Background
Over the past few years, the number of websites and applications available to field sales had grown exponentially. While all of them were available through a common portal, the reality was that only a small percentage of the information was being used effectively. The reason for that was two-fold: 1) Most user groups returned to the same sites over and over simply because the demand on their time was too great to seek out alternative or new sources; and 2) important messages or information were ignored because they were not delivered in a way that met the needs of end users.

Challenge
Our mission was to work with key stakeholders from a wide variety of departments who interfaced with our client's Sales Training Intranet, to develop effective communication channels, reduce or eliminate duplicated data streams, and introduce long-term cost-savings. The challenge implicit in this task was gaining agreement (or at least, consensus) among different sponsor groups whose missions and visions may compete or diverge.

Method
Making sense of a complex organizational issue such as this one required a very structured analytical process. Our facilitation, workflow and design deliverables included:

… Business Requirements Gathering
… Content Audit
… Technical Audit
… Findings Report
… Strategic Options
… Content Classification Scheme
… Visual Designs & Site Templates

Solution
The result of our consultancy was a completely restructured intranet designed to deliver a standardized format and customized content. Using Interwoven as our content management platform, we put together a process for delivering customized information to end users based on need, and developed clear design guidelines for all future development.

Result
Our client estimates that this project will save the organization between $1.5 - 2 million in new website development in 2004, and an equal amount as a streamlined communication vehicle which will eventually replace dedicated video conferencing and travel.