Information platforms are increasingly structured along the lines of sites or spaces at top level.

The available functional/technical capability alone however, does not guarantee a good organisation appealing to your users. The structure has to take into account their working and social context.

Coming from the image created by web sites and made popular for corporate internal use of content and information by Microsoft SharePoint, there is little thought given to the logical structuring of sites and spaces. Often they are created on request and the environment becomes an ad hoc loose collection.  Current platforms have a wide variety of functionality which make them suitable for a broader use than sharing information on projects or structures along the lines of the formal organisation of the company. More so, in current organisations, there are more dimensions to be discerned. Not only do we need to be more efficient and work cross-departmental with a stronger focus on customer and consumer needs, our work place is also a social construct in which we interact and have a richer experience than the one strictly confined to the execution of tasks. Therefore an information platform has to be more than an intranet on which static content is to be made available. Social interaction and cross functional and hierarchical conversation is increasingly expected by colleagues and employees. In ages where innovation and creativity are perceived as the most important success factor of an organisation. Information sharing and conversation should foster engagement and belongness as profound as possible. The platform should also be able to quickly engage new comers and temps.

It is while thinking along these lines we come with a meta-structure or a number of dimensions along which one can organise these information intense platforms while fostering conversation and providing direct usefulness for corporate users.

The Home space or site is the starting point when accessing the intranet.
The content of this space reflects:
• global information of and on the company
• what you should know about the company as a newcomer
• press relations (both outgoing and incoming – comments made in the global press)
• global management information and announcements of the direction/general management
• references to practical information on how to find your way on the campus or the buildings

Per organisational unit or department a space or site gives the frame for specific organisational exchanges. As such it has a more operational character than the home space.
The content of this space reflects:
• information on and about the unit
• organisation of work
• notes periodic meetings
• person related notices about department members
• departmental announcements of practical nature
• references to practical information on the workings of the department
• operational announcement

This personalised space contains everything you need. It focuses on the tasks you need to perform, the information that is addressed to you as a member of the organisation or has specific pertinence (e.g. positing in discussions you follow) and can be enhanced with information or reference that are of particular use.

These (social) group spaces are free subscription based getting togethers where information and thoughts are exchanged. They may concern professional or practical topics relating to company life, logistics or amenities that can make life agreeable. It is here that communities of interest or practice would thrive. They contain discussions, documentation, postings, polls, … Topical interest may obviously also relate to products or services of a company or group.

For each recognised project a space grouping related information is accessible for the project participants. It is here they will report on progress, post information and documents related to the project. It is also here the planning is to be found.
For project and line management specific progress dashboards are made available.

The Geographical site is similar or a sub set of the overall company home space. It contains specificities related to a specific location, campus or building group.

The HR site is common for all staff of the company provides information on global HR policy and personalised services regarding holiday planning, compensation and benefits, career planning and evaluation, training …

The Governance space is a restricted area for the actors concerned with maintenance and extension of the intranet environment. Here administrators will find tools and documentation for enhancing and managing the intranet platform.

Relating to these space types, templates or models can be devised to structure the setup of requested environments referring to each of these types.

They are documented in the specific governance space.

A personalised global navigation instrument will give an overall user experience permitting to go directly to the information one needs, without having to recall individual destination addresses.

See also the related slide doc published on slideshare.