Future Changes

Introducing Wikipatterns.com

The biggest challenge you face after first deciding to use a wiki is getting all of your coworkers to use it too. Some organisations have been extremely effective at getting mass participation on their wikis, others not so much.

How did you get everyone in your community (company, department, or broader community) to use a wiki? Or maybe you haven’t, perhaps you’re still struggling with ways to get people to use the wiki.

We’ve been working hard on a brand new wiki-related project, and I’d like to invite you to participate. Wikipatterns.com is intended to give anyone, anywhere, using any wiki software, a list of strategies for successfully introducing a wiki to their organization.

The site is accessible now at Wikipatterns.com, and contains three major strands of content:

  • People patterns and anti-patterns
  • Adoption patterns and anti-patterns
  • A walk-through of the stages of wiki adoption

The patterns and anti-patterns on the site are loosely modeled on the concept of software design patterns — those recurring patterns of behaviour that can be recognized and channeled for the good of the team.

For instance, the Magnet pattern recognizes that putting certain content exclusively on the wiki will help people get into the habit of using it regularly. For example, posting all your meeting agendas and minutes on the wiki establishes it as the place for the most up to date information.

What has worked for you? I’d love to have your thoughts on this. So I invite you to look through the patterns, see which ones you may have used, and contribute examples, anecdotes, tips, or whatever else you think is important. I hope that you’ll also find useful patterns to use in your own wiki work, and will contribute ideas and feedback after you’ve tried using those patterns.

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Wikipatterns book: a practical guide to improving productivity and collaboration in your organization Future Changes is Stewart Mader. He wrote the book on wiki adoption, and he has led or advised enterprise-wide wiki deployments in Fortune 500 companies, universities, nonprofits, small and medium size companies.

Advisory Services include: adoption strategy and timeframe, vendor/product analysis, content structure and templates, roles and permissions, data migration, and workshops. Linda Ziffrin of Valley View Ventures handles bookings. Contact to discuss your needs.
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Wikipatterns book: a practical guide to improving productivity and collaboration in your organization Wikipatterns
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Using Wiki in Education wiki book Using Wiki in Education
10 case studies from education show how to collaboratively build curriculum, guide students' teamwork, and manage research projects.
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Your Wiki Isn’t Wikipedia: How to Use It for Technical Communication Your Wiki Isn’t Wikipedia (PDF download)
How to use a wiki for technical communication and project management. Published in the January, 2009 issue of Intercom, the magazine of the Society for Technical Communication.
5 Effective Wiki Uses and How Companies Benefit From Them 5 Effective Wiki Uses (PDF download)
Five ways your business can benefit from using a wiki. Published in the August, 2008 issue of Website Magazine.

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