(apologies for cross-posting)

Hello; I'd like to get the word out about the fall schedule for my
workshop "Site Search Analytics for a Better User Experience".  I
focus on how site search analytics can improve the performance of
search systems, navigation, content, metadata, and ultimately the
entire user experience.  The workshop includes group discussion and
lots of hands-on analysis.

The full description and registration information are available here:
http://louisrosenfeld.com/ssa/

Dates/Locations
   * Chicago:  October 16, 9am-5pm (early regi deadline:  9/19)
   * Washington, DC:  November 11, 9am-5pm (early regi deadline:  10/17)

You might also consider attending Steve Krug's "Discount Usability
Testing" workshop (http://www.sensible.com/workshops.html) the next
day in both locations.  Discounts are available when you register for
both, as well as for early registration and when three or more
register concurrently.

Thanks; I hope to see you this fall!


Louis Rosenfeld :: http://louisrosenfeld.com
Rosenfeld Media :: http://rosenfeldmedia.com

Hi all,

It's been a busy month. The articles for this month are late because we
wanted to wait until the launch of our redesigned website (please do
have a look!). One of the key features is the ability to comment on
articles, turning static papers into online conversations.

The three articles for this month all look at collaboration. The
first highlights that team spaces must be closed when projects end,
while the second explores two types of wikis. Finally, we provide
a case study of building collaboration within WWF.

---

We've also published three blog entries which help to explain
how we work, and the services we provide:

Intranet needs analysis and strategy
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/how-we-work-1-intranet-needs-analysis-and-st\
rategy/

In-house workshops
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/how-we-work-2-in-house-workshops/

Selecting a CMS
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/how-we-work-3-selecting-a-cms/

---

In this edition:

* Collaboration: leading by example
* Close team spaces when projects end
* Two uses for wikis


New articles
======================

* Collaboration: leading by example
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_collaborationlead/
    A case study of building collaboration within WWF, by bringing
    together people who are already working together.

* Close team spaces when projects end
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_projectspaces/
    Establishing team spaces for projects can be one of the most
    productive uses of collaboration tools, but they must be closed when
    the projects end.

* Two uses for wikis
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_twowikis/
    Wikis can be used as both collaboration tools and as an intranet, and
    these are two very different situations.

Related articles:

* Chatting bolsters business
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_chat/
    This article explores the use of online chat in business and describes
    a case study of the use of instant messaging within a national enquiry
    centre for a government department that fields calls from the public
    across Australia.

* Successful collaboration requires support
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_supportcollab/
    This briefing outlines some practical steps that all organisations
    should take to help business areas and staff make the best of
    collaboration tools.

We also provide an announcements list, which will ensure you find out
when we publish new whitepapers. To join this, visit:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/subscribe/

Finally, don't forget to visit "Column Two", my weblog featuring
news and opinion on all things Intranets & CM:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/

Thanks,
James

Hi all,

Content migration is often not considered until the very last stage
of a website or intranet redevelopment. It is, however, a huge task
and this month's main article provides some options and suggestions. We
also look at the design of intranets, and explore how intranet
teams should be spending their time.

---

In this edition:

* Content migration: options and strategies
* Should the intranet look sexy?
* How intranet teams should spend their time


New articles
======================

* Content migration: options and strategies
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_migration/index.html
    Explores the options for migrating content as part of a site redesign,
    giving tips and suggestions.

* Should the intranet look sexy?
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_sexyintranet/index.html
    Public-facing websites often have a strong marketing element to them,
    but do intranets need to be as polished in their design?

* How intranet teams should spend their time
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_intranetteamtime/index.html
    Intranet teams need to carefully manage their time, to ensure that
    progress is always being made.

Related articles:

* Exploring the Intranet Hive (part 1)
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_intranethive_pt1/index.html
    This article introduces the Intranet Hive, a comprehensive model for
    managing ongoing intranet activities.

* Starting to define the intranet brand
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_definingbrand/index.html
    To be successful, intranets must have a clear definition of their
    purpose and character, underpinning decisions about future directions.

We also provide an announcements list, which will ensure you find out
when we publish new whitepapers. To join this, visit:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/subscribe/

Finally, don't forget to visit "Column Two", my weblog featuring
news and opinion on all things KM & CM:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/

Thanks,
James

(apologies for duplicate postings)

Hello; I'm excited to announce that Kevin Cheng has begun work on a
Rosenfeld Media book, "See What I Mean:  How to Use Comics to
Communicate Ideas".  From his book-in-progress site
(http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/comics/ ): "Comics are a unique
way to communicate, using both image and text to effectively
demonstrate time, function, and emotion. Just as vividly as they
convey the feats of superheroes, comics tell stories of your users and
your products. Comics can provide your organization with an exciting
and effective alternative to slogging through requirements documents
and long reports."  As he does in his workshops, Kevin will teach
anyone--regardless of artistic talent--how to effectively communicate
using comics.

