User-Centered Design of a Customized Intranet Portal for a Large Public University

Intranet portals can provide a centralized source of company information, web applications, and external links that are customized for the needs of each employee, increasing employee productivity and effectiveness. However, they are only effective when they support user needs in an effective and usable fashion. In 2003, Florida International University (FIU) began the process of creating an intranet portal for use by its 34,000 students. The portal would provide web-based email functionality along with profile-driven University information and preference-based external links. This is expected to increase student use of the FIU email system, facilitate dissemination of FIU information to students, improve achievement of educational goals, streamline university processes such as registration, provide cost savings to the university, and increase student satisfaction. This paper describes the user-centered design process that was used to create the MyFIU portal and provides guidance for the development of Int...