There are so many aspects that we consider when going through our process for agreeing the best intranet design for a new customer.

One relatively simple one to discuss is how do we make sure users can find what we assume they will be looking for – an also how can we encourage them to visit an area that they might not think would be interesting or relevant?

One part of the answer is through what Claromentis describe as “fast access buttons”

These are significantly sized buttons that provide a visual pull to certain areas of the intranet. They are also – like everything else in Claromentis – permission based so that certain groups of users will see different icons. In this way we can try to predict what should be of interest to those users, and encourage them to take the actions we require.

Andy Briggs from our custom design team recently produced a great document on intranet design, and this is a diagram from the section on fast access buttons:

Intranet Design : Permission based fast access

For interest I also show the access areas that are promoted for me on our own Claromentis Intranet.

Lets look at the 10 buttons that are presented to me and summarize each one :

• Company Policies – Claromentis has a duty to ensure I have every chance to read our policies, and this button is extremely appropriate for discharging that responsibility
• Audits – we are a quality managed ISO9001 company and I have access to all of our internal audits, and the actions arising from them
• Dev Wiki – even in sales it is great to have access to internal technical resources!
• Discover Claromentis – our support portal – allows me to review any issues or enhancement requests that my clients may have filed
• Webex – we provide private tours for anyone interested in our software and I use this every day
• Live demo – access to our standard live intranet and business process management demonstration system
• Blog Admin – as you can see I write blogs and I don’t want to remember another set of credentials!
• Marketing database – exactly the same – provides access to a web based system that I use extensively
• Google Analytics – useful to periodically review our traffic sources and what they are looking for
• National Rail – access to the live departure board at Brighton station – I commute by train and this is just a convenience for me.

So fast access buttons provide :

• Single sign on access to other web applications – the intranet provides a gateway to your digital workspace.
• Convenience for the user
• A way for the company to encourage my participation in certain applications or information areas.

Intranet-Extranet, Prod-Intranet, Services intranet design

Many potential clients and partners request a sandbox to allow them to experience the full Claromentis functionality.

This had been an issue for us, as our live intranet demo actually locks down the users permissions in order to maintain the integrity of the site.

So using our cloud servers we now have available an intranet trial where you can request an instance from our sales team, who once they know your requirements can make your own personal trial instantly available. There is nothing to download – it is a fully functional Claromentis web platform that is ready for you to use immediately.

The official release day is Monday – but I happen to know its available from Friday – so if you would like to evaluate a professional intranet environment, just get in touch!

Claromentis 7, Intranet-Extranet, Services, Solutions

As we start a new year we had an interesting series of reviews of some of our Intranet designs in 2011.

We have many example systems and guideline documents on intranet design, but one key in the early process for designing a new intranet is to show the customer team a large selection of designs that we have already completed. Based on their feedback the designers can then move onto the Photoshop mockup process, which is always reviewed, completed and signed off before any interface is actually built.

As a new client it seems that there is nothing worse than just being asked to describe “what you like” when confronted by a blank whiteboard with one of our designers looking at you and expectantly holding a marker pen – but the same clients can certainly point out areas of other designs that they appreciate and would like to incorporate into their own new web platform.

We all had our perspectives, but from mine working with new customers I noticed that many of our projects liked to start from a baseline with many of the elements from the image shown here:

Best Intranet Design

Of course they would then request considerable changes and apply their own branding, but the base system was a very useful start for them, and enabled the creative process to start.

I think there are indeed some strong basic points about this design :

• - It is quite ‘strong’ and vibrant, even though it has more than enough white space for a system that is the core web platform for all users in a substantial global corporation.
  - It is welcoming – while still containing a significant amount of corporate information
  - The application slider bar is a nice touch, rather than a permission based text access menu – which in this system is reserved for departmental resources
  - The rounded corners and pin board effect are appropriate without being distracting
  - The corporate social networking component on the home page shows the collaborative two way intent of the system
  - Multiple and differentiated intranet news channels are appropriate for such a large client that generates a lot of information for various sets  of users
  - We liked the introductory video that shows for all new users, explaining the intent of the system and intranet guidelines.

Of course everyone in the actual design teams had their own personal favorites – but for 2011 for me this was an extremely useful base design when discussing new client intranet projects. If you have any comments or favourite designs of your own – please comment!

Intranet-Extranet, Prod-Intranet, Services intranet design

Recent economic conditions and pressure has made many businesses to re-think their priorities. In software development world it comes down to cost, time and functionality.

In ideal world all projects would have realistic deadlines, enough resources to do the entire features listed in the functionality requirement. However in the real world this is almost never happened. The real world demand compromises and faced with constant changes.

