Weaving your own web
A guide to Intranet and electronic newsletters
How did I get involved?
I first became interested in web technology as a result of having sons who created their own web pages in a rash of enthusiasm some years ago. At the time my eldest son was studying maths/computer science at Adelaide University. I still recall him trying to explain to me what a ‘webpage’ was.
Their interest in creating web pages, as opposed to viewing others, has waned - mine has blossomed. To some extent it is the age old story. I saw a use for the technology on a day to day basis to make my life easier and, although this may seem strange to some of you, I enjoy 'playing' with computers.
The starting point was to gain a knowledge of html (hypertext markup language). This is a collection of commands or tags which is used to create web pages. Having done that, I started by writing my own web page. This went through a number of evolutionary stages. My early attempts didn’t have the advantage of web editing programs like Microsoft FrontPage - I wrote html with a text editing program such as notepad and some of the early attempts at web authoring software.
To give an example
<html>
<head>
<title>Civil Jurisdiction</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div align="center"><center>
<table border="2" width="100%" bgcolor="#000080">
<tr>
<td width="100%"><p align="center">
<font face="Arial" size="4" color="#FFFFFF">
<b>Magistrates Court of South Australia</b></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center></div>
This code has had all the FrontPage flack removed, but still only creates this heading
|
Magistrates Court of South Australia |
For those of you who haven’t tried manually writing html I wouldn’t really recommend it these days, although a knowledge of html code does help at times to fix problems that FrontPage seems to delight in creating.
My web page
My person web page is at http://users.chariot.net.au/~arn/ (obsolete file)
Use of the
button will return you here.
I have received numerous contacts from all over the world. Some that come to mind are:-
A woman currently living in Saudi Arabia who had lived nearby in Adelaide and was reminded of home;
A young man in Eastern Europe who was trying to locate his uncle in Adelaide and had an old telephone number without the 8th digit;
A man from the USA who was interested in finding out more information about the O Bahn (there are photographs of it on my webpage);
A young woman from Germany who had the address of a friend in Adelaide and wanted to know where it was in Adelaide; and
A family from South Africa who were interested in migrating to Australia. I had numerous e-mails backwards and forwards with them culminating in them migrating to Australia in October 1999. They now reside in Hobart after spending around 9 months in Adelaide.
Internet access policy
The State Courts Administrator and I attended CTC6 (Courts Technology Conference 6) in Los Angeles last September. This Conference was conducted under the auspices of the National Centre for State Courts. It made it abundantly clear that Internet technology is the only way forward. In order to enable the users, the attitude of strict controls over access to browsers should be considered a thing of the past. A realistic, up to date Internet access policy is a vital start point. The Courts Administration Authority now has a policy regarding Internet access which recognises the significant role that the Internet plays in the modern world. Click here to view a copy. Use of the
As was said by our e-business strategist recently in a paper on raising Internet and e-business awareness:-
"If we recognise that the Internet is a "professional tool" or even a "tool of trade" (if it isn't now, it soon will be), then like providing a clerk with pencil and paper or a typist with a typewriter, we should provide Internet access to staff. It (Internet/e-business) should be part of any Staff Development courses and enshrined into agendas alongside OH&S and the Budget."
What is the/an Intranet
A file (document) in html format can be viewed by web browser software ie Internet Explorer, Netscape etc whether that file is on a computer the other side of the world (Internet), or on some part of a shared network (Intranet). Thus by placing documents of common usage on the network, and using the Hypertext linking facilities of html, you have an Intranet site where those people within your organisation can access documents with the same ease as on Internet sites. Not only that but there can be links on those documents which give them access to site on the Internet. Security levels dictate who has access to an organisation's Intranet
"With Intranet technology, the vision of putting knowledge at the fingertips of every employee and accessing it on the desktop has become reality. Workers can truly be ‘empowered’ through timely access to the information they need to do their work - whenever and wherever they need it."
Kathleen Anton, Effective Intranet Publishing: Getting Critical Knowledge to Any Employee, Anywhere
INTRANET DESIGN MAGAZINE (May 5, 2000)
Many organisations now recognise the importance of an Intranet in the overall development of their organisation. Ron Kawalilak, Director, Strategic Development and Corporate Affairs for the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management reviewed the development of what they call CALMweb, in September 1999. A full copy of his paper is attached. Use of the
He said:-
"With the expansion of a reliable computer network to most CALM offices, with a wide range of data bases and computerised information resources already available within the Department, with ample evidence that people like technology that they can access and manipulate at their convenience, and with widespread recognition within CALM of the success of the Department's Internet site NatureBase, creation of an Intranet site was a logical way to address this opportunity."