If you'd like to learn more--and participate in Kevin's work--here are
some useful links:
  * The book's announcement:  http://tinyurl.com/5mqhtf
  * The book-in-progress site:  http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/comics/
  * The book site's RSS feed:
http://feeds.rosenfeldmedia.com/comicstocommunicateideas/

Please spread the word; thanks!


Louis Rosenfeld :: http://louisrosenfeld.com
Rosenfeld Media :: http://rosenfeldmedia.com

Hi all,

The task of fixing an intranet can be overwhelming, with no clear
place to start. The 'ABCD for intranets' is designed to give a
simple way of tackling the real-world challenges facing intranet
teams. We also cover defining the intranet brand, and helping
the intranet team win more arguments.

---

In this edition:

* ABCD for intranets
* Helping the intranet team win arguments
* Starting to define the intranet brand


New articles
======================

* ABCD for intranets
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_abcd/index.html
    ABCD for intranets is a step-by-step tool that can be applied at any
    time and then used for the continual refinement and improvement of the
    intranet.

* Helping the intranet team win arguments
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_winningarguments/index.html
    To help build team confidence, intranet teams should understand staff
    needs and the motivations of content owners.

* Starting to define the intranet brand
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_definingbrand/index.html
    To be successful, intranets must have a clear definition of their
    purpose and character, underpinning decisions about future directions.

Related articles:

* 6x2: a new approach to planning
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_6x2/index.html
    This methodology provides intranet teams with a new and powerful
    approach to planning intranet improvements.

* Building innovative intranets
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_innovativeintranets/index.html
    Explores a number of approaches that can be taken to build innovative
    intranets, all of which move intranet teams beyond just maintaining
    their current sites.

We also provide an announcements list, which will ensure you find out
when we publish new whitepapers. To join this, visit:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/subscribe/

Finally, don't forget to visit "Column Two", my weblog featuring
news and opinion on all things KM & CM:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/

Thanks,
James

Thursday, June 12 (2pm EDT)

World
<blocked::http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/10/3738445.
html> 's best intranet: IBM (webinar)
<blocked::http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/10/3738445.
html>



I've had the pleasure to work on or help create dozens of intranets in the
past few years, and seen and learned about many dozens of others. I can say
with some confidence that IBM has the best intranet in the world. Some like
Cisco and Microsoft come close, but not close enough (although the latter
two are still fairly secretive about all the workings of their respective
intranets, and IBM is quick to show it all).



Two years ago, Intranet Insider World Tour made a stop at IBM's w3. That was
before Web 2.0 tools started changing the way organizations communicate and
collaborate. Now see the new Web 2.0 IBM intranet with 30,000 bloggers,
podcasts (audio & video), wikis, and Beehive, an internal version of
Facebook. This highly informative webinar with a look at the IBM intranet
and its tools is hosted by myself and Liam Cleaver, Program Director,
Collaborative Innovation at IBM.





IBM's employee social networking site (alla Facebook), Beehive



This insider's look at the IBM intranet is this Thursday, June 12 (see
<blocked::http://www.communitelligence.com/content/ahpg.cfm?spgid=303>
Intranet Insider World Tour Webinar: IBM's w3 - Transforming The Total
Workplace Experience or register or purchase the CD
<blocked::http://www.communitelligence.com/psps/psitem.cfm?psid=242> here).
This is a must attend for any intranet manager or consultant.



"We see the future workplace as ubiquitous; totally integrated; and senses
work activity and responds with resources," says Cleaver. The goal of the
IBM intranet is to increase productivity, collaboration and innovation of
its 380,000 employees worldwide, 45% of whom work remotely in all global
time zones.



Here is a sneak preview:



* Blue Pages: One universal employee directory, 50+ applications
access & use the directory data, More than 1.5 million hits per day, 65% of
employees use BluePages once a day.

* Beehive: Opt-in social networking site from IBM Research, Create a
personal page to share interests, thoughts, photos and/or what you do in
IBM, over 33,000+ registered members and 41,000+ photos uploaded

* Fringe: Experimental directory and networking site from IBM
Research, Find colleagues based on skills, interests or other shared
connections,
see what's going on with the news in your social network through aggregated
feeds

* BlogCentral: Opens up collaboration and creates connections across
IBM through use of Web 2.0 technologies, 50,000+ users, 1,600+ active blogs

* WikiCentral: Provides easy and effective ways of collaboration in
any size group. In April 2008, 3M+ page views, 1.3M+ total visitors

* Jams and ThinkPlace: Open, collaborative and on-going global forum,
surfaces solutions to specific challenges, 16,000 ideas submitted since
launch, 350+ ideas adopted, facilitates exchange of smaller ideas

* TAP @ work: SmallBlue: within intranet search retrieves experts
based on tags and employee profiles recommending best path to connect, gives
analysis of social network visually depicts people networks and geographic
clusters.