Diagram above illustrates “The Impossible Triangle” showing the relationship between Functionality, Cost and Time. As a software company we’re constantly under pressure to deliver project on time on-budget and fit for purpose but in reality it is nearly impossible to fix all three aspects in a project.

For illustration, it is possible to work on a fix amount of cost and fixed number of features & functionality  (assuming they are clearly defined) but time to complete the project will have to become variable. In many cases with the software development we don’t know the problem until we’re halfway down with the coding work.

On the other hand, it is possible to fix cost and having an exact date on project delivery but there will be some functionality trade-off.

In many cases, throwing additional resources in the mid-project is not as straightforward throwing more bricklayers to build a wall as illustrated by Dilbert:

In my opinion the role of Project Management in the software project are undervalued. A good software Project Manager is incredibly rare. It is disheartening to know that according to research by Dr John McManus, only one in eight IT projects can be considered as truly successful (1998-2005).

On the bright side, In the recent years we’ve seen the rise of Prototyping  and implementation of Agile methodologies, which in Claromentis we’re proudly adopting and continue to learn from mistakes and “Keep Moving Forward”.

Note: “Keep Moving Forward” is a tagline borrowed from Disney Pixars Movie – Meet the Robinsons. There is an interesting scene from the movie when the Robinsons family rejoices and celebrated “failures” more than “success”.

Intranet-Extranet, Services bespoke development, development vision, internal customer communications, software

With Claromentis 6.2 the ability to report graphically on the use of any business process in the company just got a lot more powerful.

The on demand, interactive and always up to date graphs provide summaries of :

User submissions into the business process

Provides information over time of the top 5 users of the process. See who is generating the most requests and provide additional assistance as needed.

The Status breakdowns of all current requests

Gives a snapshot of the current process loads by the status of each request in the process.

A status map as a snapshot

InfoCapture allows the creation of as many individual states as you need for any individual business process. The status map allows you to group these granular and precise states into meaningful sub groups that have a meaning when loking at reports – for example pending manager’ and ‘pending supervisor’ might be successive and important workflow steps, but for reoorting these can both be regarded as ‘In progress’ or ‘Awaiting Approval’

A Status breakdown over time

See the loads in the process by status groups over time. This allows you to allocate resources to make the mot impact to the efficiency of the process, especially where the InfoCapture service level agreements and business timers are engaged, and time on any state is critical.

Combined with the interactive flow charts that are already available from 6.1, these interactive graphs provide a visual representation of even the most complex of processes. They enable managers to predict loads, optimize resources and understand the requests of the users in the most proactive way so as to provide additional assistance wherever needed.

Prod-Process, Services BPM, Business Process Management

This evening I was listening to an HBR interview about Net Promoter : www.netpromoter.com : and it really made me sit up and take note – because just an hour ago I had got off the phone from a potential customer who was looking for a reference for us as an extranet supplier, so they made a call to one of our customers – and that customer said ”hey Claromentis is great – but Hannah is just awesome”

And listening to that HBR podcast I thought that was so relevant – a real example of  ‘remarkable customer experience’ – and how one of our team had created that from her own personal passion. In Net Promoter terms Hannah had earned us a 10

Customer Loyalty – ‘The ultimate question’ – but how rarely we close that loop – formally we ourselves as a company don’t do that Net Promoter process – we only got this feedback this evening because a potential new customer called our client, and was so excited that they then gave us back the story of how one particular person had scored a 10 for us.

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Then I thought that just in the last two days we had more great performance from staff stepping up to things that make a difference to our company and to our customers – effort that is way outside their ‘job description’ but where they had the skills to contribute :

• Julian and Andy – help with the NW demo today for implementing a great BPM process – a developer and a designer don’t have to do this – it is not their job – but they did. And they did it really well. Thank you.

• Will and Hannah from support – giving a demo for sales – it is not their job, but they did it, and they did it really well. Short notice, after 5pm on a Friday. Thank you.

• Sweta – attending an all day technical demo for us that took her out of her normal responsibilities as a testing manager. Thank you.

In the Net Promoter system these guys all created ‘promoters’ today. According to that HBR podcast a leader needs to give the ability for people to get a 10 from customers.

It’s that Seth Godin purple cow – that ‘remarkable experience’.

But – remarkably – in Claromentis the leaders are not directly, formally driving this through any process like Net Promoter – the Claromentis team are just working passionately, caring about results – helping each other and putting in  long hours. They really care about what we do.

To me it is inspiring.

It is remarkable.

Thank you.

Intranet-Extranet, Services, Solutions

It is a difficult concept to grasp for a non-technical person, yet without realizing it we’re been storing more data and ever in the cloud at work and at home. The big question is our data secure in the Cloud?

Google claims to have one of the largest and the most secure clouds in the entire industry, we do not often hear they’ve been hacked.

