Step 10: Start Gathering Content
The Detailed Site Map outlines all the content areas that will exist in your new intranet. Each content area will have content items in it. You or someone on your team will need to make sure all this content is aggregated and organized so it can be included in the new site. These documents will usually exist in multiple formats across numerous locations and require various personal connections to obtain.
Meticulously tracking the particulars of all this information during this phase is important. Depending on the scale of this work, a master Excel spreadsheet might be useful. This can serve as a guide for the person responsible for the work, for the person managing the project and for the developer or data-entry person who moves the content into the new system.
Creating a back-up version of the content in its original format before conversion is always a good idea. This allows for comparison of original content with new, reformatted content, to verify data integrity. It also provides some insurance in case of problems.