Designing intranets: book review

James Robertson is a bit of a national (or international) Australian treasure. Long ago he decided to focus on the design and usability of intranets, those hidden web sites so crucial to any large organization's daily work—but invisible to the outside world and often unloved.

His latest book shares hard-won wisdom on what makes intranets work. This is precious information, because the typical in-house intranet development team has probably seen only a handful of intranets up close. James Robertson has seen thousands.

Anyone about to redevelop their own organization's intranet must, repeat must, read this book. Why? Because James has seen the same cycle of intranet development repeat over and over and over again. He knows human nature, he knows office politics, he knows intranets, and he can predict exactly what will happen if you just do what comes naturally.

Reading this book will very likely save you and your in-house intranet development team much pain and frustration.

James is not a bully. He knows the difference between opinion and facts, and he knows every intranet project is unique. He doesn't get sucked into fashionable arguments, nor does he lay down the law. Instead he provides a logical, step-by-step system for designing an intranet that stands a chance of satisfying staff.

Designing Intranets: Creating sites that work

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