Intranet Study
How Usable Are Corporate Research Intranets?
Alison J. Head & Associates regularly undertakes a research initiative that tackles a pressing usability issue. Recently, we investigated the design and use of research intranets in major companies.
In the project we found that the promise of intranets remains unfulfilled.
A Sampling of Major Findings
More Participants Failed Tasks than Succeeded
The majority of research intranets are just plain hard to use, whether a worker is a manager, administrative assistant, or professional researcher.
On the average, less than half of the participants - 44 percent - could successfully complete the research tasks we asked them to perform.
Most Sites Are Underutilized
Many sites tend to be what we call "one-hit wonders." Employees use the site to check the latest company news, find out a current company stock quote, or find a form. Other than that they have little familiarity and experience with the tools and content research intranets provide.
Checking Out the Competition Was Difficult
Using research intranets for carrying out competitive intelligence research - finding out information about threats and opportunities in the marketplace - proved especially difficult for participants in our study.
Less than half of the participants - 44 percent - were able to find information on their company's site about an industry competitor. Even fewer - 35 percent - could use the site to find background information on an unfamiliar company with which they had an interest.
Research was conducted by Alison J. Head & Associates in seven different companies, including Bechtel, ChevronTexaco, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, Gale Group, Gilead Sciences, Sun Microsystems, and Synopsys.
Read more about the study (127kb PDF)
About the Study
Our report, "On-the-Job Research" is a must-read for anyone who designs, manages, or develops corporate intranets and includes:
32 major findings from sessions with employees at seven major corporations who tested their intranet sites with us.
24 recommendations for creating sites that are easier to use
Three case studies of sites are featured.
Read more about the study (127kb PDF)
On-the-Job Research, 2002.
$135 ($185 PDF)
ISBN 0-87111-550-6