So what you’re saying is that most ‘parents’ don’t care that their ‘kids’ are running amok, which if we translate the metaphor means management typically don’t care that staff don’t use the intranet? Or do you mean management don’t care about efficiency or quality control?

The former is definitely true, why should management care if staff use the intranet? What they should care about is the latter: efficiency of process and quality of product. The thing is that a good intranet can help achieve those things. So from that point of view, you shouldn’t be trying to get the intranet “on the radar”, you should be trying to show the benefits of improved processes, communication etc. And this might just be brought about by the intranet (but that is quite irrelevant at the end of the day).

I’ve seen this many times, intranet managers and the like, trying to persuade others that the intranet is important and something to be invested in, based purely on some inherent value. But it doesn’t work, the intranet should be transparent and the benefits are what we should be looking at.

And, of course, it’s not a technology issue. Which is why when IT departments are responsible for building a new intranet they typically focus on a piece of software, which is a bad start for the whole endeavour. Businesses need to take ownership and demand useful results, not relinquish control to IT because the solution (likely) involves some software.

It’s the intranet manager’s constant battle to get the intranet on the radar to ensure it’s regarded highly so it gets enough budget to sustain the rate of information growth.

Reality is, we’re not dealing with kids and parents. We’re dealing with grown men and women who make their own decisions, regardless of what you tell them. Path of least resistance is the only language that talks my friend. Make my job easier/quicker/more regarded otherwise get in line.

Requirements gathering is crucial, though the reality for most large organisations that the research required to get enough information to impact the day to day operations of every staff is impossible or just not worth it. The key to this all is in interpreting what requirements you can get, analysing culture, strategy, stakeholder management, establish authoring communities, technology and most importantly the vision of the intranet manager. The biggest mistake made by many is they only think one of those components results in a successful intranet. I applaud you for recognising that technology is not the magic bullet.

To continue the super nanny metaphor, if you just take the methods ‘as seen on TV’ and don’t apply them properly or in the wrong situation, you won’t be helping your kids. So, if you take a piece of software that somebody else uses and plonk it into an organisation, the chances are it won’t work.

That said, I’d be interested in hearing why you think HyperOffice is so good.