"Google is often portrayed as the technology hipster, rolling out Web
applications almost at whim.  But unseen to the public, IBM is rolling out
Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, mashups and virtual reality
technologies to help its employees be more productive.  Inside its firewall,
Big Blue looks pretty hip."  Clint Boulton, eWeek.



Register now for the
<blocked::http://www.communitelligence.com/content/ahpg.cfm?spgid=303>
Intranet Insider World Tour Webinar: IBM's w3 - Transforming The Total
Workplace Experience


--

Cheers,


Toby Ward, President, Prescient Digital Media

www.PrescientDigital.com <blocked::http://www.prescientdigital.com/>

416.986.2226



Latest musings:




<blocked::http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/5/29/3720087.
html> Intranet 2.0: A must-have


<blocked::http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/2008/05/enterprise_20_a_musth
ave.html> Enterprise 2.0: A must have

  <http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/5/26/3713243.html>
Another portal bites the dust

  <http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/5/22/3707044.html>
Taxonomy driven folksonomy
  <http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/5/20/3701946.html>
Analyzing Enterprise 2.0 software
  <http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/5/19/3700599.html>
SharePoint requires proper architecture & governance

<blocked::http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/5/19/3700052.
html> The pros and cons of SharePoint

<blocked::http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/5/16/3694382.
html> Serena's Facebook intranet
Information in this e-mail may be confidential and / or privileged. This
e-mail is intended to be reviewed by only the individual named in the e-mail
address. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that
any review, dissemination or copying of this e-mail and attachments, if any,
or the information contained herein, is strictly prohibited.






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi all,

While entries for the 2008 Intranet Innovation Awards have now
closed, it's not too early to think about next year's awards.

(Particularly if you ran out of time to get in your entry
this year!)

To make it easier to keep track of the dates, we've set up a
simple form to express interest in submitting for the 2009
awards:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=NAVXDdjbDPnTDxoAsdxifg_3d_3d

This asks only five questions:

* your name
* your organisation
* email address
* categories you may be submitting for (optional)
* brief description of your innovation(s) (optional)

We will then:

* Notify you when the 2009 Intranet Innovation Awards open for entries
   (March/April 2009).

* Remind you two weeks before entries close.

Filling in the form is entirely optional, and the sole purpose is to
help you keep track of the awards process. (We won't use your details
for any other purpose.) The form will remain open through the rest of
this year, right up to when entries open in 2009.

Cheers,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901

Hi all,

There are many ways of improving the quality and value of intranet
content. To progress discussions on this topic, we've produced a mindmap
that brings together almost a hundred ideas:

http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/docs/HowToImproveIntranetContent_MindMap.pdf

(Download this, and print it on a big piece of paper for best effect.)


This can be used in a number of ways:

* Highlight on the mindmap all the activities and ideas you are already
    doing, and identify where the gaps lie.
* Conduct further research into potential ideas and approaches, using
    the mindmap as a starting point.
* Clarify team and individual responsibilities relating to intranet
    content.
* Help the team to break out of old habits, giving an opportunity to
    consider new ideas.
* Gather together the intranet team and decentralised authors, and use
    the mindmap to discuss the current situation, and possible
    improvements.
* Demonstrate to management the work that the intranet team does to help
    deliver good intranet content.
* Compare notes between intranet teams, using the mindmap to identify
    differences and similarities.
* Use as a framework to structure discussions and activities at intranet
    conferences and other gatherings

So, what's been missed?
What has (or hasn't) worked for you?

Cheers,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901

(apologies for cross-posting)

Hi all; "Web Form Design:  Filling in the Blanks" by Luke Wroblewski
is now on sale.  You can order it from either Rosenfeld Media or from
Amazon.  Order it directly from us and you'll receive both the
screen-optimized digital edition and the full-color paperback for
US$36 (you'll pay the same price for just the paperback at Amazon).
You can learn more and order here:
http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/webforms/

All 200+ of the book's illustrations are freely available under a
Creative Commons license for you to use and peruse via Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosenfeldmedia/sets/72157604272550634/

Here's the blurb:  "Forms make or break the most crucial online
interactions: checkout (commerce), registration (community), data
input (participation and sharing), and any task requiring information
entry. In "Web Form Design," Luke Wroblewski draws on original
research, his considerable experience at Yahoo! and eBay, and the
perspectives of many of the field's leading designers to show you
everything you need to know about designing effective and engaging Web
forms."

