A New Zealand government department has won prestigious recognition for its intranet architecture and design.
The Ministry of Transport is the first New Zealand organisation ever to win a spot in Nielsen Norman Group’s Ten Best Intranets. It sits alongside larger organisations like Bank of America and British Airways in the 2008 awards. Former award winners included National Geographic and Volvo.
In describing the award-winning design the Nielsen Norman Group said the Ministry’s intranet makes it effortless to communicate research work and news across the organisation.
Most of the 2008 winners are big companies, employing an average of 50,000 staff. The inclusion of the Ministry of Transport in this year’s list, with only 180 intranet users, proves that size isn’t everything, and that a small but well-focused effort can produce a great intranet.
Claire Johnstone, General Manager of Corporate Services at the Ministry of Transport, said the brief given to the designers was to create an intranet which was user friendly, creative, easily updated and interactive.
“We’re delighted with the outcome which has been recognised by Nielsen. The credit though goes to Provoke Solutions, Capiche Design and Liverton who pulled it all together and created a world class tool which staff use.”
Provoke Solutions Company Director Mason Pratt is very happy to be kicking off the New Year on a high note.
“With the Ministry, a solution was required which delivered collaboration, content management and centralised communication. We are industry leaders in our implementation of Microsoft SharePoint 2007 so we had the technology to do the job. As far as government intranets go, it’s a pretty sexy one.”
The Nielsen Norman Group is a user-experience research firm that advises companies on how to succeed through human-centred design of products and services. Each year online commentator and principal of the Nielsen Norman Group, Jakob Nielsen, selects the ten best intranets from around the world. For more information about the 2008 top ten, visit http://www.nngroup.com/reports/intranet/design/awards.html
Contact Anna Gilbert, Senior Media & Communications Adviser, Ministry of Transport, on (04) 4399238 or 021 569 441.