The goal in doing this was to create and market an employee communications program that was rational, flexible, informative and responsive to all employees.
The specific objectives were expressed as follows:
To provide all CALM employees with timely and easy access to information that allows them to do their jobs efficiently and more productively;
To present the information in an easy to understand format;
To create a dynamic and interactive communications program that engages and involves employees;
To develop a communications tool that would reduce the volume, cost, and occurrence of out-of-date printed materials in CALM; and
To foster interaction and teamwork between all employees in CALM.
The strategies that they used are set out in the paper. What this has in common with many other Intranet site development exercises is that the ongoing work of adding and editing content remains with a team of 'in-house' web authors thus giving the organisation ownership of the resource.
Why have an Intranet?
The primary reason for building an Intranet that it is an effective tool to combat the waste of time, effort and materials within an organization at the same time generating new opportunities for collaboration and productivity. Accordingly, there are both tangible and intangible benefits, some of which are as follows:
Tangible
Easy to use, just point and click
Saves time and money, better information faster
Based on open standards
Scalable and flexible
Connects across disparate platforms
Puts users in control of their dataIntangible
Improved decision making Empowered users
Builds a culture of sharing and collaboration
Facilitates organizational learning
Improved quality of life at work
Improved productivityIt is not only the removal of paper that leads to organizational benefit. What is done with that information in this new Web-enabled environment has a huge impact. Intranets allow an organization to spend less time on things that bring no value such as chasing down the right information to solve a problem.
Productivity increases as corporate knowledge is more accessible and the data is more accurate. Flexibility in time of delivery of knowledge is gained as information is always a click away. Intranets allow for a place where boundaries are lowered and information exchange is encouraged. This leads to more informed employees with the ability to make better, faster decisions. This in turn leads to better productivity and more time for revenue generation.
The development of our Intranet
The Intranet site for the Magistrates Court of South Australia has not been done in quite as sophisticated a way as the Western Australian example. It has been a virtual one man effort of mine, with some assistance in content.
For some years I had been the author of the Magistrates Benchbook in South Australia. It seemed to be a natural progression to use my html skills to convert the Benchbook to that format and make it available "on line". This process commenced in the same manner as I had started my html writing by manually writing the code. All that has now changed and I, and a number of others now have FrontPage. This, or any other of the editing programs makes the creating web pages as easy as using a word processing program.
The Intranet is now available to all in the Courts Administration Authority who have access to Internet Explorer.
Current contents Unfortunately as these documents are on the S A Courts Intranet site you will not be able to view them via the hypertext links. Use of the
The Intranet site, like the Internet is an active, evolving medium. I look forward to more additions to the site. I encourage my colleagues to submit information, documents and any other material that might be useful for inclusion. When this happens, it is important to recognise the contributions of others to the site and give credit to authors.
The site looks quite different to what it did 6 months ago. I have no doubt that it will look very different in another 6 or 12 months.
The Courts Administration Authority has been working through it's web priorities step by step as I have headed off on my own part of the net. This is in no way meant as a criticism. They have important priorities. My site has developed on an ad hoc basis, a bit like topsy. The Authority has just established an Internet Reference Group charged with the responsibility of having the overall control of both the Internet site and the yet to be developed Intranet site.
In the introductory discussion to the recommendation to establish this committee it was said:-
The Authority's use and understanding of the Internet is gathering momentum. Our aim is to maintain and increase the momentum whilst ensuring that there is adequate support (technical and other) for the various initiatives. Some chaotic activity is to be expected and encouraged but we also need some order in our development.
Perhaps that last sentence is aimed at me.
For information about Intranets I would recommend visiting Intranet Design Magazine (http://idm.internet.com/). Use of the
Having created an Intranet site that one knows one's way around like the back of ones hand is one thing, but to get other Magistrates/Judges to use it is another. New technology needs to be gradually introduced. Some will grab it and run with it immediately, others will be reluctant to change their ways.
Innovations in this area, as with any other, should be introduced in a non threatening way, but equally in a way which shows the user the benefits. Non essential information should, initially ONLY be available via Intranet. Gradually as users become familiar with what is there, all information should be available that way. You must create a desire to use the facilities by making it easy and non threatening to use. Users will then see the advantages and want more. You create the need. The first step is to have access to Internet browsers recognised as a basic necessity. Everyone, from the Chief Justice to the base grade clerks should have access to this software.
