What does DITA have to do with Wiki? Information development models and implementation ideas Central Texas DITA Users Group January 23, 2008

Introductions Ben Allums - Quadralay WebWorks Chris Almond – IBM Anne Gentle - OLPC Ragan Haggard - Sun

Ben Allums - Quadralay WebWorks

Chris Almond – IBM

Anne Gentle - OLPC

Ragan Haggard - Sun

Why use a wiki? Originally created in 1995 for making quick web pages Cross-platform, cross-browser Encourage collaboration - simultaneous edits Encourage crowdsourcing and customer's view point Living, breathing, changing documentation Easy linking to other wiki pages Subscription-based RSS feeds of recent changes, "watch" pages for edits Easy searches within the body of the wiki Scalability - many pages edited by many authors May save on customer support calls (eBay wiki) Customer might expect a wiki when a customer forum isn't enough Open source products often use wikis (Apache wiki) Registration and log ins can control authoring privileges

Originally created in 1995 for making quick web pages

Cross-platform, cross-browser

Encourage collaboration - simultaneous edits

Encourage crowdsourcing and customer's view point

Living, breathing, changing documentation

Easy linking to other wiki pages

Subscription-based RSS feeds of recent changes, "watch" pages for edits

Easy searches within the body of the wiki

Scalability - many pages edited by many authors

May save on customer support calls (eBay wiki)

Customer might expect a wiki when a customer forum isn't enough

Open source products often use wikis (Apache wiki)

Registration and log ins can control authoring privileges

Case study questions from WikiPatterns book Why did you choose a wiki? What type of wiki are you using? How are you using the wiki? What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki? Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place? Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern?

Why did you choose a wiki?

What type of wiki are you using?

How are you using the wiki?

What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki?

Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place?

Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern?

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ Why did you choose a wiki? Mailing lists and forums discounted due to redundancy (existing “wwp-users”) and high moderation requirements Already using them in Development Enables public project workspaces, a “garage” for projects Excellent place to “distill” reference materials

Why did you choose a wiki?

Mailing lists and forums discounted due to redundancy (existing “wwp-users”) and high moderation requirements

Already using them in Development

Enables public project workspaces, a “garage” for projects

Excellent place to “distill” reference materials

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ What type of wiki are you using? MoinMoin Active community Theme support Parser plug-ins (support for XML, ReStructured Text, alternate Wiki markup languages, source code) Product integration options Wiki Publishing

What type of wiki are you using?

MoinMoin

Active community

Theme support

Parser plug-ins (support for XML, ReStructured Text, alternate Wiki markup languages, source code)

Product integration options Wiki Publishing

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ How are you using the wiki? FAQ Tips and Tricks Developer documentation Projects – Enhancements Staging area for documentation enhancements

How are you using the wiki?

FAQ

Tips and Tricks

Developer documentation

Projects – Enhancements

Staging area for documentation enhancements

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki? Community self-help Outlet for extended Support Quick delivery of missing documentation Customers honing their information requests

What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki?

Community self-help

Outlet for extended Support

Quick delivery of missing documentation

Customers honing their information requests

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place? People Patterns: Invitation Adoption Patterns: Built-in obsolescence, Community Write, Magnet, Scaffold Adoption Anti-patterns: PageOwnership, Sandbox

Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place?

People Patterns: Invitation

Adoption Patterns: Built-in obsolescence, Community Write, Magnet, Scaffold

Adoption Anti-patterns: PageOwnership, Sandbox

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern? Patterns Actively request uses to place widely used “recipes” in the Wiki AuthorGroup editable by AuthorGroup Template pages and “New Page” forms GUI edits despite potential side-effects Anti-Patterns Comment boxes – Any level of involvement is welcome Ownership of home page (“FirstLast”) to reduce Wikiphobia

Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern?

Patterns

Actively request uses to place widely used “recipes” in the Wiki

AuthorGroup editable by AuthorGroup

Template pages and “New Page” forms

GUI edits despite potential side-effects

Anti-Patterns

Comment boxes – Any level of involvement is welcome

Ownership of home page (“FirstLast”) to reduce Wikiphobia

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ Requirements for creating a “Wiki Company” Identify your wiki’s goals Get everything out of people’s heads, white boards, Inboxes Focus on effectiveness, not perfection Train all users Create a hands-on lab Get people over the “Wikiphobia hump” Define workflows within the wiki as needed to promote the value of wiki use Services quotes Product designs Suggestions

Requirements for creating a “Wiki Company”

Identify your wiki’s goals

Get everything out of people’s heads, white boards, Inboxes

Focus on effectiveness, not perfection

Train all users

Create a hands-on lab

Get people over the “Wikiphobia hump”

Define workflows within the wiki as needed to promote the value of wiki use

Services quotes

Product designs

Suggestions

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ What does DITA have to do with Wiki? Maybe nothing How much training will you require of your domain specialists? You have one hour to teach them Wiki markup Base DITA topic structure Your specialized DITA topic structure

What does DITA have to do with Wiki?

Maybe nothing

How much training will you require of your domain specialists?

You have one hour to teach them

Wiki markup

Base DITA topic structure

Your specialized DITA topic structure

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ What does DITA have to do with Wiki? Goals Projects Good, Fast, Cheap Pick Two Content Knowledge, Reuse, Structure Pick One? Content goal for Wiki? Knowledge capture sounds pretty good

What does DITA have to do with Wiki?

