Getting started with wikis. By Sunir Shah San Diego, California October 18, 2005

Part I. Background

Working together How do we work together before the Internet? (or telephones) Face-to-face (f2f) Meetings (incl. ad hoc) Encounters Documents Messages Reports Binders Artifacts Thing we are building Thing we are using Space Walls, doors Tables, chairs Bookshelves, cabinets

Working together on the Internet How is the Internet different from f2f? DistanceHere/there/anywhere/everywhere; local/global. TimeInstantly and/or asynchronously. Persistent, searchable. ControlOur communication is shaped by the media we use. (Our media are rarely shaped by our communication.)

Top-down vs. bottom-up Who owns, uses the network? Networks are expensive. Use is dictated top-down by investors (i.e. your boss). ERP, CRM, … Networks are ubiquitous. Use is dictated bottom-up by people talking to people. , instant messaging, blogs, wikis…

Working online We do what we are told to do. As employees, we follow the process given to us. As users, we follow the structure coded for us. We do what we need to do. As workers, we work around the process. As creatives, we build new, better processes.

Too much is the default exception handler. Software often fails, or doesn’t exist,  We use to cover the gap. is under our control. vs. Our is out of control.

Problem stated We need more appropriate tools within our control that structure communication flexibly like furniture. (Think tables, chairs, bookshelves, corkboards, flipcharts, rooms, walls, doors, binders, cabinets, envelopes, paper.)

“Social software” … , instant messaging, chat, blogs, wikis. Software that mediates relationships between people. Simple, small, flexible. Constructed (by you) vs. structured (for you) Bottom-up vs. top-down.

Distance Time Control

Distance Time Control Structure Person-to-person conversations, encounters.  Group discussions are a like a crowd.

Wikis Distance Time Control

Wikis Distance Time Control Structure Central focus of a ‘conversation’. (Like a flipchart, corkboard, whiteboard.)  Group discussions are teamwork.

What is a wiki? Like a whiteboard: A wiki is a centralized resource. (web service) Content is persistent, but editable. Openly editable by everyone with access.

What is a wiki? Unlike a whiteboard: A wiki has ‘infinite’ space (rather than 3’x4’). All versions are saved and tracked. A hypertext, not a drawing surface.  Document-centric. You can use what you haven’t built yet.

How wikis fit in Whenever you need an open space of common focus for a group constructing a common outcome, working over the Net, use a wiki.

Part II. Use cases

Knowledge preservation Ideas from conversations by a crowd are lost.  Ideas are lost in your inbox.  Conversations are repeated. Therefore, move conversations into a wiki.  Common space, focus, outcome.  Preserve and edit into knowledge. Knowledge base, FAQ, support Q&A, sales dossier, internal documentation, competitve intelligence.

Document writing Using for collaborative document writing is document tennis. Everyone is blocked waiting for the current author to finish. (Power struggle.) Lose track of too many versions. Therefore, use a wiki to write the document. Paper, report, contract, RfP, standard.

Process management Teams often use for ad-hoc processes. is best for one-on-one, private conversations. workflow is structured in our heads. Therefore, use a wiki for ad-hoc processes. Do group process in a common space. Build a workflow in a common artifact.

Decision-making Group decision making involves: Collecting resources, ideas, positions. Organizing points. Resolving positions. Writing common outcome. Building on top of the outcome Therefore, use a wiki to collect, organize, resolve, write, and build.

Part III. Growing a wiki

Gardening as a metaphor content

Need Can only move workflow Can’t just install it Look for where your workflow hurts or problems you need to build new workflow for

Objective Identify your objective

Layout content

Seed posting content

Launch content

Marketing content

Norms content

Renorming content

Part IV. Tending a wiki

Discussion and discussed content

Restructure: top-down content

Restructure: bottom-up content

Brainstorm-point form-reform content

Stripping content