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