Google Data Centers

How does Google keep the data centers that comprise its cloud so safe and are they the gold standard in data protection?

Adam Swidler, senior manager for Google Enterprise, laid out how the company keeps its cloud safe at the Cloud Control Conference in Boston this week. The measures that Google goes through are quite thorough. For instance, no Google clients or federal regulators are allowed inside of Google’s data centers. When it comes to tough nuts to crack on the Internet, Google’s cloud is about as tough as it gets…. read more

In contrast relying your data entirely in the hand of mighty Google could have disastrous impact to your life. This is what happens exactly to someone’s google account. His 7 years digital life is now vanished and no one at Google can help him.

Something happened to Dylan’s Google account, and it’s been disabled. He doesn’t know what happened to the account, and no one at Google with the power to help him is interested in acknowledging the problem or letting him back in to the cloud-based services where all of his correspondence and much of the digital trail from the last few years of his life is stored. Google doesn’t own Twitter, though (yet), and he has taken to Twitter to try to draw attention to his problem and urge anyone who will listen not to trust Google with their digital lives. read more…

Another news, which shocked the IT world, recently happened in Australia when one of the largest hosting provider Distribute.IT was hacked and around 4800 sites are gone forever.

4800 Aussie sites evaporate after hack

Maybe the solution is what the old saying that we should put all of our eggs in one basket. There is something comforting if you know exactly where your data is stored. Back in the old days to have our data stored in multiple locations just in case and always think of worse case scenario. Do you have good and bad experience with the cloud storage? Or you may have strong opinion about this topic please comments, we would like to hear from you.

Intranet-Extranet, Services cloud computing, development vision, Google, hosting, intranet software discussions, permissions, technology

Explore Fund is a global network created by The North Face with a mission to help kids discover nature’s playground.

It’s a global initiative by launching 7 sites in 7 countries simultaneously across Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK) and North America (Canada, US)

Their goal is to inspire and enable the next generation of explorers by funding non-profit organisations that are working to re-connect children with nature. We believe in the physical, emotional and social benefits of a healthy, active outdoor lifestyle, and that a strong connection with the outdoors will lead to greater support and protection of our natural landscapes.

The Explore Fund will support organisations that encourage youth outdoor participation, focusing primarily on creating more connections of children to nature, increasing access to both front & backcountry recreation, as well as providing education for both personal & environmental health.

Find out more from these sites below:

ExploreFund.eu (Europe)
ExploreFund.ca (Canada)
ExploreFund.org (USA)

Custom Development, Services bespoke development, Case Study, Design, environmental, Social Networking, web 2.0

We all want things quickly – but an Intranet in 1 week??!!

That was the challenge laid down in front of us Monday morning – a working Intranet, branded in the companies colours, all content uploaded (including electronic forms) and ready for use by Friday lunch time.

I am happy to confirm that Claromentis has come through with the goods, and the client is very happy.

So was there a secret to this success? It will come as no surprise that the client had done many hours of pre-project work, and had nearly everything ready to go the moment the site was ready for content population.  The old army ‘five p’s’ saying rings true even in IT!

Intranet-Extranet, Prod-Intranet, Services fast, intranet

Carbon Trust – a company providing specialist support in cutting carbon emissions, saving energy and commercializing low carbon technologies – came to Claromentis to find the perfect Business Process Management solution to control the use of their brand.

Top of their list was a quality product, followed by seamless integration within their existing public website and a tight deadline.

On the surface, the project seemed simple – an approval process to determine the eligibility to use the Carbon Trust branding logos. But  Carbon Trust required a process that was undemanding and self-managed, a process which would automatically identify whether or not the requester was eligible to use Carbon Trust branding logos – focusing time consuming manual intervention only on those cases where it was genuinely required.

The application process starts

If the application is approved, the requester receives a notification containing a download link to the appropriate set of logos for their requirement, depending on the details supplied within the application.

Application in progress

The only manual input required is if the application pushes the request to review – this is where a member of Carbon Trust staff must decide on the eligibility of the application.

Carbon Trust required two interfaces: a public facing form to integrate within their website, and a portal for the staff to review the applications.

Business process reporting

Both of these were generated using completely core functionality of Business Process Manager.

In the words of the Carbon Trust project lead,

the Corporate Branding Inbox began life as reams of flip chart paper, stacks of post it notes and 2 tubs of lemon cheesecake! Claromentis then followed to take our ideas and make them into a reality that was beyond anything cheesecake thinking could imagine!

The project was implemented by Hannah Voice from the Claromentis support team who said

This project was a pleasure to work on from start to finish. The client knew what the business needed, provided well thought out workflows from their own workshops and answered all my questions with energy and a passion to get the job done under very tight deadlines. Great fun!

Intranet-Extranet, Prod-Process, Services BPM, Business Process Management