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Processes and Productivity

Communicating your intranet requirements

How to take your business objectives and then define intranet requirements, considering various roles and department needs.

5 minute read
merger communications
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After determining  your business objectives, the next step to planning a new intranet is to expand those business objectives into more granular and specific requirements.

Using the information gained from your interviews, plus any additional research and observations, ask yourself the following:

  • Who’s the user of this intranet?
  • What do they want?
  • Why?
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Create your requirements checklist, but include context: the who and why

Including the context (who and why) allows vendors to recommend alternative solutions that may better accomplish your goals. Here are three examples of user requirements:

AS A… (who) I WOULD LIKE… (what) SO THAT… (why)
User to be able to post blogs about the things I am working on people can keep up to date with things I do, which may be relevant for them as well
Intranet Manager usage statistics I can see how the intranet is being used and report back to the intranet team
IT Director Active Directory integration we can manage intranet users using our existing IT provisioning process

There may be multiple “whys” for some “whats”. List all of them.

Sample requirements for your intranet

See if some of the sample requirements below work for your intranet project. Then add additional ones specific to your company. Make sure the business objectives you defined in Step 1 are fully satisfied.

AS A… (who) I WOULD LIKE… (what) SO THAT… (why)
User To be able to post blogs about the things I am working on People can keep up to date with things I do, which may be relevant for them as well
User One place to go where I can access all the tools I need. I don’t have to keep track of numerous URLs and log-ins.
IT Director Active Directory integration We can manage intranet users using our existing IT provisioning process.
Manager A user-friendly navigation and search. My staff can efficiently find the information they need.
Communications Director Newsfeeds that display updates from the company, department, team, and location. Employees receive timely, relevant communications that is tailored to them.
Project Manager A team area where we can store file versions and updates. Cross-functional teams can easily organize documents and collaborate on projects.
Marketing Director Integration of external newsfeeds, like company blog, Twitter, and Facebook. Employees can be brand ambassadors and can easily view and share company updates.
HR Director Tools to promote collaborative working such as forums, groups, blogs, comments, like button. Employees can have two-way conversations on the intranet and increase engagement and trust.
Intranet Manager Usage Statistics I can see how the intranet is being used and report back to the intranet team
Communications Manager Easy-to-use security and publishing controls. So my team can efficiently manage content and publishing requests to avoid a bottle-neck of inquiries and get content to readers faster.
CEO A blog to post company updates to all staff. I can engage with our employees in a personal way, and read and respond to their comments.

This is an extract from our free white paper, 10 Steps to a Successful Intranet Launch. You can download the white paper now.

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