Some of the biggest wins on Intranet sites are things that people use everyday such as the internal telephone directory or any forms that might be available. Rather than having to walk somewhere and get one, they can print it from the Intranet (or better yet, fill it out online). This is also good for version control. If any changes are made to the form, they only need to be made in one place. It also eliminates stockpiling multiple copies of forms.
It's great if you can make the Intranet the only place to get these items because it forces users to go there which will get them thinking up ideas of other things they would like to see. Even somewhat trivial items like the cafeteria lunch menu are big hits or the local weather are gimmicks for getting them interested.
Departments that are centred on support could post FAQ's, Tips & Tricks, Instructional documentation, etc. to minimise phone calls to the Help Desk or other support areas.
The way that I have gone about generating user interest is to create an electronic newsletter. Once again this is in html. It has hypertext links to areas on the Intranet, it can have hypertext links to sites on the Internet. This aims to inform the users, in my case of all new Magistrates judgments that have been added to the Intranet, new editions of "Caseweek" - a pdf format newsletter produced by the Law Society by my brother Magistrate Kelvyn Prescott, and to bit by bit introduce other areas of the Intranet to my colleagues. Click here to see an example - once again the links won't work - use the
You need a team
This is not something to be taken on alone. It is important that work isn’t duplicated. As an example, I happened to be talking to someone within the CAA - she asked my advice as to how she should go about preparing forms for our web site – I had already done it.
Whilst it is desirable that the leader, or a member of the team, is html literate, others need only have word processing skills and a knowledge of a web authoring program.
More important, there is a need to be constantly aware of the need for new content - from those who are expert in the area. From my experience and with some exceptions, it is very difficult in this country to get judicial officers to put 'pen' to 'paper' on matters of academic interest. Potential authors need to be encouraged to put material 'on line'
The CAA has now set up the Internet reference group to which I referred earlier. This consists of the following members:-
Manager, e-Business Transformation as convenor
Manager Communications
Both of our Senior Librarians
The Webmaster
It is proposed that the group maintain very close contact within all Divisions, Branches and Judicial Officers directly involved in Internet related activity so that
small initiatives which do not have large resource demands can be enabled to be implemented quickly and
we do not have to make the Reference Group a cumbersome entity with representation from every part of the organisation.
Publish the contents
You need not only to tell them what you’ve done but somehow get them to use it. That’s where the e-newsletter comes in.
The site is permanently
Whilst content of your Intranet site is arguably more important than the way it is presented (at least initially), it is important that you keep at the task of ever improving what is available. All pages should have a "last updated" note somewhere obvious so that users know how up to date the pages are. I have adopted a practice of putting that in a contrasting colour near the top of the page viz:
[last updated 23 August 2000]
Search engine
I am a firm believer that a substantial web site needs to have a search engine. The reason - a visitor sees many different sites that are set up in very different ways. They need a search engine to assist them to find something, if it is on the site.
An Intranet site though may be different, depending on the size. The only users are those within your organisation. If you have promoted your site well through an electronic newsletter, they should be sufficiently familiar with the layout that they will not need a search engine. This will obviously depend to a large extent on the amount of information that you store on your Intranet. Once you start storing masses of judgments the need for such a facility will grow.
KIS (Keep it simple)
Don't try to make it too fancy. When I first started I wouldn't use frames, but now that the standard of browsers means that virtually everyone has a browser that can cope with them (especially where the Intranet is concerned) I prefer to use them. Don't be tempted to use lashings of Java script just to show that you can!
My version has cost virtually nothing to produce to date (except my time). The Western Australian CALM site, which is obviously more sophisticated, had a total budget between February 1998 and June 1999 of $15,000, but only cost $12,750. This included the cost of software and hardware used to develop CALMweb and the services of the web consultancy.
It doesn't include the cost of CALM staff involvement as no extra staff were hired or the cost of computer infrastructure as it already existed for other purposes.
Significantly, now that many forms, manuals and other documents are available ONLY on their Intranet, have resulted in savings in printing costs estimated in 1998/99 to be more than $16,000 per year.
I am told that since then the savings annually are many times that.
The bottom line is:-
you have the resources to do this
the data is already available
the personnel are there
it need cost you little or nothing to produce when you take account of the savings generated.
