Overview
In the fall of 2002, I was asked to co-write the book Practical Intranet Development for Glasshaus Books in Birmingham, England. The book was meant for both technical and non-technical project managers who have been tasked with the creation or improvement of a corporate Intranet. It was written to help them frame the questions they need to ask, sharing best practices from people who’ve lived through the nightmare, and survived to tell the tale.
At the time, I was working for the respected Canadian design and branding agency Spencer Francey Peters as the Manager of Technical Development for Digital Media. While there, I had opportunities to work on Intranets for several clients, including ING, Scotiabank, Sun Life Financial, IMAX and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. While all these projects posed numerous unique challenges, they also shared a common thread: the absolute need for intelligent process. Over time, I refined a system that worked for my clients, and helped us develop successful solutions.
Much of my learning was shared in the pages of this book, and I was quite pleased to see it published in March of 2003. At that time, all of this content was current and applicable. I've since made further refinements to my processes and practices regarding project management, Intranets, and their technical development. If you have a project in development or planning stages, consider contacting me for some professional assistance.
A significant part of my contribution to the book was Chapter 5: Development Techniques, which has been excerpted herein. Note that this material was written specifically for print and NOT for the web. I've made some effort to convert it for this medium, but you'll notice a few instances of dead-treeisms. Just ignore them and carry on. I hope there's some information in here which you will find helpful.
Cheers.
Jeffrey Haas - December 11, 2003