Note: this blog was last updated on 23rd September 2024
‘What do I need to prepare for or plan to guarantee a successful intranet project deployment?’
This is a question clients often ask us during their intranet software deployment – and it’s one we feel is worth discussing in depth.
We’ll start by saying this: planning an intranet project is a team effort. It requires a clear dialogue between us, the software vendor, and you, our client. We have the subject matter expertise to build your platform and realise your vision – but you’re the one who guides us.
In order to guide us, you need to establish a well thought out intranet plan. Think of this as your blueprint; a foundation for us both to build upon.
In this blog, we’ll help you construct this blueprint and plan for a smooth (and successful) intranet project.
When it comes to IT projects, the outlook isn’t always sunshine and roses. In fact, a large majority of IT projects fail due to team misalignment and a lack of preparation.
This is why planning is an integral part of intranet project management.
To make this stage as straightforward as possible, we’ve broken it down into 10 manageable steps:
Projects require more than just a cookie-cutter business plan. You have to imbue them with a concrete purpose.
Why is this intranet project important to your business, its employees and your overarching strategic goals? What is its reason for existing? What can it help you accomplish beyond saving or making money?
Purpose-driven companies are more likely to experience success with their transformation efforts, according to research from the Harvard Business Review. So don’t skip this step. Some typical intranet project goals include:
Refer to these goals throughout your intranet deployment and be sure to communicate them when getting buy-in with project stakeholders. Executive support and sponsorship is crucial in any project, so keep them in the loop and appeal to their strategic aims.
Once you’ve cemented your purpose, it’s time to define the scope of your project.
You can start by evaluating your existing intranet (or equivalent) and your current pain points:
From here, you can begin to imagine how your future intranet should look and function. Again, this requires asking (and answering) the right questions:
Next, create a sitemap of your ideal intranet. This involves:
You can draw the sitemap by hand or build it using a tool such as Visio. Below, you can see an intranet sitemap that follows a departmental structure. We’ve used a colour code to represent the launch phases of each page, which we highly recommend adopting.
Example of intranet sitemap using colours to identify launch phase
Claromentis provides a huge range of intranet features and internal comms tools which are all available within the same digital workplace. You can choose to use all of these features or hide them if they’re not relevant to your business.
Some features you’ll find on the platform include:
As well as the feature-rich intranet software, Claromentis also comes ready-made with three other extensive platforms:
Of course, this is only skimming the surface. We’ve built many other bespoke applications to suit our customers’ needs over the years. Some of which you can find in our dedicated customer marketplace.
Permissions groups and roles
A scalable intranet CMS should have a strong permission system to help you maintain intranet compliance and distribute information easily.
As an example, you may want to create department-specific areas where only those in the respective departments can produce or edit content. People outside of those teams can only view the content.
Your intranet administrators can easily set up these permissions by defining roles, groups and sub-groups.
It can be helpful to share your company organisation chart with us – or your intranet vendor of choice – during system configuration. We can help you filter the right people into the right permissions groups.
[DOWNLOAD OUR LATEST GUIDE ON PLANNING AN INTRANET]
As you know, your intranet homepage is the first page everyone is going to see. So it’s worth going the extra mile to make sure the design is as good as it can be.
Beyond ensuring your intranet looks professional and aligns with your branding, pay close attention to the user experience. As a gateway to all other content on your intranet, it’s crucial your users can easily find what they’re looking for. The harder it is to navigate, the less likely your employees will use it.
Look at several intranet examples for inspiration – as well as intranet usability guidelines – and decide what you want to see on your homepage.
Claromentis intranet wireframe
Let’s start with pricing, as this is a huge consideration during the initial planning stages – especially when presenting the project to your stakeholders.
To better understand how much you can expect to pay:
From here, you’ll want to assess your other resourcing requirements. For example, who is going to provide you with the hardware? If you don’t have any, we’re happy to source this for you (if you don’t want to opt for the SaaS model).
In addition to this, think about the human resources necessary to complete the project. In most cases, we recommend building a team that includes:
As the saying goes: Rome wasn’t built in a day. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to a year (or more) to deploy an intranet. It all depends on the scope of your project, the data you need to migrate (if any), and any back-and-forth between you and your vendor.
That being said, these are some common areas that may cause delays:
Like everything else in life, execution is quick; preparation is key, so do your homework!
A successful intranet is something that grows over time. So start simple and add new features gradually; learn from feedback and implement user requests wherever feasible. Much like a breath of fresh air, small improvements can make a huge difference.
To avoid losing momentum after the initial launch phase, conduct regular project reviews and brainstorms. Invite your original project team, as well as your stakeholders, to ensure they stay engaged with your project and your future ambitions.
With that in mind, here are some ideas to think about during those meetings:
You can plan for as long as you want, but without execution your plan is still just a plan. So, once you’ve mapped out your requirements, determined your implementation roadmap, and brought everyone onboard, it’s time to get the ball rolling.
If you’d like to get that ball rolling quicker, simply drop us a line and we’d be more than happy to help.
One of our experts can discuss your unique business needs, identify your software requirements, and give you a private (and personalised) demo of Claromentis.
Interested? Click here to get your intranet project underway.