Chapter 3: Who are the
Players?
Intranet
Organization: Steven L. Telleen, Ph.D.
Introduction
Organizations are largely defined by the way they manage communication.
Although
we do not often think of organizations in this way, most of the roles
in
an organization can be defined from the perspective of creating,
maintaining,
brokering and applying information. Some of the roles in today’s
organizations
are required to manage organized communication regardless of the
technology.
Others specifically address the strengths and weaknesses of the paper
technology
that provides the communication medium in most businesses today or in
the
recent past. Still others have evolved to support our first forays into
managing
electronic information, where the complicated technology has precluded
the
average member of the organization from participating directly.
Regardless
of the technology, organizations require roles that support processes
for:
- Goal directed activity
- Communication and coordination
- Verified content
- Information currency
- Protection from liability
- Protection from loss
These roles take many forms and are found from the executive suite to
the secretarial support staff.
As the medium of communication moves from paper to
the
Intranet, these organizational roles need to be examined and adjusted
to
match the strengths and weaknesses of the new technology. This chapter
discusses
the major roles that need to be examined or established to support the
content
on an Intranet. However, an Intranet is a multipurpose infrastructure
that supports many types of communication for many purposes. Before
moving on, a few words about the types of information found on an
Intranet are in order.
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Three
Sources
of Information
At least three sources of content are found in organizations, and all
three quickly emerge on enterprise Intranets: formal, project/group,
and informal.
The formal information is the officially
sanctioned
and commissioned information of the enterprise. It usually has been
reviewed
for accuracy, currency, confidentiality, liability and commitment. This
is
the information with which the formal management infrastructure is most
concerned.
These are the formal documents that organizations produce to convey the
official, supported information about their products, services and
processes. Many of
these documents are the first to be considered for Intranet projects
because
of their official status and wide distribution.
Project/Group information is intended for
use
within a specific group. It may be used to communicate and share ideas,
coordinate
activities or manage the development and approval of content that
eventually
will become formal. In the paper world, the documents that carry this
information generally are not shared outside the project or group. They
also are not the
first to be considered for an Intranet application. However, the
Project/Group information is where the Intranet has the most potential
to transform work processes and improve both organizational and
personal productivity. On the
Intranet, Project/Group information generally is not listed in the
enterprise-wide
directories and may be protected by passwords or other restrictions if
general
access might create problems.
Informal information occurs in
organizations
as notes, memoranda, white papers, individual presentations, and other
creative
work done by individuals. It begins to appear on the Intranet when
authors
and users discover how easy it is to publish within the Intranet
infrastructure. Informal information is not necessarily the same thing
as personal home pages.
A personal folder or directory on an Intranet server can serve as a
repository
for the white papers, notes and concepts that may be shared selectively
with
others in the enterprise to further common interests, for the
solicitation
of comments or for some other reason. Instead of sending copies, the
URL
can be given to the interested parties, and the latest version can be
read
and tracked as it changes. Readers can send email feedback immediately
by
clicking on a "mailto" link in the document. This type of informal
information
can become a powerful stimulus for the collaborative development of new
concepts
and ideas.
The roles discussed below are directed at managing
the
formal content of the Intranet. Some of the roles carry over easily
into
the project/departmental information, and their use in this context
will
be discussed in this and subsequent chapters. The informal information
is,
by definition, outside the formal organizational management structure.
There
are, however, points of contact with the formal management structure in
terms
of protection from liability and loss and being able to distinguish
verified
content from informal content.
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Intranet
Management
Roles
The formal information of an organization is supported by defined
roles. In the traditional setting, where paper is the primary medium of
conveyance, the formal information roles are tightly coupled with the
functional roles of the organization. The advent of electronic media
and computers have stimulated
our understanding of the information components of many of these
functional
roles. This occurred because early digital media were complex and
required
"specialists" to manage the technology around the content. The lack of
technical
knowledge by the professionals in the functional areas forced most
organizations
to separate the information roles from the functional roles. This
separation
of roles helped us clarify and understand both the information roles
and
their relationship to the functional processes they supported.
In many ways, this forced separation created a
complex
and somewhat unworkable environment. Having to create a special project
for
every functional innovation is not conducive to organizational
responsiveness
or flexibility. The technical specialists lack of working experience
with
the functional activities often resulted in applications with less than
optimal
user interfaces or even differing management assumptions and
philosophies.
The demand to move information management back into the functional
areas
and have functional specialists manage their own technology has been
growing
and products that support this trend account for most of the recent
growth
in the information technology industry. This was the appeal of
client-server
and remains the primary appeal of Intranets.
The evolution back toward unified functional and
information
roles brings with it the new and rather profound perspective gained
during
the separation. In the past, many organizations viewed information as a
byproduct
or output of their functional activity. Today many of these same
organizations
recognize that information is not an output at all, but the force that
drives
their systems and activities. This creates a new perspective on what
constitutes the real value of many functional roles, the creation,
management, communication and application of information. Be it Human
Resources, Marketing or Engineering, the primary role of the functional
manager in the past was not viewed in terms
of managing information. To get the true benefit of an Intranet, this
must
change. These managers need to understand how information enables their
functions
and approach their roles from this perspective.