Thanks!

cheers


--
Louis Rosenfeld :: http://louisrosenfeld.com
Rosenfeld Media :: http://rosenfeldmedia.com

Hi all,

We've published over 150 articles over the last few years, and
finding the right one at the right time can be hard. To help,
we've released a "wrap-up" on intranet projects, giving links
back into the resources we've published. We also look at search
and improving content.

---

In this edition:

* Intranet (re)design wrap-up
* Searching more is not always better
* Don't try to boil the content ocean


New articles
======================

* Intranet (re)design wrap-up
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_intranetredesignwrapup/index.html
    Over the years, we have published a vast amount of information on
    intranets. In this article, we attempt to wrap up all the activities
    that form part of an intranet design (or redesign) into one concise
    checklist.

* Searching more is not always better
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_searchmore/index.html
    Driving enterprise search to cover ever more content does not
    necessarily deliver better results.

* Don't try to boil the content ocean
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_boilocean/index.html
    Too many approaches to improving intranet content are destined for
    heroic failure.

Related articles:

* Intranet redesign for Canon Australia
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_canoncasestudy/index.html
    This case study outlines the process undertaken by Canon Australia to
    evaluate and redesign their corporate intranet, including an overview
    of the innovative IA developed.

* Nine ways to fix intranet search
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_fixingsearch/index.html
    This article outlines nine steps that can be taken by all intranet
    teams to improve the effectiveness of search, covering both design and
    under-the-hood changes.

We also provide an announcements list, which will ensure you find out
when we publish new whitepapers. To join this, visit:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/subscribe/

Finally, don't forget to visit "Column Two", my weblog featuring
news and opinion on all things KM & CM:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/

Thanks,
James

Hi all,

I've just released my latest slideshare, on the four
purposes of an intranet (13:18 audio):

http://www.slideshare.net/jamesr/the-four-purposes-of-an-intranet

As you may have noticed, I've been working steadily to capture some of
the key concepts that underpin our intranet work. Some of these have
already been shared as articles, and most in workshops, but this is a
good way of getting these useful concepts out to a wider intranet
audience.

This slidecast explores the four fundamental purposes of an intranet,
looks at where intranets have traditionally focused, and where they
should be going next if they want to demonstrate ROI.

(The audio was recorded at the recent IA Summit in Miami, Florida.)

As ever, comments would be greatly appreciated...

(Apologies for the cross-posting.)

Regards,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901

Hi all,

It's now only 16 days until entries for the 2008 Intranet Innovation
Awards closes, on 16 May 2008.

Winners of the inaugural awards demonstrated a wide range of ideas, and
have been very generous in sharing these for the benefit of the wider
community. In return, they gained much-deserved recognition, including
YouTube interviews, writeups in major journals, and inclusion in the
Intranet Innovations 2007 report (not to mention receiving a beautiful
glass trophy!).

This year will be even bigger, with entries covering many individual
improvements to intranets. These may include valuable staff directory
enhancements, powerful search tools, delivery of information to
Blackberries, interactive features on intranets, new ways of meeting
frontline needs, or interesting intranet applications, just to mention a
few ideas.

We also have an international judging panel this year, consisting of
four intranet experts across four continents:

* James Robertson
    Step Two Designs (Australia)

* Martin White
    Intranet Focus (UK)

* Jane McConnell
    NetStrategy/JMC (France)

* Howard McQueen
    McQueen Consulting (USA)

Putting in an entry should only take an afternoon, or slightly longer if
you want more time to polish. Full details can be found on the awards
page:

http://www.steptwo.com.au/iia/index.html


A reminder of some useful resources:

What do innovative intranets look like?
http://www.slideshare.net/jamesr/what-do-innovative-intranets-look-like-audio/

How to win an Intranet Innovation Award
http://www.slideshare.net/jamesr/how-to-win-an-intranet-innovation-award/

Intranet Innovations 2007
http://www.steptwo.com.au/products/iia2007/videos/index.html

Good luck!

Cheers,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901

Hi all,

These are the full slides (plus audio) from my recent presentation
at the IA Summit in Miami:

http://www.slideshare.net/jamesr/what-do-innovative-intranets-look-like-audio

In it, I walk through a number of the winners from the inaugural
Intranet Innovation Awards, as well as answering questions on what
they've done. Pointers are also given on where to focus innovation
efforts, and how to deliver a more valuable intranet.

Don't forget that entries for this year's Intranet Innovation Awards
are now open, with a closing date of 16 May 2008. This talk should give
you some good ideas about what to submit, and you should also read
through the How to win an Intranet Innovation Award presentation on
Slideshare.

