Wikis are collaborative websites that allow all users to easily add and edit content. They provide version control so edits can be tracked and previous versions accessed. Wikis lower barriers to authoring and updating documentation, making collaboration fast and easy. They are well-suited for technical documentation in higher education IT where systems are complex, documentation is challenging, and institutional knowledge must be shared. MediaWiki is an open-source wiki platform commonly used for technical documentation projects.

1. Wiki-Do The Way of the Wiki Sean Yo Computing and Communications Services University of Guelph

2. What is a Wiki? A Wiki is a tool for creating and managing web-published content Articles are authored with simple text markup through the web Changes are tracked and can be rolled back Articles can link together, forming networks of information ALL content can be changed by EVERYONE Wikipedia is an popular example of a Wiki

3. What Do Wikis Deliver? Content becomes a partnership, a communal project “ Instant” Authoring Updates, Corrections, Deletions & New Articles Versioning Who Made an Edit, What was Edited, When was it Edited Easy to view or even roll back to any version of the article Easy to follow what’s new/changed Geek Street Cred

4. Why Do Wikis Matter? Obligatory Google Quote: “ This company runs on wikis.” - Shashi Seth, Sr. Product Manager at Google

5. Why Do Wikis Matter? Wikis deliver on the promise of the Web Original Design of the Web Intended uses include Centralized Publishing & Collaborative Authoring Multi-user system where all users can edit pages Version Control – page “histories” Notification of New Content Wikis are a system where information is easily shared, where readers and authors are one and the same.

6. Why Do Wikis Matter? Easy and effective Make documenting simple and usable Designed for collaboration and coordination Make authoring content fast and easy Deliver instant gratification for updating and maintaining content Documentation Holy Grail

7. How do Wikis Work? informal, quick & accessible; remarkably easy to set up. Wiki As Technology Reduces the barrier to entry to almost zero Designed from the ground up for multiple authors Easy to access anywhere, making it remarkably useable Separates Content from Discussion Wiki Culture Creating an article becomes only as hard as it is to write No arcane CMS or being powerless to publish Community of authors and readers “ Refactoring makes the work supple”

8. How Do Wikis Work? Open access to content. ALL content can be changed by EVERYONE “ Well, nice idea, but it'll never work. People will just ruin it!”. 3 reasons Wikis don't just fall apart: Everyone can edit – if there is vandalism, you can just fix it! Wikis create communities which care for the Wiki Changes are tracked. It takes trivial effort to repair damage

9. How do Wikis Not Work? Wiki as Technology Webserver outage User experience of using “wiki markup” for authoring Wiki as Culture Content Integrity Wikis have no editorial control Can lead to inaccurate or duplicate articles Content and style guides are essential Edit Wars If a community form around a point of view, it can lead to an article “tug-of-war”

10. Public Vs. Private Wikis The original Wiki idea is firmly grounded in public access. Anonymity is an important factor as well Wikis can be configured to be private All the benefits of a Wiki None of the potential complications Private wikis should be free from dealing with issues of vandalism and edit wars.

11. Why Use a Wiki? Wikis will work for A group or a team of authors Writing and maintaining centralized, authoritative documents Wikis enable fast, easy collaboration Wikis empower people to share in the ownership of content and the systems, services, processes, policies and procedures they document Wikis require collaboration – Wikis help build teams Wikis enable teams to be more productive, effective and agile by solving the documentation problem

12. Why Should You Use Wikis? How can Higher Ed IT best use a Wiki? Collaborative Technical Documentation Original use case for Wikis Large, complex, ever-changing systems Prioritizing documentation is a challenge Change management is a challenge Developing institutional memory is a challenge Content is intended for a small group or team

13. Why Should You Use Wikis? Large, complex, ever-changing systems Wikis are an organic system which can grow with whatever system it is documenting Prioritizing documentation is a challenge Wikis make documentation as painless as possible Change management is a challenge Easy to maintain documentation supports and encourages documenting change Developing institutional memory is a challenge Wikis provide an ongoing history that is easily accessible, using current documentation as the point of reference Content is intended for a small group or team Wikis can be “walled” off for private consumption only

14. Wiki Patterns for I.T. Collaborative Technical Documentation Service & Product documentation Installation/Migration notes Procedures, Recipes and How-To’s Meeting Minutes To Do tracking Other patterns include such use cases as project management and even an agile content management system

15. Wiki Patterns for I.T. Private Wiki Defined Content Schema Service based content architecture Project tracking which becomes service pages Clear content and style guides Build value for the team to drive adoption Collaborative model No “owners” of an article

16. MediaWiki MediaWiki Software developed for Wikipedia Well positioned to become a standard, much like Apache for web hosting Open Source software Very well suited for teams MediaWiki Set Up LAMP Server (PHP & MySQL required) MediaWiki code Install Script

17. MediaWiki in Action

18. How to Design a Wiki Every Wiki Needs A Plan Content Schema (Information Architecture) Use the MainPage as the Wiki Start Page Use Categories and Subcategories Remember: categories are like tags. Articles can have multiple categories Use Subpages Allows a hierarchal organization of articles Breadcrumb style navigation

19. How to Work with Wikis Wikis work when they are driven by a community/team working toward the same goal Follow the Plan Recent Changes Page keeps users up to date Recent changes is syndicated out of the box RSS & ATOM Enforce separation of content and discussion Make changes as needed Wiki content is intended to be refactored whenever it is needed. Don’t worry…you can always go back!

20. Planting Your Own Wiki Build Strong Buy-In Take the plunge and fix it as you go Wikis are designed to refactor content Convince by doing Use a “bite-size” project to prove “Wikis Work” Get people involved – assign articles to write or review to get them to take the plunge Once people start using a Wiki, they won’t want to stop

21. How to Care for your Wiki To thrive Wikis need to be watered, weeded and pruned A core team should be responsible for monitoring activity and supporting the use of content and style guides Clean up duplicate articles or misplaced articles Wabi-Sabi The beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. Wikis are FUN! Wikis are wide open spaces. Make it your own and don’t forget to play

22. May The Wiki Be With You Wikis are a powerful community/team driven information management tool Wikis are informal, quick & accessible; remarkably easy to set up. Allows for process to be determined by how people work, not how the software works Want to talk Wikis? Sean Yo [email_address]