Scott Brownrigg Intranet
The challenge
Scott Brownrigg came to us with an urgent requirement to build an intranet to replace a previous system based on Microsft SharePoint. The new system needed to open up content authoring and ownership to non-technical staff with the minimum of training, as well as integrating with existing staff data (contained in Microsoft Active Directory and Axomic OpenAsset).
The client had a very tight timeline, meaning the whole system had to be specified, built, delivered, tested and launched in less than 2 months.
The solution
The intranet was built to make the most of the client's existing infrastructure, meaning no additional server software was required. The standards-compliant HTML interface is accessible by all staff using a standard web browser.
Extensive personalisation features allow all staff to comment on content, subscribe to and author internal news feeds, edit their profile page and access lists of frequently visited pages. Press coverage feeds displayed directly on the intranet home page allow staff to see external press coverage about the company.
Intranet content is managed by non-technical members of staff via their web browsers. Key features include:
- A Microsoft Word-style rich text editor to write page body text.
- Granular administration privileges meaning author access can be restricted to certain sections of the intranet
- Administrators can be assigned different depth of privileges
- Full versioning and rollback
- Automatic optimisation of images, with easy cropping of images without the need for specialist software
- User favourites
- Page archiving with immediate restore
- Content review scheduling and expiry warning
- Internal news feeds/blogs supports sports clubs and other groups
- A noticeboard to allow staff to post messages about personal events, stuff for sale, flats for rent, etc.
The outcome
The new intranet is available to all client employees via their web browsers. The visual design does justice to an award-winning architectural practise and the easy-to-use interface benefits all staff, without requiring specialist training. The system was delivered, tested and populated within a two-month period over the Christmas holiday season.
Technologies used
Coldfusion MX 8, SQL Server 2008, XHTML 1.0 Strict, CSS, RSS, jQuery. Integration with Microsoft Active Directory and Axomic OpenAsset.