Five distinct roles have been identified to
support
the formal Intranet content: the Web Administrator, the Webmaster,
publishers,
editors and authors. One of these roles is new, the others are
modifications
to and clarifications of roles that already exist in most enterprises.
Other
roles will be determined by organizations as they evolve their own
style,
culture and uses. Note that these roles are content focused and do not
address the issues of supporting the underlying technical
infrastructure.
The Web Administrator, the new role, is
responsible
for facilitating cooperative opportunities among the various
organizations
in the enterprise and administering the enterprise content management
infrastructure.
This is not a technical role although some understanding of the
technology
is required. The Web Administrator is primarily a manager and
facilitator. By contrast, the Webmaster is responsible for the
technical infrastructure and tactical operation. The same person may
serve in both roles, but to do
so requires that she have both of the distinctly different skill sets
and
enough time to carry out both sets of responsibilities.
The Web Administrator chairs the Enterprise Web
Council
(discussed later in this chapter) and could report to either the CIO or
the
Vice President of Strategy. Making a decision as to which it will be
depends
on the organizational environment and the specific people involved.
Because
an Intranet shifts power from technical specialists back to functional
specialists,
there is potential for political conflict and resistance to certain
aspects
of the implementation. Whichever senior executive is chosen, the Web
Administrator role should be viewed as a direct report of that
executive and have her active
support.
The Webmaster generally is an extension to or
modification
of existing systems administrator roles. In an Intranet, the
Webmaster’s
primary responsibility is installing new technologies, managing them
and
helping functional specialists to use them effectively. It is very
important
that the Webmaster have the perspective of providing tools that enable
users
to publish, access and customize information themselves rather than one
of
doing it all for them. As a result of this shifting perspective, many
Webmasters
are taking on more training responsibilities as part of their job
function.
Intranets in large organizations often have
multiple
webmasters, each frequently associated with a specific, often
departmental,
web server. Because the term "webmaster" is so well established, it
probably
is fruitless to propose a lessor designation, like Webduke, for these
multiple
positions. However, it is useful for larger enterprises to have a Web
Grandmaster who is responsible for the formally supported
enterprise-web servers and for
coordinating the activities of the multiple departmental webmasters.
This
may include forming and chairing a Web Technical Committee composed of
the
webmasters. The Web Grandmaster’s responsibilities also include
managing
the enterprise email systems, the enterprise Domain Name Services, the
internal,
enterprise search and retrieval tools and indices, and tools that
provide
usage and analysis information.
Traditionally, the webmaster also is responsible
for
answering, forwarding, and otherwise managing email addressed to
"Webmaster."
In large organizations or for external pages, providing professional
and
timely responses to the mail alone can be a significant, time-consuming
job.
Where this gets to be a problem, it is useful to split the Webmaster
function
into two, an administrative function that answers and follows-up the
mail,
and a technical function that provides the tools and technical support
to
the users. Some organizations distribute the load by directing the
Webmaster
mail to different individuals or groups based on the page from which
the
user originated the Webmaster mail..
Publishers determine what kinds of formal
information
will be created and maintained by their organization. Each line of
business
and major support area (Human Resources, Finance, Facilities, etc.)
will
have a publisher. These roles already exist in the functional areas of
most
organizations today. However, when we view information as a byproduct
of
functional activities, rather than a key driver, the role is less
visible.
Generally, the people who perform these roles
today
are managers in the organization, but the publisher role today may be
diffused
across more than one person. The responsibilities of the publisher
really
belong to the executive in charge of that organization; however the
duties
usually are delegated. This delegation is fine, but in the information
age,
the delegation should be explicit, and the person carrying it out
should
consult regularly with the executive.
The publishers represent their organization on the
Enterprise
Web Council and may create and chair an Editorial Board within their
own
organization. The publishers own the processes and policies that both
the
enterprise and their organization require officially sanctioned
information
to follow. This includes policies on completeness and timeliness of the
information. In larger organizations, the publisher may delegate the
monitoring and implementation
of policy conformance to editors, but the responsibility remains with
the
Publisher.
Finally, the Publisher is responsible for keeping
the
portion of the Enterprise Map at their level and below current. The
Enterprise
Map is a tool that uses the Intranet to manage the Intranet content.
This
will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter on Logical
Architectures.
Editors are found in organizations that have
multiple
product lines or service areas. For example, Human Resources might have
individual
editors for Benefits, Compensation, Equal Opportunity and Staffing. In
a
line of business, the editor often is the primary marketing person for
each
product line. The editor determines what official information will be
created
for specific activities and manages the information creation and update
process, including the formal review cycles. Note that in a development
organization, the editor class would include development and project
managers.
