6×2: a new approach to planning.

Intranets have now grown to be core tools for most organisations, tools they cannot do without. Despite this, it is still a struggle for intranet teams to gain the resources and support they need to sustain and grow their sites. In general, it is not hard to describe what the 'perfect intranet' looks like, and each intranet team can generally paint a clear picture of their desired future site. What is needed, however, is a roadmap that helps intranet teams to get from 'here' to 'there' within current resource limits and other constraints. The 6x2 methodology provides a powerful new

Chatting bolsters business.

No longer the antithesis of working hard, online chat has become an integral part of core business processes in some organisations. Across both the public and private sectors there is a trend toward online chat as a valid business tool, particularly in call centre environments. By using online chat to supplement traditional information sources such as intranets and training folders, staff are provided with answers to specific problems and questions and access to specific staff in real-time. Online chat can be used to: to leverage the collective knowledge resources and research capability of the team as a training and management

Intranet questions (Brisbane, Australia).

I've just finished running a very enjoyable Intranet Planning Day workshop in Brisbane. Plenty of questions and lots of interaction, just the way I like it. For the record, here were the "big questions" raised at the beginning of the day: Getting management not to see it as a quick project? How to get staff interested and using the intranet? Best way to find out what users need? Right metadata, etc? Processes for publishing? How to engage management? Funding? Integration of systems? Content lifecycle? CMS? Search? Maintaining relevance? Ways to structure content? Content format? (HTML vs PDF) DM vs intranet?

Personalisation vs segmentation.

'Personalisation' is a term very much in fashion at present. It is used by vendors to sell their products, and promoted by website and intranet managers as a way of delivering a brave new era of functionality. Separate from debates regarding the merits and approaches to personalisation, there is considerable confusion about the meaning of the word itself. As the use of personalisation spreads, this confusion has grown. Personalisation is now routinely used for everything from 'my links' functionality, to fine-grained targeting of information to specific staff roles. The absence of consistent terminology in this space is now causing considerable

Do staff make use of personalisation features?.

Due to technology improvements, personalisation is a growing feature in both intranet and portal usage. Organisations around the world have already made their first forays into personalisation, however many more organisations are questioning what to personalise and how to go about it. So who is using personalisation and how effective it is? Early in 2007 we ran a worldwide survey to establish the extent that personalisation is being used in intranets and portals. This article discusses the results of the survey, common themes within the survey and some observations on personalisation projects throughout the world. Comments from the survey respondents

Every intranet has its successes.

Running an intranet can be a huge and thankless task. All too often, intranet teams feel that they have made little progress towards their long-term ambitions for their sites. While the success levels of intranets vary greatly, there are very few sites that do not contain at least a couple of successes. These successes may be small, perhaps benefiting only one group of staff, or they may be substantial pieces of functionality that support the whole organisation. In either case, it is important to fully recognise these successes, and to communicate them throughout the organisation. Intranet teams should also take