"Intranet for the People, by the People"

In last week's blog I drew similarities between delivering an effective Intranet and putting on a show that got rave reviews and continued to pull in an interested and enthusiastic audience. This audience of end users is ultimately what the intranet is all about. It is being presented to them to improve communication, encourage self-service, aid collaboration and empower them. So the end user must be thought of at all stages. However they are not the only people to consider, it is just as important to consider the cast and crew that takes the Intranet from conception, through the design and construction process to its first performance and beyond.

After all if an intranet is being delivered to people, who better to deliver it than some of those same people? An internal team has the inside knowledge of the organisations and of its employees needs. If the team has enthusiasm and direction then this will be reflected in the Intranet they deliver.

Key to the Intranet and its team is a sponsor. Getting the right senior sponsorship is vital and often one of the hardest elements to achieve. This can be because once the Intranet is 'out there' the sponsor might not be one of the audience members and as such the concept and reality of an intranet might be remote to them. Similarly, although important to the team, very rarely will the sponsor become actively involved in the team or its tasks; however they should be there for the team and there to provide the corporate drive for the project to succeed.

One of the sponsor's first and key tasks will be the appointment of an Intranet Team Leader, in turn, this this person will head up a project team that can ensure the potentially diverse departmental needs and organisational objectives are met. It is important that the team is established at the earliest possible stage and that it continues to function beyond launch. As the development of the Intranet progresses the teams aims will change, it is also likely that the membership of the team will change too.

Different areas of a business have different requirements and expectations, because of this time should be spent considering what their needs and expectations are. Why not make this an active process? Invite representatives from each team/dept to join in discussions about all aspects of the intranet - not just design and content. If interest is high, consider an audition, but look to involve as many enthusiastic people as you can. If you can get enthusiastic and willing volunteers great, but, they will still need to be managed and motivated. If your intranet team are not-so-willing then spend time at the start to make it clear how important and fun their new role is. Whether the team is made up of volunteers or conscripts you may also have to reassure them over any concerns they have over an increasing workload. It might be a case of short term pain for long-term gain.

Members of the team will have differing roles, these should be clearly specified and allocated based on the skills of the individual. Communication within the team is crucial. Each team member should be aware of the roles and objectives of the other members.

Some roles/responsibilities you might like to consider:

Intranet Manager - responsible for the construction of the basic framework. They will also assume responsibility for the day to day administration of the site and the resolution of any technical hitches.

Content Manager will have the task of presenting high quality, relevant content that is in tune with company standards and style and that is of interest to the audience.

Intranet Designer someone who can take responsibility for the overall design and feel of the Intranet, making sure that the appearance of the intranet doesn't lose its initial polish and that it continues to show continuity and cohesion.

Intranet Marketeer a new intranet will get some interest because it is new, however it may not be enough to rely on the users to generate their own interest. There is the need to maintain interest after launch. Within the team someone should be assigned the task of promoting the Intranet internally, after launch new innovations and functionality will have to be advertised.

Quality Tester a progressive intranet team will have someone who takes responsibility for quality assurance, both of content and structure and ensuring that usability and functionality is maintained. They may also work with other team members to train and guide the wider audience on what is where and how to use the functionality on offer.

The Intranet Team Leader should engage in regular upward communication to keep the sponsor in the loop and aware of potential issues as well as ensuring that the senior management team gets to hear of the successes that the Intranet is achieving. They should also meet with the team regularly, either collectively or individual to see how the team is working towards its goals.

Prior to 'curtain up' as with any stage production you should engage in low-scale run-through by engaging in user acceptance testing, this can be conducted by the team. This will help to identify and iron out any issues. As you near 'opening night' have a 'dress rehearsal' - put the Intranet on stage in its day-to-day environment and invite a small selection of users to a show. Get them to test it, use it and explore it. Afterwards seek their feedback, and act on it to address any mistakes and fluffed or forgotten lines. It's far better to discover some mistakes that have affected a few specially invited audience members than it to have the same mistakes made in front of a far wider, more public audience.

As they say on stage "Break a leg!"