Authors create the content. This role does not
require
more definition, because it tends to be well defined and independent of
the
communication medium. Once again, note that programmers and engineers
also
create content and as such are instances of the author class. When we
get
to the chapter on implementation, more time will be spent on how an
Intranet
affects this key role.
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Organizational
Roles
The people who carry out the Intranet roles require organizational
entities to provide communication and coordination support as they do
their work. The
three basic organizational entities are: the Web Council, Editorial
Boards
and the Web Technical Committee.
The Web Council consists of the Publishers for all
the
organizations in the enterprise and is chaired by the Web
Administrator.
Some enterprises have further qualified the name as the Web Policy
Council
to provide an organizational reminder that the council is not concerned
with
the technical aspects of the Intranet. Personally, I prefer the more
general
term, because the Web Council serves more functions than setting
policy.
If the organizational executives have delegated the Publisher role to
the
right level people, slipping into a technical focus will not be a
problem.
If they have not, a warning should go up that the executives either do
not
understand the process or are not committed.
The Web Council is responsible for setting
policies,
standards and high-level style guides. While this can be very time
consuming
in the beginning, it quickly settles into a background maintenance
function.
The Web Council also is responsible for monitoring the Enterprise Map
for
currency and adherence to standards. As stated above, the concept of
the
Enterprise Map will be presented in the next chapter on Logical
Architectures.
This, too, tends to become a rather trivial background function.
The long term value of the Web Council is the
communication
and coordination function, the sharing of ideas, issues, applications
and
solutions. If the members come to the meetings looking to share
innovative
ways to make their information more valuable or accessible, looking to
identify
functionality that could make their organization more effective at
creating
and maintaining their own information, then the Web Council will stay
vital.
If instead the primary focus of the Web Council becomes policy and map
maintenance, then it quickly will become a poorly attended, unimportant
meeting.
Two issues generally emerge in the Web Council.
While
the Web Council is not intended to be technical, they will uncover
issues
and opportunities that require technical support. For this reason, it
is
a good idea to include the Web Grandmaster as a member of the Web
Council.
If the role has been split into the technical and administrative
functions
as suggested above, both individuals should attend. This provides the
Web
Grandmaster with first-hand knowledge of the issues and opportunities,
and
provides a link to the Web Technical Committee.
Second, if the organization has an external
web-page,
the Web Council will likely take a keen interest in it sooner rather
than
later, even though the organizing charter was focused on the Intranet.
This
is appropriate since it is very natural for the content on the external
page
to be created and managed via the Intranet. As the individual entities
in
the enterprise begin to understand the technology and accrue a rich set
of
material appropriate for external audiences, they become more
interested
in how their information is presented as part of the overall corporate
image.
Depending on the universality of interest, the external page issues can
either
become part of the Web Council agenda, or the Web Council can spawn a
subcommittee
for those interested. Just be aware that the Web Council will almost
certainly
expand its mission to cover the external web as well as the
Intranet.
An Editorial Board is set up at the discretion of
the
Publisher, based on need. In small specialized organizations, the
Publisher
also may perform the implementation duties of the Editor making an
Editorial
Board irrelevant. In larger, more generalized, organizations, the
management
of the official information is delegated to multiple individuals.
Forming
an Editorial Board is an efficient way for the Publisher to coordinate
activities,
organize information and impart and monitor policies and
standards.
Like the Web Council, the Editorial Board is not
focused
on technology. They are focused on creating and managing their formal
content
to be both effective and to meet the enterprise and organizational
standards.
For this reason, Editorial Board meetings tend to focus on lower level,
pressing and immediate issues than the Web Council.
Also like the Web Council, the Editorial Board is
responsible
for the Enterprise Map at their level and below. However, their job is
more
complex because they are responsible for linking the Enterprise Map to
the
content. Often, this can be a less obvious and more creative process
than
mapping the management responsibility chains above their level. For
this
reason the Editorial Board gets more involved in issues of creating and
updating the logical presentation of the content relationships.
The Web Technical Committee is made up of the
Webmasters
in the Enterprise. The Web Grandmaster chairs this committee. Their
focus
is technical. Depending on the history and culture of the enterprise,
the
Web Technical Committee may define the technical standards, or may be a
forum
where the technical standards, created in another forum, are imparted
to
those who must implement them. The Web Technical Committee also
provides
an opportunity for the Webmasters to share information on innovative
approaches
and tools that make their Authors, Editors, and Publishers more
effective
at creating and maintaining their own information.
Having identified the basic organizational roles
that
support an effective Intranet, the next chapter looks at how the
Intranet
itself can be used to support the creation and maintenance of Intranet
content
in this environment.
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Next
Chapter
Table of
Contents
Original Version: October, 1996
Last Updated: November, 1996
Copyright 1996 - Steven L.
Telleen,
Ph.D.
stevet@iorg.com
This material is based in part
on
work that the author wrote while an employee of the Amdahl Corporation.
Those
portions covered by the Amdahl
Corporation
Copyright are reprinted with the permission of the Amdahl
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