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Features
Many organizations recognize the need to build standards around metadata management. These efforts range from formal data architecture boards and standards committees to less formal guidelines for tagging intranet or web content. The difficulty in getting traction on these projects depends on the extent of the effort and the impact on entrenched work practices. Most employees are not affected by “enterprise architecture standards.”
I was flying the other day (actually, many of the other days lately), and I got to thinking about air traffic control. Hundreds, maybe thousands of planes are in the air, all requiring the right information at the right time to safely reach the intended destination. We should all be so lucky as pilots: real-time information, relevant and specific, all delivered when it is needed most. If companies could get the right knowledge about their businesses to the right people at the right time, we could know when we’re running out of gas, or when we’re going to be outrun by a faster plane. It is inevitable that we will reach our audience, and software will help us get there.
Columns
How can you tell when people are not satisfied with your search engine? If you run feedback activities, this will be highlighted by your user forum, annual staff survey, or even an intranet survey. Short of formal feedback activities, you may employ intranet tracking tools that indicate a high number of clicks before information is found, or show users returning to the home page after running a search rather than clicking onto a specific intranet page. Anecdotal evidence provided by staff may still be the clearest evidence that the search function is not delivering what they want.
There’s often a focus on the big things when it comes to technology: install a new web content management system to better manage the intranet; deploy a document management system to improve compliance; use a new collaboration suite to dramatically improve communication and project management.
Read_Me_File
Reviewed this issue: Portals: People, Processes, and Technology; Risk Management for IT Projects: Transforming
Your Intranet; and The Workplace
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