Don’t forget the deep navigation!
We all use navigation systems whenever we use the web, but few of us really think about what we’re seeing. We seldom consider how analogies are applied to these systems to help us understand intuitively how they work. We talk about signposts and destinations, sitemaps and journey paths, as if we are heading to and…
Blog Usability & design
How the Scottish Government is setting the accessibility agenda
One of the core offerings of our new Digital Nations Group (DNG) is providing a lively forum for members to discuss their own digital issues with other organizations who share similar challenges. Every month we’re running an hour-long online “hangout” where one Digital Nations Group member or guest organization can bring a particularly thorny digital…
Blog Usability & design
14 competencies for an employee experience (EX) digital strike force
In 2015 we published a blog post on the concept of the Chief Employee Experience Officer (CEEO). As it turned out, days before, Airbnb had announced their own new CEEO and the article resonated deeply with audiences across the globe. Since that article, we’ve seen a steady march towards increased focus on employee experience at…
Blog Digital workplace Usability & design
Six success factors for a personalized intranet
Good personalization, like good design, should be so well-embedded that you don’t notice it. Our personal digital lives wrap around us in a cocoon of personalized and customized content and services. It may not always seem immediately obvious, but our search results, our social media streams, our online shopping experience, the adverts we see, the…
Blog Content management Research reports Search & findability Strategy & governance Usability & design
7 ‘protips’ for digital workplace professionals from a video gamer
Have you heard? Video games aren’t just for kids any more; the average gamer is 35 years old. They’re not even just for men; 48% of gamers are women. And get this: they’re also not just for the lazy and unemployed; 70% of gamers are high-level executives, including CEOs. CEOs! The people in charge! But…
Blog Collaboration Digital workplace Metrics & measurement Usability & design
What is the first step towards evidence-based intranet success?
Pssst, guess what… I know the secret of making good intranets. More than that, I’ve just gone and proved it with science and numbers. This is it. I know the secret of how to manage intranets successfully. Usability – where it succeeds or not So, let’s wind back a bit. You are sitting watching a…
Blog Collaboration Internal communications Metrics & measurement Research reports Strategy & governance Usability & design
Why we really hate email, and implications for future digital workplaces
Email forces us into constant task switching and is inefficient by design. But these particular weaknesses shine a light on the future of digital working and where vendors and experts can lead us. Ugh. We all hate email… am I wrong?! The scourge of the modern workplace. Experts create extensive systems to help people deal…
Blog Collaboration Content management Digital workplace Usability & design
Decoding Avanade’s digital workplace approach and language
Avanade, the joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft, has done some solid thinking around digital workplace management. This article articulates the strengths behind their approach and highlights a few quirks that digital workplace leaders need to understand. Okay. I’m not gonna pull any punches here. I’m gonna be totally honest and tell you that Avanade’s…
Blog Collaboration Digital workplace ROI & Business Case Search & findability Strategy & governance Usability & design
Analysis of Gartner’s “8 building blocks for the digital workplace”
Gartner’s “Eight Building Blocks for the Digital Workplace” offers a thoughtful analysis and includes many important strategic topics. This first major foray by Gartner into digital workplace strategy, however, somewhat resembles a list of trends and has a few important gaps. As pioneers of the digital workplace industry and best practices, our team at the…
Blog Digital workplace Metrics & measurement ROI & Business Case Search & findability Strategy & governance Usability & design
Everybody please stop saying “social collaboration”
The phrase “social collaboration” confuses more than it clarifies and, in fact, hides more specific purposes of using enterprise social software. Digital workplace professionals should avoid the term and focus on more targeted business benefits of using social tools. I’m not trying to be rude (it just comes naturally) I know this post might ruffle…
Blog Collaboration Digital workplace HR intranets Internal communications ROI & Business Case Strategy & governance Usability & design
Do you have a Chief Employee Experience Officer (CEEO) leading your digital workplace?
Two common success factors for digital workplace projects are: 1) cross-functional teams that work across/against organizational silos; and 2) a focus on the user experience. So why not restructure the organization to incorporate these approaches? Large organizations are struggling to keep up If you read the kind of news I do, you get the sense…
Blog Collaboration Content management Digital workplace HR intranets Internal communications Strategy & governance Usability & design
7 ways the goal posts on enterprise search have moved
Intranet search has proved a perennial predicament for digital workplace teams. New trends in search are changing expectations for everything from how search results are displayed to the very nature of what search is. This article describes the key trends behind the shifting goal posts. Some people don’t understand the importance of paid adverts in…
Blog Collaboration Content management Digital workplace Metrics & measurement Search & findability Strategy & governance Usability & design