Customer Reviews

The 21st Century Intranet

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a good place to start if you have been tasked with starting up an intranet. While it is a bit repetitive, the author makes her case for important issues like user-centered design, the criteria of a successful intranet and moving away from the first of four models of an intranet. It will expose you to the most important issues surrounding the design, implementation and running of an intranet.

The book is really let down by its poor editing; be prepared for, on average, one typo per page and quite a few grammatical errors as well. I find these niggles irritating and inexcusable, especially from a publisher like Prentice Hall.

I believe that, even though this book is over two years old, it is still absolutely foundational to anyone who is an Intranet Project Manager.

Having been a contractor for over five years, dealing primarily on the e-commerce and marketing side of the Internet, I needed a tool that would quickly give me a broad perspective in the Intranet realm. I was able to complete this book in four days and walk into my new position at State Farm Insurance as the California Web Coordinator with an excellent understanding of what needed to be done. Three weeks after starting my new job, myself and my counterparts from the other areas in the state were able to prepare and submit a proposal based primarily on what I learned from this book. Try that with any other book and you'll still be trying to peice it together. This is an excellent book that's very easy to read and very informative.

Thanks Jennifer for a job well done.

This interesting and well-written (style) book discusses the whys, whos, whats and even the whens of successful intranet development. Yes, it also discusses the hows - not the actual software development 'how', but rather the oft forgotten yet crucial part that comes before anything else: finding out what users want. It makes a strong case for designing intranets around its users, their need for information and the inherent potential of the underlying internet technology for information exchange. In fact, it would appear that Ms. Gonzalez's rendition of the history of the evolution of the internet is made for the sole purpose of reminding us that its raison d'etre was communal information exchange and hence this is what we should be using it for. More importantly, Ms. Gonzalez presents a realistic framework - at the same time making a strong case - for bottom-up intranet development: evolving from diverse, distributed informal groups of information-seekers within the same enterprise, then nurtured by intranet champions and finally "sold" to top management as a clear economic choice to other means of information and knowledge sharing. She even goes through the pains of preparing generic proposals for selling intranet projects to top management. This book is an essential starting point for top management and intranet champions in undertaking any IT project (period)! Heeding Ms. Gonzalez's words is sure to save many IT-itchy companies much time, effort and money!

While many books focus on plain technology, this one integrates the business aspects of an intranet as well. An absolute MUST read. Hat's off to the author for such an interesting job. If only....we stopped assuming that Intranets run in vaccumm...the author confronts that fact and provides a detailed discussion on how you can make your company buy into the idea...and support it till the end(of it's implementation!)

By far the best book I've read on the "why" of intranet development. This goes directly to the heart of business success and how an intranet can complement and enhance that success. I've dogeared, bookmarked, highlighted or reread countless sections.

I read an article adapted from this book called "Intranet Development Roadmap", I immediately decided the reviewers might be right that this is a must read. I read it in a week and I now know that it IS a must read! I'll probably be skimming it a bunch to help me champion improved intranet development in my organization, and I'll definitely make use of many of the models, lists and how-tos. Check out the article and you'll know quick if this book is for you.

In the ever-changing world of 400+ page computer how-to books, 21st Century Intranet stands out. This should be required reading for anyone who is about to develop an intranet, or needs to save a failing one.

A. Although the book is only a few years old, it is unfortunately already largely outdated. Considering that intranets have only been around for about 8 years, this book only covers the first 4 years (till about 1997). As the last 4 years are missing, practical relevance of the content is rather low.

B. The entire book (over 470 pages) is just never-ending bla-bla, consisting largely of badly assembled bits and pieces from other authors' published work. There is really no value added anywhere in this book.

C. The amount of typos is just unacceptable