Hi Ryan

Welcome!

Julie makes a good point. Unfortunately, I suspect there may not be
much spare time either side of Nathan's session next week but there
probably will be for the following IA Cocktail Hour, which is on 23
October.

With regards to your questions, here are my 2 cents, FWIW:

1. Manage scope through having a clearly communicated and
collaboratively developed plan (we're doing this now, and planning to
roll out this then etc) with a way for reviewing new requests and
incorporating them (or otherwise) over time. It's the usual sort of
thing: be clear who your users are, what their needs are and what the
relative priorities are for the 'owners' of the Intranet. The
confluence of these things is your sweet spot.

2. No. 1 should help with No. 2 also as such communication makes it
clear that you are listening and it won't stay like this forever. And
if the intranet can't provide what they want, find out what should be
and (transparently) send the feedback that way.

You might also find this blog useful: http://egovau.blogspot.com/

Cheers

Jessica Enders
Principal
Formulate Information Design
----------------------------------------
http://formulate.com.au
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Phone: (02) 6116 8765
Fax: (02) 8456 5916
PO Box 5108
Braddon ACT 2612
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On 26/09/2008, at 9:48 AM, Julie Hale wrote:

>
> Hi Ryan
>
> Welcome to Canberra's IA community. These are great questions and
> ones that we all have to deal with on a pretty regular basis.
>
> Why not ask them as general questions for the brains trust to
> respond to at teh begining of the next Canberra IA Cocktail hour?
>
> You are likley to get some very honest and thought provoking
> responses. The breadth of IA consulting expertise is refreshing and
> it is a good oportunity to meet with others in the field.
>
> See the web site or Jessica's last e-mail for date and time.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Julie Hale
> From: canberra_ia_community@...
> [canberra_ia_community@...] On Behalf Of Ryan Merton
> [rmerton@...]
> Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 8:14 AM
> To: canberra_ia_community@...
> Subject: [canberra_ia_community] Community based Intranets
>
> Hi Canberra IA’s.
>
> My name is Ryan, I’m an IA, and I’m a new member.
>
> I’m working on what I’m calling a Community based Intranet. It’s
> an intranet for a WoG portfolio where officers can add and tag
> their own content.
>
> The challenge I’m facing and hoping to get some of your points of
> view is:
>
> How to manage scope change as the number and types of users increase?
>
> As the site is gaining popularity and use, the types of users and
> what they are looking for is also changing (not radically, but
> noticeable). I can’t keep up with the demand as each new business
> area comes online and wants to do their own thing.
>
> How do I keep people interested and motivated while telling them no?
>
> Since it’s a community site and thus relies on people adding their
> own content in order to be successful (and useful), how do I divert
> their attention from what they think they want...?
>
> Cheers
>
> Ryan
>
>
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