tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389185773500792018.post2485763350350783223..comments2024-02-06T01:48:29.299+10:00Comments on Fuel for Fusion: A Litmus Test for Intranets: Do your users use Bookmarks?Ben Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15225977828752157616noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389185773500792018.post-43631121830943592982010-03-17T21:56:55.361+10:002010-03-17T21:56:55.361+10:00Hi Alex,
Thanks for your reply. You are right, t...Hi Alex, <br /><br />Thanks for your reply. You are right, there is a culture of bookmarking that carry across from an old intranet to a new one. <br /><br />One implication of this (and a good rule of thumb I think anyway) is that you can not rely on your homepage to be the springboard for your intranet. To a lesser extent every page is a potential entry point to the intranet either from a bookmark or a URL sent in an email. An effective intranet page delivers not just the requested content but also the context in which it exists (in the form of links and tools to move them to their next destination).<br /><br />Thanks again for your comment.Ben Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15225977828752157616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389185773500792018.post-69667124749410970792010-03-15T10:34:15.751+10:002010-03-15T10:34:15.751+10:00Hi Ben,
I left the same comment on your Linked I...Hi Ben, <br /><br />I left the same comment on your Linked In thread, and agree with much of what you're saying; It's not an absolute, but generally if users are *relying* on bookmarks, it means you have a poor site, usually because there's no search (or it's ineffective), the architecture is shot, and content is all over the place. <br /><br />I've worked with many, many organisations where users have simply 'bookmarked everything I find, just in case I need to use it again'.<br /><br />The reason it's not an absolute is because even if you provide a perfect site, users will still use bookmarks, especially if the site you've replaced was as described above. To change user habits it takes a long time, promotion of services, and repeated successes when searching for content.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389185773500792018.post-68029321232301688042010-03-12T17:54:48.666+10:002010-03-12T17:54:48.666+10:00Hi Luke,
Thanks for commenting. No, bookmarks in ...Hi Luke,<br /><br />Thanks for commenting. No, bookmarks in themselves are not bad, but I do believe they are symptomatic of an unhealthy intranet. <br /><br />I see your point about interpreting a bookmark as a positive sign that there is something on the intranet the user finds value in. But would you agree that point reflects more on that specific content, not the intranet and the way it works in general?<br /><br />It is also often the case that usage of specific areas of the intranet are mandated. Employees or users must access the intranet to complete form xyz for their expenses, or publish a document to a specific page as part of their work process. In these cases, the business already knows a resource has value and is seeing usage. A bookmark in that instance does not imply any value - the user has to visit that page anyway - but rather a lack of confidence that the homepage and intranet organisation will quickly yield the required location within the intranet.<br /><br />You are right in saying that staff shouldn't need to wade through menu or search results to return to a needed resource. I would argue though that navigating a well designed intranet would not be called 'wading' nor would users need to rely on search to find resources that are more than occasionally useful. These things should be surfaced on the homepage and access to them should be quick.<br /><br />There are other pitfalls with encouraging bookmarks or working with raw URLs (ever had a user bookmark and use the UAT site?). My point is not that bookmarks are bad, but that they shouldn't be needed in a well organised and efficient intranet. It should not be 'worth it' for the user to create them.<br /><br />I hope that makes some sense. Or perhaps it is overly idealistic. I have had the experience of both intranets that required bookmarks and those where they were never even considered, and I think putting the finger on what makes those intranets different is worthwhile.Ben Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15225977828752157616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389185773500792018.post-61641076428058638592010-03-12T08:22:00.930+10:002010-03-12T08:22:00.930+10:00Hi Ben - I have to disagree with your theory that ...Hi Ben - I have to disagree with your theory that staff using bookmarks is a failure of the intranet. In fact, I think the fact that anyone even bothered creating a bookmark is a positive thing. It means they plan to come back another time to a page that was presumably useful to them. <br /><br />Bookmarks are a quick way to access content. Quick is good. Why should staff have to wade through menus or search results every time they want to get to a page they've already been to? <br /><br />Of course this doesn't negate the need for a well structured intranet with a good search function and a well designed homepage. <br /><br />But bookmarks aren't bad in themselves.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01771895702923173494noreply@blogger.com