Here's their advice on making your intranet an indispensable resource. Everyone I interviewed for this column said that was a recipe for disaster. The best thing to do is work backward from your customer. Online selling guides let the reps highlight the differences between a Fujitsu hard drive and a competitor's, for example, complete with detailed specs. Ever since Whitehouse began planning Wharton's student intranet, affectionately known as Spike, he has invited input from the students.
Students can also suggest new content and features.
Wharton's 5,000 students depend on Spike for the school calendar. In addition, some processes exist only on the Web, like the school's course auction. To get into to a popular, oversubscribed class, students log onto Spike and bid for a spot using a set number of points. The bids are handled through Spike, and students check the site at the beginning of the semester to see if they've gotten into the classes they wanted. Updates Intranet developers stress that fresh information is vital.