Intranet Redevelopment: Southside Christian College Meryl McCay College Librarian 2010

Why? Previous intranet: Simple HTML pages A few links Limited functionality

What did we want to achieve? Need an intranet that: Provides the functionality and content that staff need Is well structured, so that content and functionality are easily located by staff Contains content which is up-to-date, complete and accurate Is the primary source of information for staff Has a professional appearance

How to proceed? Identifying the need for an intranet (re)design Determining Southside Christian College’s specific requirements Identifying what information staff seek and how they use the intranet Designing the overall structure of the intranet, including site navigation Designing the individual page layouts Incorporating branding and graphics Implementing the intranet and training staff Kennedy, P. (2008). Intranet (re)design wrap-up.

1. Evaluate the existing intranet: ‘If you don’t collect information about the intranet’s existing version, how will you really know if the new version is better (or worse), and by how much.’ - Jakob Nielsen Step Two Designs: Five minute intranet self- evaluation and Intranet review toolkit (free!) Needs Analysis

Strategy and Scoping Inform staff – important daily notices, policy documents, SchoolPro information, staff directory, events calendar Instruct staff – ‘How do I...?’ – using photocopier, using the scanner, etc. Empower staff – allowing staff to perform functions, such as book equipment; access the school administration system; locate and complete forms, etc. 2.

Research and Evaluation Staff interviews – chosen due to time constraints Focus groups Workplace observation Main finding – the intranet not seen as a main source of information Solution – introduce one (or more) “killer app” such as a staff directory, online forms, news and events, bulletin board 3.

Information Architecture Card sorting used to determine top level navigation Spencer, D., & Warfel, T. (2004). Card sorting : a definitive guide

Information Architecture Final list of top navigation headings: Home Find Staff Forms How To... Library News & Events Policies & Procedures. 4. cont.

Page Layout Design Vincent Flanders – well designed templates: main level of navigation at the top legal information at the bottom and local navigation on the left Wireframes or “strawman”diagrams used to create outlines 5.

Creative Design We were planning to implement in Joomla! A popular open source content management system. Used Artisteer to generate a template based on the wireframe 6.

Technical Build Joomla! was chosen to implement the intranet based on prior examination of feasability Sections created to map top level navigation 7.