Pitfall 9: Implementing a great portal framework that no one uses. Even if a portal has a full set of functionality, without buy-in from the user communities it will not get leveraged and will eventually wither. This is the most common portal pitfall.
Pitfall 10: Having a portal that starts out strong, but disappears in a year when the novelty wears off. Lack of fresh content and inability to access applications useful on a daily basis doom a portal to being just another toy in the closet.
How to avoid: Market the portal internally and maintain strong feedback loops. A portal should be heavily marketed to internal groups and partners. Other groups that may be planning sophisticated Web sites or competing portal efforts must be aware of the upcoming consolidation. The marketing efforts should be aimed at soliciting input while "freezing out" potential internal competition. The value of the portal will be tied to its visibility among its constituencies as a hub for information, data, collaboration, and application access. A systematic portal measurement process is essential for a continuous feedback loop aimed at improving overall quality of experience for sponsors, users, and business partners.
Business impact: Developing an employee portal will accelerate the rate of an organization's decision making and notification, while reducing the costs of bureaucratic inefficiencies.
