Summary

Studies in the field gave us a slice of information about people's real-life intranet usage.

If you have never tested your intranet design, now is the time to do it. Even if you don't think the design is very good, testing it now will give you something to compare it to when you do substantially improve it! Sometimes knowing just how bad it is, and comparing it to other intranet designs in the world, is just the ticket to help get you budget and resources. And if your intranet is already better than the other intranets, you'll be able to tell this to the powers that be.

The report contains a large number of actionable tips on the process for conducting your own methodologically sound studies. It also includes 6 design guidelines, based on usability testing of 27 intranets.

Based on empirical data on real employees' behaviors while using real intranets. This shows what works and what doesn't work in real life, across a very broad range of intranet designs. (In contrast, most other writings on intranet design are either pure speculation — what the author thinks users prefer or would like users to do — or they are based on observations from a single company's intranet.)

105 pages. Richly illustrated with 13 color photos from field research, 9 diagrams, and 14 data charts.

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
   • Intranets Are Getting Easier to Use
   • Increased Knowledge about Intranet Usability
   • Improvements in Intranet Usability Metrics
   • Does Intranet Usability Still Pay?
2. Overview
   • Our Studies
   • Benchmark Your Intranet
3. About the Research Studies
   • Part One Research
   • Part Two Research
   • Intranets We Studied
   • Tools Used to Create and Maintain the Intranets
4. Findings: Quantitative
   • Summary of Success, Time, and Satisfaction Measures
   • Success Ratings
   • Task Timings
5. Benchmarking Productivity Data
   • Data from Study 2
   • Data from Study 1
   • Comparing Study 1 and Study 2
   • ROI From Intranet Usability
6. Findings: Qualitative
   • 6 design guidelines
   • People do Not Spend Much Time Using the Intranet
   • Experience and Environment Affect Intranet Usage and Usability
7. Intranet Usability Trends
   • Evolution of Intranet Design and Organizational Acceptance
   • Usability Work is Increasing
   • Expanding the Types of Usability Activities
8. Usability Tests: Ours, and How to Do Your Own
   • Can Designers Usability-Test Their Own Designs?
   • Tips for Getting Usability Testing Done
   • What to Say (and What Not to Say) When Participants Arrive
   • When to do the Tests
   • Involve Stakeholders
   • Who Should Observe
   • Training and Helping Observers
   • Videotape Sessions if Possible
   • Where to Conduct the Study
   • Session Logistics
   • Test Procedure
   • Goals for Qualitative Sessions
   • Checklist
   • Facilitation Notes
9. Test Participants and Recruiting
   • Determining the User Profile
   • Jobs
   • Years at the Organization
   • Intranet Experience
   • Web Usage
   • Gender
   • Recruiting Participants for Your Study
10. Test Tasks
    • Types of Tasks Given Across Intranets
    • Writing Test Tasks to Compare With This Study's Tasks
11. Collecting and Using Measurements
    • Measuring Task Time
    • Measuring Task Success
    • Errors
    • Presenting the Ratings
12. Questionnaires
    • Pre-Test Questionnaire
    • Post-Task Questionnaire
13. Field Studies
    • Field Study Method Notes
    • Users Visited
14. Usability Activities to Do (in Addition to Benchmarking Usability Tests and Field Studies)
    • Frequently Test Iterations of New Designs
    • Review Usage Log Data and Search Log Data
    • Analyze Support Desk Calls and Intranet Feedback Forms

Who Should Read This Report?

Running a similar usability study yourself to collect comparative design lessons from a large number of intranets would cost a fortune, if you could ever get enough companies to let you in the door. Realistically, reading this report is the only way you will find out how users actually use a wide range of intranet design alternatives.

105 pages PDF format: download your copy right now (from eSellerate) Single-user license: $158 Site license: $348 (allows you to place on your intranet and make unlimited copies within your company)