Details on Intranet Innovation Awards:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/iia/index.html

How to win an Intranet Innovation Award:
http://www.slideshare.net/jamesr/how-to-win-an-intranet-innovation-award

Cheers,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901

Hi all,

I've been talking about the evolution of intranets for some time now, at
conferences and workshops around the globe. What I haven't done, until
this point, is share this model more broadly.

I've now uploaded the slides to Slideshare, with a related audio track
recorded at the IA Summit in Miami, Florida:

http://www.slideshare.net/jamesr/the-six-phases-of-intranet-evolution-includes-a\
udio

This model outlines the following phases:

1. the intranet is born
2. rapid organic growth
3. repeated redesigns
4. usability and IA
5. useful, not just usable
6. intranet as a business tool

(Apologies in advance for the cross-posting)

It's only 20mins long, so hopefully not too painful! Please do leave
comments on Slideshare with your thoughts and feedback.

Cheers,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901

Hi all,

We've been writing so busily, this month we have not one but two
full articles to share. The first completes the exploration of
the Intranet Hive, an important new methodology for managing
intranets. The second article gives insight into persona work
we've conducted for Macquarie University Library.

We also have a solid workshop schedule in Australia, including
a brand-new workshop giving detailed insight into the Intranet Hive.
For the full list of events:

http://www.steptwo.com.au/seminars/index.html

---

In this edition:

* Exploring the Intranet Hive (part 2)
* Audience personas for the Macquarie University Library website


New articles
============

* Exploring the Intranet Hive (part 2)
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_intranethive_pt2/index.html
    This article completes the exploration of the Intranet Hive, a new
    model for managing intranets.

* Audience personas for the Macquarie University Library website
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_mqcasestudy/index.html
    Macquarie University Library's website plays a core role in the
    delivery of electronic services to clients. This article explores one
    of the key outcomes of user research into the site: a set of audience
    personas.

Related articles:

* An introduction to personas ...
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_personas/index.html
    Creating personas is an effective way to understand the needs of your
    users, priortise features and functionality, and direct the design of
    your intranet or website.

* Leadership tips for intranet teams
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_leadershiptips/index.html
    Intranet teams must take on a strong leadership role, and drive
    forward the evolution and enhancement of the site.

We also provide an announcements list, which will ensure you find out
when we publish new whitepapers. To join this, visit:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/subscribe/

Finally, don't forget to visit "Column Two", my weblog featuring
news and opinion on all things KM & CM:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/

Thanks,
James

Hi all,

I'm excited to announce that entries are now open for this year's
Intranet Innovation Awards, with a closing date of 16 May 2008.

http://www.steptwo.com.au/iia/

All intranet teams are encouraged to enter their innovative approaches
to the design or delivery intranets. This may be may be an entirely new
piece of intranet functionality, or a good idea implemented particularly
well.

Uniquely, these awards recognise individual intranet improvements, and
not intranets as a whole. Submissions can be made across four
categories:

* core intranet functionality
* communication and collaboration
* frontline delivery
* business solutions

Winners will be showcased in the Intranet Innovations report, as well as
in articles, YouTube interviews, online presentations, international
conferences and major industry journals.

---

For tips on how to win an award:
http://www.slideshare.net/jamesr/how-to-win-an-intranet-innovation-award/

Full details on the awards, including the entry form:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/iia/

---

This is another opportunity for intranet teams to have their time in the
light, so don't forget the closing date of 16 May 2008.

Regards,
James

(apologies for cross-posting)

This spring I'll be teaching a new day-long workshop, "Site Search
Analytics for a Better Experience".  I won't be focusing on tools and
transactions; rather, I'll demonstrate how this method can help
designers of all types diagnose and fix problems with their sites'
navigation, search, content, and interaction design.  You can find the
full description here:

   ==>  http://louisrosenfeld.com/ssa

Date/Locations
   * March 18:  Sunnyvale, CA (through Involution Studios' Master
Academy; limited class size)
   * April 4:  Boston, MA (catch Steve Krug's web usability workshop
the day before)
   * May 15:  Chicago, IL (Steve teaches his workshop the next day)

Learn more and register here:

   ==>  http://louisrosenfeld.com/ssa

Thanks!

--
Louis Rosenfeld :: http://louisrosenfeld.com
Rosenfeld Media :: http://rosenfeldmedia.com

Hi all,

We're back for 2008, and publishing articles as usual. This month we
introduce a whole new methodology for managing intranets (the
"Intranet Hive"), as well as covering other intranet and content
management topics.

There is also a huge amount happening for us at present, and the
pace seems to be getting ever faster...

