If you look at an example of how many companies have set up their web-based development environments you certainly would think the communications are separate and have no interrelationship: Internet web site development managed by marketing or corporate communications; the intranet team residing in IT under the infrastructure group; and no-one really knowing who owns the development of applications to interface with vendors and distributors, perhaps because it's changed to may times to count or no-one thought that far yet. Does this sound familiar? If so your company is still living in the paradigm that there is a difference between Internet, intranet and extranet development. Messaging in the new millennium won't allow such clean cut distinctions.
Intranet/Extranet Technologies
Another hurdle that messaging and infrastructure managers
are tying to jump or at least side step around is what technologies
are included in building an Intranet/ Extranet. Most everyone
agrees that when Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) is used to
transport and display Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) documents
perhaps using Javascript or Java applets over a Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network that process could
represent and example of an intranet/extranet application. It
get more fuzzy when we add: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP),
Post Office Protocol (POP3), Internet Message Access Protocol
(IMAP), Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME), Voice Profile
for Internet Mail (VPIM), iTIP, iCalendar, vCard, Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI),
not to mention all the multimedia formats and application interfaces
to legacy systems. So what's included under the development
of an Intranet/Extranet and what's not? What development
tools are needed? Who controls content development, application
development, or infrastructure? If you are asking these questions
(or have answered these and are now asking what's next), the problem
is you are looking at question number four of a ten step processes.
Community Based Communication
In the new Millennium clear cut lines of communication
between and within organizations are going to fade, in fact they
already have. Take a look into anyone's in-box you will
see personal messages, internal memos, customer interactions,
vendor communications. Actually that one in-box is a good representation
of many of the communities that one individual interacts with
on a daily basis. Defining the communities within and around an
organization and the interactions between them is the most important
first step in developing an effective intranet/extranet. Unfortunately,
it is one that most companies don't take the time to do. Instead
they try to replicate what is being done today using the next
generation technologies. Communication in the next millennium
has to potential for altering the very nature of the work flow
process and streamlining business operations. What it will take
to get there is looking at what communities exist today and defining
new communities and evolving ways of conducting business, based
on the emergence of fading communication boundaries.
Step One: Communities Inventory
Establish a dialog with your employees, customers,
and business partners to determine what information is important
to them, as well as, the information that is important to you.
Chances are this won't be reflected in the organizational chart
or sales process documentation. You are looking to find out how
communities work with each other. This type of mapping of interactions
goes beyond traditional thinking of how the organization(s) work.
During this step you complete a mapping of organizations with
regard to interactions, work flow, and communication processes,
including the identification of existing tools. If you look at
what your are building as an "intranet" without considering
the full extent of how communities internal and external work
together, you will end-up re-evaluating and redesigning in the
end.
Step Two: Communication Inventory
Once you have a complete map of the communities to
be included in your intranet/extranet it is time to create an
inventory of current and potential forms of communication. Review
these forms and determine if and how they can be more effective.
Step Three: Online Publishing and
Applications List
After the process of identifying your communities and creating
a communications inventory, you are ready to create an ordered
list of documents and applications for possible publishing or
creation as online resources. The production and publishing order
should be based upon the utility of each document in terms of
strategic presence, life expectancy, and timeliness. Now while
creating the ordered list of the communications required in the
next millennium, you may choice to build an internal information
infrastructure first. You may even call this your "intranet."
However, the decisions you make about how to approach the architecture
or infrastructure will most likely be different once you understand
the full implications of the interactions between the various
communities, and the intersects with your company.
Step Four: Online Services and Communication
Platforms
This is were your membership in EMA comes in. After you
have discovered what you need to accomplish you can more clearly
select the online services and communication platforms that best
meet your needs. One way to approach this is to look at services
in four categories:
Network Services (directory, replication, security, management),
Publishing Services (HTML editors, Dynamic HTML, document conversion tools, link checkers, site mapping tools, and associated graphic and multimedia development applications)
Communication Collaboration (electronic messaging, news groups, chat, video conferencing, calendars, whiteboards, project tracking)
Navigation (browser, search engines, catalog server)
The advantages and disadvantages of each need to be explored, and the investment and return on investment should be determined where quantifiable. The Annual EMA conference is a great place to gather information for this process. But remember these decisions should be made against the back drop of the communities the services are intend to empower. Today, tomorrow, and into the next millennium.
The Ten Steps for Successful Intranet/Extranet Development
Communities Inventory
Communications Inventory
Create an Online Publishing List
Services and Communication Platforms
Requirements Reassessments
Document Management & Maintenance
Site Creation & Document Conversion
Market you Intranet/Extranet
Training for Staff, Vendors, Customers
Live Intranet/Extranet
These ten steps will be covered at the "Building Intranets & Extranets" tutorial at EMA'98.
Judith Fleenor will be speaking on the
"Building Intranets &
Extranets" tutorial on Sunday, April 26 from 1:00-5:00 and will
repeat on Monday, April 27 from 1:00-5:00 at
EMA'98 in Anaheim,
California.