Categories
Intranet SharePoint

What users really want

In Cloud2 we spend a lot of time thinking about SharePoint use, intranets, user adoption and the challenges of matching what people want, with what they think they want and what other people (usually managers, communications and IT folk) say they should want. We also try to match this to what we see being successful.

It’s not an easy thing to do – often there is a major gap between what the project owners tell us and what we know to be likely or true. And we have to tell them they are wrong somehow – some of our team are less blunt and more forgiving than others (I’ll leave it to you to decide which camp you think I am in).

In Cloud2 we talk a lot about ‘Putability’ and ‘Findability’ – having sensible places for all your stuff (whether personal business content, corporate documents or something in between) and the ability to find that stuff regardless of who you are and where it was put.

We talk a lot about changing ways of working and how a great intranet enables that; and the pain that comes from uses having to learn new habits to take advantage of the benefits (and we all know how much people adore change!).

We certainly talk about the benefits a lot, trying to evangelise what the intranet could do for individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole.

Some of our top evangelised things are:

  • Collaboration, the ability to work with other team members regardless of where and when you are
  • Paperless working, getting rid of that tricky folding stuff and replacing it with more agile, manageable and shareable alternatives
  • On demand, ensuring that whatever you need it at your fingertips, wherever you are and whatever device you have to hand
  • Findability, being able to find what you want within seconds (our target is less than 80 seconds)
  • Putability, we maintain there is only about five different places to put things (in my team areas, my personal area, in projects I’m working on, shared with the entire organisation, everything else)
  • Community, since 60 to 70% of all corporate knowledge is bound up in the staff it is vital that the intranet makes it easy to find the people you need and engage with them
  • Business Process, creating business efficiencies through rapid development of applications that sold business needs within the intranet

So it was interesting to come across this study from Microsoft carried out in 2013. It uses an interesting pair of axes which indicate how appealing feature capability is, which seems to related to personal preference, and how important it is

What users really want
What users really want

 

This survey adds some further insight, especially slides 4 & 5:

http://sharepoint.walkme.com/national-sharepoint-survey-where-are-you-on-your-journey-infographic/#.UxsWJ9samZU

 

The exciting this for us is that our Hadron 8020 solution covers the things that most users want

The two things challenges that leap out are:

•    Barriers to adoption

•    Systems integration

Simon's avatar

By Simon

Simon Hudson is an entrepreneur and health sector specialist. He formed Cloud2 in 2008 following a rich career in the international medical device industry and the IT industry. Simon’s background encompasses quality assurance, medical device development, international training, business intelligence and international marketing and health related information and technology.

Simon’s career has spanned both the UK and the international health industry, with roles that have included quality system auditing, medical device development, international training (advanced wound management) and international marketing. In 2000 he co-founded a software-based Clinical Outcomes measurement start-up in the US. Upon joining ioko in 2004 he created the Carelink division and, as General Manager, drove it to become a multi-million pound business in its own right.
In 2008, Simon founded Cloud2 in response to a need for a new way of delivering successful projects based on Microsoft SharePoint. This created the first commercial ‘Intranet in a Box’ solution and kickstarted a new industry. He exited that business in 2019, which has continued to grow as a leading provider of Power BI and analytics solutions.

In 2016, he co-founded Kinata Ltd. to enable effective Advice and Guidance in the NHS and is currently guiding the business beyond its NHS roots to address needs in Her Majesty’s Prisons and in Australasia.

In 2021, Simon founded Novia Works Ltd.

In 2021 he was invited to become Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Hull.

In 2022 he was recognised as a Microsoft MVP.

In 2025 he founded Sustainable Ferriby CIC, a community energy not-for-profit to develop energy generation, energy & carbon reduction, and broader sustainability & NetZero projects in the West Hull villages.

Simon has had articles and editorials published in a variety of technology, knowledge management, clinical benchmarking and health journals, including being a regular contributor to PC Pro, as well as a presenter at conferences. He publishes a blog on areas of interest at noviaworks.co.uk. He is a co-facilitator of the M365 North User Group. He is a lead author and facilitator on the Maturity Model for Microsoft 365. He is the author of two patents relating to medical devices. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physical Science and a PGCE in Physics and Chemistry from the University of Hull.

Simon is passionate about rather too many things, including science, music (he plays guitar and octave mandola), skiing, classic cars, narrowboats, the health sector, sustainability, information technology and, by no means least, his family.

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