Seven illustrated intranet lessons

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1. Disappearing sponsor

I’ve had a few projects where there’s been an enthusiastic sponsor and everything has been running great and then they’ve been re-assigned to another project and the whole thing came to a grinding halt. Even worse, their successor may begin to ask for measurable improvements and it’s too late to measure the ‘before’.

• More on: The disaapearing sponsor.

• More on: The need for an independent intranet team.

2. Relying too much on the data

Sometimes intranet projects get stuck in a rut of gathering more and more requirements. Sometimes you have to stop and ask “Do we know enough about the main problems to get started?” The underlying issue may not be the data, but that nobody is willing to make a decision to start.

• More on: Should intranet managers ever listen to their users?

• More on: Intranet strategy needs leaders not managers

3. Over-personalising

If you personalise too much – and people don’t understand the logic behind it – then it feels creepy. Moreover, people get disorientated. It’s like taking them blindfold to the exact aisle of the supermarket and thrusting all the ‘relevant’ products at them.

• More on: Over-personalisation

4. Carried away with design principles

What people find hard is not the act of clicking, but the mental effort involved in deciding what to click.

• More on: The 3 click myth debunked

• More on: Late adopters have feelings too

6. Over-zealous governance

• More on: Intranet governance should be positive

7. Fixing everything at once

Think big, but ensure every step adds value on its own.

You can support organisational change with an intranet, but not drive it.

• More on: Can an intranet team really change company culture?

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Many thanks to Bonzai Intranet for creating this infographic based on the 7 Things About Intranets I Learnt The Hard Way webinar we did together.