Congratulations, if you are planning your new intranet software project this means all of your hard work in researching your intranet options, getting to grips with your business requirements and calculating your ROI has paid off and your business case has been approved. This is a great achievement in itself and now you can start to plan your new intranet. No matter what intranet software solution you have opted for, you will still need to project plan to ensure intranet success. If you are researching intranet software suppliers, call us to arrange a demo.
Your intranet project plan should be one that is developed in collaboration with your supplier but we would recommend your plan should take into account our top tips.
7 Top Tips for planning your intranet software:
1) Don’t jump into the design and layout first!
This maybe the area colleagues are focusing on but a methodical approach will give you the intranet software you need, rather than one that looks amazing but has content shoe-horned in and whose structure has no relevance to your business.
2) When trying to work out your structure, content and functionality, make sure you make the time to hold an intranet requirement gatherings workshop.
You may need to host one or several workshops, depending on your own unique business needs. This session will enable you to extract all of the information your business needs the intranet to host. You will leave the session with vast amounts of information.
3) Before you start looking at layouts, make time for card sorting.
This is a natural follow on from requirements gathering and enables you to group, sort and bring some order to all of the information gathered. It’s a good idea to make sure you have a representative from each business area involved here as this is the stage you start to make decisions about content groupings.
4) Engage your intranet team.
An intranet can’t succeed on its own. An enthusiastic, team is needed to ensure your intranet software is a success. Involve them at key stages and let them demo the intranet software.
5) Take time to wire frame.
Wire framing is a great way for you to see your vision come to life and also help you start to prioritise content and revisit functionality. Your supplier maybe able to help you with this if you haven’t done this before.
6) What’s in a name? An awful lot of thought can go into naming an intranet. Think about your name and intranet design together.
7) Finally, decide upon a launch date and stick to it!
I hope this has got you thinking about planning your own intranet software project. Taking time to plan and fully understanding your business requirements will really help when it comes to the build and implementation. If you are researching intranet software options, get in touch to see how our Sorce intranet software can help you achieve intranet success.
