> Articles archivés   Dans la collection Principes intranet Quelle mission pour votre intranet ? Donner du sens à l'architecture utilisateur Partie 1 Donner du sens à l'architecture utilisateur, Partie 2 Intranets internationaux & gouvernance: le droit de choisir Phénomène plateau d'argent: signe de danger ou de bonne santé ? “The farther you are from the center, the less the intranet meets your needs.”

Donner du sens à l'architecture utilisateur - Partie 1 Résumé : Le terme "architecture utilisateur" fait référence à la perception qu'a l'intranaute de son intranet. Les éléments primordiaux sont la page d'accueil et la navigation au premier niveau, c'est-à-dire, les grandes catégories de découpage. Il est vrai que plus que l'on est loin de centre de l'entreprise, plus l'intranet est indispensable et moins l'intranet répond aux besoins. Le challenge pour les concepteurs d'un intranet est de définir une architecture utilisateur qui a un sens pour tout le monde. Pas facile dans une entreprise avec des populations et besoins différents. Cette première partie de l'article explique pourquoi beaucoup d'entreprises sont confrontées à cette problématique, et la partie 2 vous propose quelques actions pour l'améliorer.   Making “User Architecture” Meaningful - Part 1 (May 2005, originally published in IntranetsToday.com March-April 2004)   An IT director in a large Scandinavian multinational once told me “Our intranet is like a huge library. The only problem is the lights are out, and you can’t see anything.” A European sales manager when asked how he used the intranet responded: “I need to visit many sites to prepare a sales call. It takes time because each site is organized in a different way.” A business development director in a remote business unit commented during an intranet audit: “I’ve never seen this page before? What is it?” It was the corporate home page. The reality today is that most large company intranets have multiple sites overlapping and competing for the user’s attention. When thousands of PCs are turned on everyday around the globe, up comes the home page of the intranet…but which home page is it? It can be one of dozens of different home pages depending on where you work in the company. Two truisms In my work with many large and complex companies, I have repeatedly come across two truisms: The farther you are from the “center”, the more the intranet becomes your lifeline to the rest of the company. The farther you are from the center, the less the intranet meets your needs. How can the intranet solve this dilemma? There is a double challenge. First, it must unify the company, ensure that key corporate messages reach all employees, and help bring operational efficiency across the organization. Secondly, it must meet be perceived as relevant and meaningful to all employees in the company, wherever they are located, whatever their job. It must be both global and local simultaneously. How is this possible? User Architectures designed to clarify The answer lies in a well-designed User Architecture (UA). This term refers to how the user perceives the structure and organization of the intranet. This perception is largely created by two key elements: the home page strategy and the primary navigation categories. What home page strategy best triggers the “this is for me!” - reaction in thousands of employees throughout the world? What navigational categories speak to everyone, regardless of function and business unit? First, we need to step back and understand why and how international intranets grew out of control. Benevolent chaos Intranet strategies and structures have traditionally been defined by headquarter-based teams who were supposed to find global solutions. “We can’t afford to re-invent the wheel each time.” However, country teams and business teams were not always satisfied: “Our business culture is different. We do things differently here.” “We need a solution fast. You don’t understand the pressure we’re under.” So, everyone tried to fix the problem. Sites spontaneously appeared from countries, departments and business units. It was like taking a packet of seeds, throwing them randomly into fertile earth, and waiting to see what grew and what didn’t. Phase one of the well-intentioned chaos had begun. What was the result? Users were confused because they no longer knew which site to go for specific types of information. They found content duplicated from one site to another, sometimes in different versions. The user interface became incoherent, because when the local entities decided to create their own sites, they also decided to “improve” features such as navigation and look & feel. At this point, frustrated individuals began to build “silver platters”. And before we knew it, we had entered phase two of our out-of-control intranets. The appearance of Silver Platters Silver platters were the result of well-intentioned attempts to make it easier to find relevant information. Someone selected a number of useful links and brought them together for easy access by other users. These “links on a plate” were a tempting but shortsighted solution. They were usually personal initiatives, had to be maintained manually, and were not always up to date. Users love them because they’re easy to use, but don’t realize they no longer have the big picture and may be missing new information. Sound familiar? If this sounds like your intranet, the good news is that you are sitting in a very dynamic situation, where there is a lot of energy, and you can take steps to bring things back under control. If your intranet has not yet reached this point, the even better news is that you can take steps now to prevent it. Continue with Part 2 of this article for some pragmatic advice.   (May 2005, original version published in IntranetsToday.com March-April 2004)

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