6. Establish the infrastructure
Infrastructure delays can frequently impede projects. These complexities often impose requirements on the network architecture, content management, database connectivity, application communications and security infrastructure. Plan the portal development and runtime environments early on, possibly as distinct phases that are managed accordingly.
7. Design the user experience
The "behind the scenes" work of various applications integrated by the portal should be invisible to the user -- no matter how complex. Prior to the design phase, ask:
- What are the user segments you want to engage?
- What are the main tasks they'll perform?
- How will the portal impact productivity?
- Have the project goals been reconciled against the costs?
The answers to these questions are key to a compelling, cost-effective experience. Common tools used to ensure a successful user experience include usability testing, personas, user surveys, task analysis, card sorting and taxonomies.
8. Clarify content management infrastructure
While the goal is an integrated and seamless front end, portal content is often managed by dispersed business units, each with disparate development and workflow requirements.
In many legacy applications, a simple content change requires a striking amount of lead time; this is in direct conflict with the notion that portal success is measured by its ability to deliver timely information and services.
Content management systems can address this pain, providing business units with greater control over content and allowing non-technical users to manage content using familiar desktop tools.
As portal infrastructures require consistent, well-categorised content in order to target relevant information for the user, many portal products feature integrated content management technology. The ideal scenario is to service the varying system requirements using a common platform. To this end, content management should be an enterprise-wide effort that facilitates the many content needs of your portal application.
9. Identify security needs
Portals generally require security services such as confidentiality, integrity and availability. Because portals integrate multiple applications, single sign-on (SSO) is often critical for a successful user experience, as it provides security across applications using a single authentication request. Ask:
- Must your portal integrate with sensitive external applications?
- Is there an existing security framework?
- Will the portal be accessed from multiple locations and devices, with different security requirements and capabilities?
- Will it integrate with services provided by external partners with different security policies and integration requirements?
The answers to these questions will determine whether the portal platform provides the necessary infrastructure to meet your security requirements.
10. Invest in testing
Portal projects bring together a large amount of functionality. If managed improperly, integration may result in unexpected and complex issues, such as contention for system resources. Define test cases early and plan for extensive user testing to ensure a scenario that works across the enterprise.
With technology advancements that have vastly improved portal products, a portal can be a sound business investment. However, organisations evaluating portals should understand the complexities beyond technology. Because the technology frequently integrates a diverse set of content and services, portal initiatives tend to cross organisational boundaries and involve multiple stakeholders with differing business objectives. Success is determined by how well the portal is planned -- and later, by the extent it is utilised. Taking the steps outlined in this article will help you prepare for this potentially rich and rewarding journey.
Brian Hazzard is Senior Consultant, Technical Architect, Molecular.
