Why Intranets Fail (and How to Fix Them): A Practical Guide for Information Professionals

Citation

du Preez, M. (2005), "Why Intranets Fail (and How to Fix Them): A Practical Guide for Information Professionals", The Electronic Library, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 499-500. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470510611562

Intranets have been developing as a means to share information and official communications within an organisation for a number of years. Theory also suggests intranets have the ability to liberate various departments within an organisation from answering the same questions, and leaving them to concentrate on their core business. In practice however, intranets seem to be failing since they are not delivering what was expected from them some five years ago.

In Why Intranets Fail (and How to Fix Them), Luke Treddinnick argues that “intranets can deliver real benefits in information management and organisational efficiency, and that the best intranets do exactly that” (p. xvi). He also notes why the problem of failing intranets needs to be readdressed. In this exciting and very practical book, Treddinnick now sets out to identify the reasons why they fall short of their full potential and to offer solutions to solve the problem.

Treddinnick's book is concerned with information architecture and is not about information technology. It is not only about effectively and efficiently organising intranets, but is also about people. It is about the way people interact with intranets and about why their behaviour can sometimes appear irrational.

The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 addresses failing intranets and looks at why users and organisations behave irrationally. Treddinnick then explores ways to reconcile competing expectations of both the organisation and the user. Part 2 explains how to organise, design and manage intranets within this user – and organisation‐oriented approach. Information architecture and intranet design is covered in Chapter 4, the process of implementing and managing intranets in Chapters 5 and 6, and some future directions are offered in Chapter 7. The book builds into a developed argument, and although each chapter can be treated as a self‐contained unit, it is advisable to read through the whole book sequentially.

In conclusion, the changing role of the information professional is discussed as well as the need to manage intranets as systems that control the processing of information, that help to sift and filter that information, that help to deliver the right information to the right user at the right time and that help users become informed (p. 158). This implies the management of an intranet as a process rather than as a resource or a collection.

A resource list, divided into books about intranets, books about web design and world wide web resources appear in the Appendix. The volume further includes a bibliography and a useful index.

Why intranets fail (and how to fix them) is a most welcome book on intranets and their design. It has a very practical approach and can be recommended for those persons involved with the organisation and management of entire intranets.