Goals

Projects

Good, Fast, Cheap

Pick Two

Content

Knowledge, Reuse, Structure

Pick One?

Content goal for Wiki?

Knowledge capture sounds pretty good

Case study - WebWorks Wiki http://wiki.webworks.com/ What does DITA have to do with Wiki? Avoid the “Tyranny of One” Content authored by domain specialists will rarely/never be used directly Explore the “Sluice Box” concept Raw Wiki DITA topics Wiki Specialized DITA Topics Wiki Leverage “ SisterSites ” – Review changes to information as necessary

What does DITA have to do with Wiki?

Avoid the “Tyranny of One”

Content authored by domain specialists will rarely/never be used directly

Explore the “Sluice Box” concept

Raw Wiki

DITA topics Wiki

Specialized DITA Topics Wiki

Leverage “ SisterSites ” – Review changes to information as necessary

Case study - IBM BlueWiki (internal) Why did you choose a wiki? What type of wiki are you using? How are you using the wiki? What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki? Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place? Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern?

Why did you choose a wiki?

What type of wiki are you using?

How are you using the wiki?

What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki?

Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place?

Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern?

Case Study – One Laptop Per Child Why did you choose a wiki? OLPC chose a wiki as an open source solution to offering information to developer volunteers initially, but end-users also need documentation in their wiki. What type of wiki are you using? Mediawiki and Floss Manuals, which runs on TWiki, a structured wiki. How are you using the wiki? wiki.laptop.org contains all information about the XO laptop, but Floss Manuals contains targeted information for certain audiences. The structured nature of the wiki would let us re-use content for different audiences such as kids, parents, school admins, or teachers. What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki? Since they started with it from the beginning, the only changes I’d say I observed was my own learning and building of mental models for the use of wikis for information storage.

Why did you choose a wiki? OLPC chose a wiki as an open source solution to offering information to developer volunteers initially, but end-users also need documentation in their wiki.

What type of wiki are you using? Mediawiki and Floss Manuals, which runs on TWiki, a structured wiki.

How are you using the wiki? wiki.laptop.org contains all information about the XO laptop, but Floss Manuals contains targeted information for certain audiences. The structured nature of the wiki would let us re-use content for different audiences such as kids, parents, school admins, or teachers.

What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki? Since they started with it from the beginning, the only changes I’d say I observed was my own learning and building of mental models for the use of wikis for information storage.

Case Study – One Laptop Per Child Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place? The Invitation pattern is a nicely done people pattern. They also have a nice Starting point on the OLPC wiki. And Welcoming is definitely a part of their best practices, even though it’s very difficult for them to keep up with the interest in volunteering. Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern? I know there have been acts of Vandalism on people’s talk pages, but those just get reversed immediately by a very on-their-toes administrator. I guess the act was in retaliation for an answer someone gave in an FAQ. I also see a little bit of ThreadMess going on with some development-oriented pages.

Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place? The Invitation pattern is a nicely done people pattern. They also have a nice Starting point on the OLPC wiki. And Welcoming is definitely a part of their best practices, even though it’s very difficult for them to keep up with the interest in volunteering.

Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern? I know there have been acts of Vandalism on people’s talk pages, but those just get reversed immediately by a very on-their-toes administrator. I guess the act was in retaliation for an answer someone gave in an FAQ. I also see a little bit of ThreadMess going on with some development-oriented pages.

What does DITA have to do with Wiki? Is wiki source or output? Wikislices - using a DITA map to keep up with wiki “topic” (article) changes DITA Storm – web-enabled DITA editor, but not very wiki-like DITA to wikitext XSLT transform, but no round trip, have writers determine what content goes back to DITA source

Is wiki source or output?

Wikislices - using a DITA map to keep up with wiki “topic” (article) changes

DITA Storm – web-enabled DITA editor, but not very wiki-like

DITA to wikitext XSLT transform, but no round trip, have writers determine what content goes back to DITA source

Case study - Sun OpenDS Wiki https://www.opends.org/wiki Why did you choose a wiki? To create and distribute open-source technical documentation and so gain the contributions from the wider community. What type of wiki are you using? JSPWiki How are you using the wiki? www.opends.org/wiki provides user doc and developer documentation for an open source directory service. What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki? The wiki enables me to work 24 hours a day.

Why did you choose a wiki? To create and distribute open-source technical documentation and so gain the contributions from the wider community.

What type of wiki are you using? JSPWiki

How are you using the wiki? www.opends.org/wiki provides user doc and developer documentation for an open source directory service.

What changes have you seen as a result of using the wiki? The wiki enables me to work 24 hours a day.

Case study - Sun OpenDS Wiki https://www.opends.org/wiki Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place? Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern? Oddly enough, I promote the EmptyPages anti-pattern as a way for users to communicate their wish list to the community. We also persist in the Sandbox anti-pattern, because we think its useful. We're also planning to maintain the Registration Required anti-pattern because we need contributors to accept our terms of use and registration is the mechanism for that. Plus, I'm apprehensive about the amount of vandalism that would occur without registration.

Looking at WikiPatterns.com, which patterns or anti-patterns are in place? Have you done anything to encourage one pattern or squash out an anti-pattern? Oddly enough, I promote the EmptyPages anti-pattern as a way for users to communicate their wish list to the community. We also persist in the Sandbox anti-pattern, because we think its useful. We're also planning to maintain the Registration Required anti-pattern because we need contributors to accept our terms of use and registration is the mechanism for that. Plus, I'm apprehensive about the amount of vandalism that would occur without registration.