Wiki from theory to practice

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Wiki from Theory to Practice

Niklas SinanderEnterprise Content ManagerEUMETSAT

[email protected]

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Mission... to deliver operational satellitedata and products that satisfythe meteorological and climatedata requirements of itsMember States – 24 hours a day,365 days a year

Darmstadt, Germany

550 employees

30+ nationalities

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Our problem

Employee fluctuationLong time to settle inSettling in informationout of dateLarge number of emails

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Our solution: Internal wiki

Open to all and easy to useContent created by employeesAlways up to dateSelf governingLess non business related emails

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Experiences from the field

Launch activitiesStumbling blocksFirst ImpressionsTweaksDid it meet the need?

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Some hard facts

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Page views Updates New articles

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Some things to consider before you start …

Real need or just a new toyWiki or Do NothingCompany cultureManagement attitudeCritical mass of peopleCritical mass of contentGeographical spreadOrganisation wide or unit/projectGrass Root or Top Down

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and when you have got the green light to implement…In house or outsourcedConsider usability – simple/advancedEstablish measurement baselineStart with a clear use caseDedicated user groupsDefine a Governance ModelDefine Usage guidelinesDevelop Wiki Editing GuidelinesOffer trainingBe patient!

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Wiki Editing Guidelines – adopted from wikipedia1. Be bold! in editing pages. Go ahead, it's a wiki! 2. Encourage others to edit articles, including those who disagree with

you, likewise to Be bold! 3. Be civil to other users at all times. 4. When in doubt, take it to the article’s Discussion page. Mutual respect

is the guiding behavioural principle of the wiki and it is easier to accept changes if the reasons for them are understood.

5. Assume good faith; in other words, try to consider the person on the other end of the discussion to be a thinking, rational being who is trying to positively contribute to the wiki.

6. Be gracious: Try to accommodate other people's quirks the best you can, and try to be as polite, solid and straightforward as possible yourself.

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We tried to change company culture to be more open and to share information with the use of technology, and had difficulties.

What other approaches would have worked?

Education

Wiki from theory to practice