KLMNO
IT Workspace Wiki Update
Background and lessons learned regarding wiki for
collaboration and documentation in the IT Department
Dave Burke
Manager, IT Web Solutions
February 2008
dave burke

KLMNO
IT Workspace Update
• Background
• What’s a wiki
• Lessons learned so far
• Special Offer
dave burke

KLMNO
Background - Web Solutions
• Back to 2005, we’ve been struggling with how to
better support our apps
• Much of the problem stemmed from important
knowledge being trapped
• Various private and shared drives
• Old email threads
• But mostly, individual brains
dave burke

KLMNO
Background - Web Solutions
The mantra:
“Let’s hope [insert
resource name here]
doesn’t get hit by a
bus.”
Or worse. . .
http://flickr.com/photos/squeakymarmot/2200609113/
dave burke

KLMNO
Risk of wetware-based knowledge storage
On most Saturdays. . .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aok/2190318934 http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikelo/614958266/
Technical Architect His boss
dave burke

KLMNO
Background - Web Solutions
• 2006-2007: The stakes for web application support
were getting higher
• SOA was making troubleshooting more complex
• SAP integration was making it more business critical
• We needed a better process, and a better
knowledge storage tool
• We tried a wiki
• 60-day pilot with Dokuwiki, an open-source product
dave burke

KLMNO
What is a wiki?
dave burke

KLMNO
What is a wiki?
A collection of web pages
Every page is editable
Just click, type, and save.
Every page has a name
Link by page name; no HTML
required.
Source: Ross Mayfield. http://www.slideshare.net/ross/new-paradigms-for-using-computers
dave burke

KLMNO
What is a wiki?
• Wikis build group memory (or at
least a better chance at it)
• Simplifies collaboration (everyone
works on the same document)
• Aggregates related information
• Accuracy through peer review
• Every page revision is saved
Source: Ross Mayfield. http://www.slideshare.net/ross/new-paradigms-for-using-computers
• Roll-back changes with a click
dave burke

KLMNO
What is a wiki?
dave burke

KLMNO
“Destination of first resort”1
1 http://www.hssonline.org/publications/Newsletter2008/NewsJan2008Ross.html
dave burke

KLMNO
Background - Web Solutions
• Results from our 60-day pilot
• Wiki works as a platform
• But the product we chose didn’t cut it
• Special markup language
• Users were anonymous
• Attachments/Images were difficult to handle
• Even so, we kept using it
dave burke

KLMNO
Document Repository Study project
• 2007 IT Project
• Analyzed multiple products spanning traditional
document management, wikis, and blogs
dave burke

KLMNO
Document Repository Study project
We chose Socialtext.
• WYSIWYG Editor - no markup
language
• Named users and single signon
• Full-text search, including
attachments
• Email, RSS integration
• Tagging for dynamic
organization and blogs
dave burke

KLMNO
Lessons learned so far
• We’re starting to see real documentation benefits
• Building that organizational memory
• Indications that wiki could improve the culture
• Extra benefits come from doing work on the wiki, and
tracking work on the wiki. . .
• People who hoard information, or just don’t share it, get
outed. And they get out-competed compared to those
sharing information.1
• But getting your team to change the way they work
requires long-term commitment and daily reinforcement
1Ross Mayfield. http://www.interop.com/newyork/archive/videos/playvideo/index.php?vid=interop-new-york-web2
dave burke

KLMNO
Lessons learned so far
• 90% of wiki success is half mental
• Mindset shift from traditional documentation
Traditional New
1. Write 1. Write
2. Edit 2. Publish
3. Publish 3. Edit
(repeat)
dave burke

KLMNO
Lessons learned so far
• 90% of wiki success is half mental
• Publishing Anxiety
• A belief that the wiki is more “official” makes people think
their work needs to be polished and 100% accurate, which
leads to fear and procrastination.
• Current: \"I'm happy to answer questions in the hallway and by
email, but writing something 'official' is a bigger deal.\"
• New and Better: “I understand that the IT Workspace is a living
document. I can contribute information I’m only ‘pretty sure’ about,
and note it as such, just like I would in email.”
dave burke

KLMNO
Lessons learned so far
• 90% of wiki success is half mental
• Organize-as-you-go model takes getting used to
#1 Question about the wiki so far:
“Put this info on the wiki? Okay. . . where?”
dave burke

KLMNO
Lessons learned so far
• 90% of wiki success is half mental
• Mindset shift - Sharing by default
• Current: \"I only know of three people who need this information, so I'll email it
to them.\"
• New and Better: \"I only know of three people who need this information, so I'll
put it on the wiki for them, and any others I don't know about.\"
• Best: “The wiki is my default tool for communication, because it's easy, and it
gives me maximum value for my time. I only use email when I really need
privacy.”
dave burke

KLMNO
Lessons learned so far
• 90% of wiki success is half mental
• Some things in life aren’t pretty.
The Socialtext UI is one of
those things.
• Lots of user frustration stemming
from trying to make Socialtext
pages prettier; achieve complicated
formatting; duplicate the look of
Word docs
• My best advice: don’t try to fight it.
Focus your energy on Socialtext’s
strengths: sharing, aggregating,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stjohnplanner/15710638/
linking, tagging.
dave burke

KLMNO
Special offer for Post Managers
dave burke

KLMNO
Special offer
30 Mi
• Give me a call/email nutes
Guara
ntee d
!
• We’ll work for 30 minutes
• You’ll have your starter section of the wiki
dave burke

KLMNO
That’s it.
Questions? Find me at daveburke.com
dave burke