If you are in Australia or New Zealand, we've introduced "corporate"
membership to the Intranet Leadership Forum. For more on this,
browse through the details we've uploaded to SlideShare:

http://www.slideshare.net/jamesr/delivering-better-intranets-in-2008/

We've also finalised our workshop schedule in Australia, including
a brand-new workshop giving detailed insight into the Intranet Hive.
For the full list of events:

http://www.steptwo.com.au/seminars/index.html

---

In this edition:

* Exploring the Intranet Hive (part 1)
* Time needed to select a CMS
* Gaining intranet stardom


New articles
============

* Exploring the Intranet Hive (part 1)
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_intranethive_pt1/index.html
    January 2008 KM Column: This article introduces the Intranet Hive,
    a comprehensive model for managing ongoing intranet activities.

* Time needed to select a CMS
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_selectiontime/index.html
    There is a simple answer to the question: how long will it take to
    choose a new CMS?

* Gaining intranet stardom
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_intranetstardom/index.html
    Being an intranet star isn't easy, but there are practical ways of
    making it happen.

Related articles:

* The importance of 'tangible' and 'visible'
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_tangibleandvisible/index.html
    Intranet teams should be guided by two words when planning intranet
    activities: tangible and visible.

* Top 10 mistakes when selecting a CMS
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_selectionmistakes/index.html
    Organisations often make the selection of a CMS much harder than it
    needs to be. They do this by running into common pitfalls that impact
    on the selection and success of the CMS project.

We also provide an announcements list, which will ensure you find out
when we publish new whitepapers. To join this, visit:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/subscribe/

Finally, don't forget to visit "Column Two", my weblog featuring
news and opinion on all things KM & CM:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/

Thanks,
James

Hi all,

I've now published the last two video interviews with winners
from the inaugural Intranet Innovation Awards.

The full set is:

* Perkins Eastman (USA) - new
    Practice Area Communities

* Nycomed (Switzerland/Denmark) - new
    Product collaboration

* Environment Agency (UK)
    Personas Pack

* Fiat (Italy)
    Avanti e Veloci portal

Watch the videos:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/products/iia2007/videos/index.html

As ever, feedback or suggestions gratefully received...

Cheers,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901

I've shared my experience with the opportunities, challenges and how
the enterprise intranet can grow and evolve.

I'd be curious to get your opinion on this topic, either here in the
forum or on my post:

http://tinyurl.com/2pkqus

An intranet is important, it's the collective knowledge of your
employees, a collection of resources, and directories that should
enable business to move forward faster (cost savings) and to grow and
support customer focused teams (revenue generation). I've read
research that indicates that 40% of the United States population will
retire in the next few years, and intranets are a key way to harvest
the tacit knowledge from these information wealthy individuals.

[An Intranet is an accurate reflection of the inner workings and
`Corporate DNA' of a company]

I've listed out several attributes that help to define how the
intranet is a reflection of the culture

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/12/27/intranets-how-the-many-attributes-\
reflect-your-corporate-dna/

Dialog encouraged, either in this forum, or by leaving comments on the
blog post.

Happy Holidays

Jeremiah Owyang

Ccnatutorial.com is your gateway to sites on the Internet for ccna
tutorials!
Browse our resources or just try the search.
http://ccnatutorial.com/

This is a fantastic case study James. Thanks for sharing with the group! I
will also promote this on www.IntranetBlog.com
<http://www.intranetblog.com/>



Regards,



Toby Ward, President, Prescient Digital Media

  <http://www.prescientdigital.com/> www.PrescientDigital.com   416.986.2226



Latest news:

  <http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/11/1/3328864.html>
The same old intranet crap


<http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/2007/11/reinventing_the_press_release.
html> Reinventing the press release

  <http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/2007/10/igoogle_vs_my_yahoo.html>
iGoogle vs My Yahoo!

  <http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/10/31/3326025.html>
Intranet 2.0: social media adoption

  <http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/10/25/3313814.html>
Intranet case study: Perkins Eastman

  <http://intranetblog.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/10/22/3308251.html>
10 dumbest interview blunders



Information in this e-mail may be confidential and / or privileged. This
e-mail is intended to be reviewed by only the individual named in the e-mail
address. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that
any review, dissemination or copying of this e-mail and attachments, if any,
or the information contained herein, is strictly prohibited.





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Director Experience Planning

Description

Bridge Worldwide is seeking a Director to lead a team of Experience
Planners in our Cincinnati office. Reporting to the Vice President,
Experience Planning & Research this position will oversee day-to-day
activities for a team focused on interaction design, information
architecture, content strategy and interactive strategy. This is a
highly visible position within the organization with the opportunity
to significantly impact our work across the board.

