How's that for a controversial question? But I really mean it.
When you go to the doctors does he ask you what drugs you want? Do you tell the tv repair shop just how to fix your tv? I thought not. So why is there no end of people telling us how we should be designing our intranets.
I read a great book on holiday, Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, and one of the chapters is all about flaws in the experimental method. What has this got to do with intranets?
All of us are trying to use evidence to improve and optimise our intranets and using flawed evidence leads to bad decisions. For me, the classic example of this is asking people how they would like the intranet to be rather than what they need it to do. Even if you ask them what they want it to do you may find they don't tell you the truth.
A great example of this bias in surveys was when British Airways was designing its new 'Raid the Larder' concept in Club World. The team involved did the right thing and got together some focus groups of regular customers and asked them to name the type of food they would like to have available to snack on during a flight. The respondents were pretty clear - mineral water, apples, maybe a light salad. In due course the larder was stocked with these kinds of things. However, when real customers used the larder they tended to leave the fruit and salad and head straight for the chocolate and cakes.
What does this tell you about how to go about surveying your users.
Just like in the Club World example, it is well documented that people are generally very poor at understanding the way they behave (check out the book for numerous further examples) so you need to treat surveys and demands from users very carefully. The other most biased person you have to watch out for is YOU. Gerry McGovern does a great presentation about people who look like their pets - and that is all about removing your own bias to develop an intranet for your users not you.
For me, observation of real users is one of the top ways to get great feedback. Be prepared for the deflated feeling when they gloss over your great taxonomy, miss your signposting and can't see that text in BOLD RED that you were sure they couldn't miss.
For me, there is one other thing - have a vision of your business outcomes and goals and stick to it. By using your measures as a control and constantly adapting to achieve your goals your intranet can only get better.
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Great post, Alan. You do have to focus on needs not wants, and observation is indeed a great way to uncover some of those needs.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing this work at the moment and although the features being glossed over are different, what you're saying is basically spot on.
Alan, you make excellent points and the analogy helps explain where you're coming from in terms of "wants."
ReplyDeleteI work with a client who produces an intranet portal that comes with many modules so company IT departments can use what they need. They work with IT departments rather than other non-tech departments for a reason -- IT can better identify those needs.
Taken at face value I'd really have to question that, Meryl! IT better identifying business needs... they're their to advise and provide solutions, not make business decisions.
ReplyDeleteOops, should have been "there".
ReplyDeleteMeryl, I think you may have a point. Somebody has to arbitrate the variety of needs across the organisation and to ensure that there isn't an enormous proliferation of systems that ultimately drive cost.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that you need the wisdom of Solomon to make the judgements. I think that's where Alex's point comes in.
Surely, the IT people and the intranet people have to work as a partnership.
I think you've just suggested a future blogpost!
You're right, Allen. Some of the best examples I've seen have been the result of IT and the comms/intranet team working together from the start (be that a refresh/redesign or new intranet).
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately and in many organisations, I think the intranet's typical position as a technological tool (and thus the responsibility of IT) is a hard viewpoint to first overcome.