A case study in cluster analysis for intranet organization

A company's intranet site can be one of its most valuable assets, but only if employees use it. A site that employees recognize as custom-designed for them will attract much more usage than one that seems imposed from above or outside. This paper discusses an approach and outlines a case in which a company involved employees directly in designing the navigational hierarchy of its corporate intranet site. It describes the methods used for collecting data on users' perceptions of the relationships between information items, applying cluster analysis to those data and using the results to build a usable site structure. The direct and indirect values of this approach are discussed. The direct value of incorporating the users' mental models in the design is a more understandable information architecture. An equally important indirect benefit is the sense of ownership fostered by the employees' involvement in the design.