Responsibilities

* Oversee day-to-day activities of a team of Experience Planners
including staffing, mentoring, training and career development.
* Work closely with account, research, strategy, project management,
creative and technology teams to deliver world-class interactive
solutions that match our clients' business goals to the needs of their
customers.
* Provide hands-on leadership on key accounts, projects and new
business efforts.
* Oversee work schedules, project approach, scope and estimate
development.
* Provide UX thought leadership within the agency and across the industry.
* Participate in leadership activities as a functional manager within
the agency.

Qualifications

* Experience staffing, managing, and growing a team.
* Track record of strong leadership and collaboration.
* Minimum 8 years experience in an interactive agency or internet
consultancy in Design, Information Architecture, Interaction Design,
Human Factors, HCI, Interface Design or related function.
* Expertise in a broad cross-section of user-centered design
principles, processes, and techniques including: requirements
gathering and analysis, heuristic reviews and competitive audits, user
research and persona development, modeling and task flow creation,
sitemap and wire frame development, taxonomies and metadata
frameworks, usability testing and use case development, experience
strategy and architectures, etc.
* Degree in design, human computer interaction, anthropology,
architecture, library/information science or related.
* Strong communication (verbal and written), organization and client
interaction skills.
* Experience in Web analytics, SEO/SEM a plus.


Keywords/Phrases

Experience planning, interactive strategy, user experience,
interaction design, information architecture, user research,
usability, content strategy

Send resumes to hr@...

Hi all,

I'm excited to announce that the winners for our global
Intranet Innovation Awards were released today.

(Apologies in advance for the cross-posting.)

These awards celebrate new ideas and innovative approaches to
the enhancement and delivery of intranets. Uniquely, these awards
recognise individual intranet improvements, and not intranets as a
whole.

Global in nature, the Intranet Innovation Awards have uncovered many
innovative ideas. Fiat, this year's platinum winner, has used their
'Avanti e Veloci' web portal to help turn around the fortunes of their
whole business.

The Environment Agency has developed a rich set of personas to support
the delivery of better intranet content and functionality. City of Casey
and SunGard AvantGard have innovated the traditional staff directory.

Perkins Eastman has created active collaborative communities, while
Nycomed has brought product information together in a single location,
no small challenge for a global pharmaceuticals business. QBE has
created an interactive 'Investigator Wizard' to assist in assessing
insurance claims.

And now for the list of winners...

---

Platinum award winner:

* "Avanti e Veloci web portal"
     Fiat Group Automobiles (Italy)

Gold awards winners:

* "Staff Locator"
     City of Casey (Australia)

* "Persona pack"
     Environment Agency (UK)

* "Practice Area Communities"
     Perkins Eastman (USA)

* "Product collaboration"
     Nycomed (Switzerland / Denmark)

* "Away Today"
     SunGard AvantGard (USA / New Zealand)

* "Investigator Wizard"
     QBE (Australia)

---

To find out more on the winners...

Read the article that provides a summary for each winner:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_iia2007/index.html

Obtain a copy of the full 115-page "Intranet Innovations 2007" report:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/products/iia2007/index.html

Cheers,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901

Hi all,

This month we've provided a case study of an intranet redesign for
Canon Australia, leading to the development of some innovative designs
and ideas. We're also covering collaboration, and the ways that staff
needs can be segmented within an organisation.

We're also coming up on our last "Information Architecture Fundamentals"
workshop for 2008, running in Canberra on 26 October, which provides
core skills for all web and intranet team members. Next stop is
then our new "Innovative Information Management Planning" workshops
in November (Canberra and Melbourne).

The full events calendar:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/seminars/index.html

[Apologies in advance for the cross-posting to multiple lists.]

The new articles:

* Intranet redesign for Canon Australia
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_canoncasestudy/index.html
    This case study outlines the process undertaken by Canon Australia to
    evaluate and redesign their corporate intranet, including an overview
    of the innovative IA developed.

* Collaboration tools are anti knowledge sharing?
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_antiknowledgesharing/index.html
    Collaboration tools are vital, but left unmanaged, their spread can be
    anti knowledge sharing.

* Segmenting staff information needs
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_staffsegments/index.html
    There are three main facets that can be used to segment staff needs
    for information: job role, business unit and geographic location.

Related articles:

* Five intranet reviews, five different results
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_fivereviews/index.html
    This case study presents the findings from five intranet reviews
    across a range of organisations, each with very different results.

* Do staff make use of personalisation features?
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_personalisation/index.html
    This article discusses the results of a worldwide survey conducted to
    gauge what extent personalisation is being used in intranets and
    portals.

