such as the recognition of content contribution in job descriptions and personal accountability for information quality How would Finance cope if updating the accounts was undertaken on the same basis? Blogs and wikis can usefully be included in this section 6. Content contribution www.intranetfocus.com

13. 7. User requirements • Among the topics in this section should be • Descriptions of the personas and use-cases around which the intranet has been built • The way in which the information architecture is designed to meet these requirements • The scope and periodicity of user surveys • Access to the intranet away from the office desk • Feedback channels from users • The basis for usability testing • Service level agreements for the intranet and IT help desks www.intranetfocus.com

14. 8. Support of collaborative working • As organisations start to explore ‘Enterprise 2.0’ applications and collaborative working in general it is important that these activities are covered in the intranet strategic plan • There may be good reasons for not specifically including Enterprise 2.0 initiatives within the scope of the intranet but there are no good reasons for not documenting where the edges of the intranet and Enterprise 2.0 meet • Set out the needs of committees, project teams, communities of practice and social networks www.intranetfocus.com

15. 9. Marketing • This is the section in which to set out how the use of the intranet is going to be promoted • It should take into account the work of internal communications and HR • Specific marketing plans should be developed for staff new to the organisation that links closely with established induction training • Should the intranet be branded, and if so how will this branding be developed and promoted? www.intranetfocus.com

16. 10. Financial plan • The level of detail in this plan will be set by the organisation • It is important that the intranet is not seen as being ‘free’ but as an application that makes a significant contribution to the organisation • It is also important to highlight the extent to which budget cutbacks could have long term impacts on the intranet. • Cutting back on a member of staff could jeopardise agreed plans for a revision to the information architecture in a subsequent year www.intranetfocus.com

17. 11. Risk register • Every intranet should have a risk register to cover operational issues • These might include • the loss of the key sponsor • the resignation of the intranet manager, • inappropriate content being posted • failure to conform to regulatory requirements such as data privacy • loss of the publishing server • The risk register and the financial plan need to be closely linked www.intranetfocus.com

18. 12. Three year development plan • Upgrading a CMS or a search application can take many months from start to finish • This plan should outline any major enhancements that are foreseen, including those in other areas of the business that could impact the intranet, such as the introduction of an HR self-service application • Inevitably this will be fairly sketchy but the aim is to identify dependencies and key decision points www.intranetfocus.com

19. 13. Operational Plan • Finally it is important to show how the strategic objectives are going to be translated into immediate and visible action • The best way of writing this section is to use the 6x2 methodology from James Robertson, Step Two Designs http://www.steptwo.com.au/products/6x2/index.html • Having written this section it is important to go back into the strategic plan and check that everything ties up. www.intranetfocus.com

20. In conclusion • An intranet without a documented strategic plan is always going to be under threat • All other business-critical applications will have a strategic plan • The exact format of the intranet plan will depend on the organisation • Ideally the intranet strategy should link into a corporate information management strategy • Writing the strategy will take time, patience and political skills www.intranetfocus.com

21. Resources • Start off with • The wealth of planning support from the papers written by James Robertson and his colleagues at Step Two Designs • http://www.steptwo.com.au • The Global Intranet Trends Survey reports from Jane McConnell at NetStrategy/JMC • http://netjmc.com • Competing with Information. Don Marchand et al. Wiley, 2000 • Information First. Roger Evernden and Elaine Evernden, Elsevier, 2003 • Laughing at the CIO. Bob Boiko. CyberAge Books. 2007 • Practical Information Policies. Elizabeth Orna. Gower, 1999 www.intranetfocus.com

22. Questions? Comments? Contact details Email – Martin.white@intranetfocus.com Web site – http://www.intranetfocus.com www.intranetfocus.com