Marlink has offices all over the world and the intranet is the company's most important means of communiation. The goal of the project was to improve the intranet's speed, ease of use, efficiency and image. In order to achieve these goals, AGConsult proposed a twofold approach, combining qualitative and quantitave methodologies.

On a quantitative level, the log file analysis provided an excellent insight in the intranet's use. We didn't just check out the intranet's most and least visited pages but provided a detailed analysis of the clickpaths, charting differences in user groups from different countries, departments and language groups.

At the same time as we did the log file analysis we also sent an email questionnaire to all Marlink employees to get a good idea of the intranet's perceived strengths and weaknesses and of course the employees' needs.

Based on the input from the email questionnaire, we selectd a number of users for a more thorough qualitative analysis of the intranet. We interviewed and observed twenty users in three countries (Belgium, Norway and Germany) while they were using the intranet. We also asked some of these users to do a card-sorting test where they had to structure the information on the intranet accoring to their logic.

Based on the results of the quantitaive and qualitative analysis, AGConsult came up with a new information structure. We also provided recommendations for the intranet's interface and the functionalities of the content management system. The new information structure has been approved by the management team and will be implemented by Marlink soon.

How can AGConsult help you develop a user-centered information structure?