We also provide an announcements list, which will ensure you find out
when we publish new whitepapers. To join this, visit:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/subscribe/

Finally, don't forget to visit "Column Two", my weblog featuring
news and opinion on all things KM & CM:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/

Thanks,
James

I've written an article for Boxes and Arrows about an approach I have
been using for a content inventory. The approach is map based.
I manage an intranet for a large Local Government department and from
time to time the site has to be reshaped as events, such as major
legislation, can have a profound effect on the site.
I found that I needed a way of realising the structure of the site
before I could make major changes and this is what I came up with -

http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/a-map-based-approach

I'd appreciate any comments on the usefulness of such an approach
specifically within the enterprise setting

Patrick C. Walsh

Hi all,

This month we're back into the practicalities of selecting a content
management system, providing a how-to guide on using scenarios to
evaluate CMS products. We also answer the question: why do staff come
to an intranet? Finally, we explore the importance of choosing a CMS
vendor with product expertise.

We've been doing a lot of thinking about collaboration recently,
and have packaged up our latest insights into an afternoon session.
The next events will be in Melbourne (21 September) and Sydney
(10 October). See the events calendar for full details.

The full events calendar:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/seminars/index.html

[Apologies in advance for the cross-posting to multiple lists.]

The new articles:

* Using scenarios to select a CMS
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_scenarios/index.html
    Content management scenarios provide a 'day in the life' description
    of how the CMS will be used in practice.

* Why staff visit the intranet
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_visitingintranet/index.html
    There are two key reasons for a staff member to come to the intranet:
    to find a specific piece of information, or to complete a specific
    task.

* Does your CMS vendor have product expertise?
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_productexpertise/index.html
    More than just about finding the right CMS product, it's also about
    obtaining a vendor who can support your needs for the lifetime of the
    solution.

Related articles:

* Top 10 mistakes when selecting a CMS
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_selectionmistakes/index.html
    Organisations often make the selection of a CMS much harder than it
    needs to be. They do this by running into common pitfalls that impact
    on the selection and success of the CMS project.

* Will your chosen CMS vendor go bust?
    http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_vendorbust/index.html
    One of the greatest fears when selecting a new CMS is that the vendor
    will go bust, but more must be done that just purchasing from a 'big'
    vendor and hoping for the best.

We also provide an announcements list, which will ensure you find out
when we publish new whitepapers. To join this, visit:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/subscribe/

Finally, don't forget to visit "Column Two", my weblog featuring
news and opinion on all things KM & CM:
http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/

Thanks,
James

(apologies for cross posting)

Hi all; just a note to let you know about Steve Krug's and my fall seminar
schedule.  Steve is teaching a brand new workshop on do-it-yourself
usability:  http://www.sensible.com/workshops.html

I'm teaching my last round of enterprise information architecture seminars
(next year I'll be teaching a new workshop on internal search analytics):
http://louisrosenfeld.com/eia/

You can go to either site to register for one, the other, or both seminars.
They'll be held on consecutive days in each city:

   Chicago, IL
     September 20:  Web usability workshop
     September 21:  Enterprise IA seminar

   Seattle, WA
     October 25:  Enterprise IA seminar
     October 26:  Web usability workshop

   Washington, DC
     November 15:  Enterprise IA seminar
     November 16:  Web usability workshop

We offer discounts when you sign up for both seminars, for early
registration, or when three or more register concurrently.  And for many
other reasons, if you ask nicely. :-)  Many thanks!

cheers


--
Louis Rosenfeld :: http://louisrosenfeld.com
Rosenfeld Media :: http://rosenfeldmedia.com

Fall seminars in Chicago, Seattle, and DC ::
http://www.louisrosenfeld.com/eia

> As the content manager for a very large local government intranet I
> spend a good 60-70% of my time ensuring that content is 'useful', that
> is current, relevant to the user and complete. In recent posts on other
> lists some IAs have speculated that there is little difference between
> web and enterprise IA. I think your article points up a massive
> difference - enterprise IAs don't only need to ensure that information
> is findable but as important that it is of use to the user once it is
> found. The structure also depends on the content and this can change
> radically as circumstances change.

Hi Patrick,

Yes, I think this is one of the fundamental challenges on intranets,
knowing what is 'useful'.

For most websites, the purpose of the site is fairly well understood
(marketing, branding, communication, etc, etc). The challenge is then
to design the site to best meet these goals, which is a traditional
usability/IA task.

For intranets, I would argue that we need to start several steps
earlier, to understand 'what the intranet is actually for', going
beyond the standard but useless goal 'one-stop shop for information'.

Only once we understand what staff need, and what the intranet should
therefore do, can we design a site that works well.

I've written another article on 'enterprise IA' on Boxes and Arrows
which discusses this further:

http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/enterprise-ia

Cheers,
James

--
-------------------------
James Robertson, Managing Director
Step Two Designs

Email: jamesr@...
Web: www.steptwo.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9319 7901