Sunday | 23 November, 2008
Wiki Wacky
Welcome to the wonderful, egalitarian world of the wiki
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The concern among many executives and managers appears to be that wikis may open up something of a Pandora's Box. If employees have an open forum of communication, they might use it to express discontent. And people may be reluctant to share their thoughts because they might look foolish or ignorant. Alternatively, others might be concerned that co-workers might steal their ideas. Some employees still might be intimidated by the technology and how it works.
I think the pluses of wikis outweigh these negatives. There are numerous applications for wikis in the corporate world. Examples that initially spring to mind are process mapping, project management, business continuity planning and knowledge management. In particular, I believe wikis can capture the know-how of current employees to help map business processes. Few organizations really stop to define their processes. Yet this work provides guidelines for new staff, it ensures corporate knowledge does not depart when staff leave and provides response guidelines when problems occur. Moreover, a wiki of corporate processes would be a strong sign to existing employees that their knowledge is respected. It would also, perhaps, highlight to CIOs opportunities when process components could be automated.
My enthusiasm with wikis does not stop here. I have now established my own wiki. Throughout my time in IT I have got sick and tired of technical gobbledygook masquerading as business strategy. My wiki IT dictionary attempts to translate the raft of acronyms, buzzwords and jargon that abounds in this industry into definitions that businesspeople understand. Pay me a visit, http://itdictionary.wetpaint.com, add to the wiki, and feel free to challenge my definitions. When you do I suspect you will help build a useful resource and also show why, I think, wikis are wonderful.
Peter Hind is a freelance consultant and commentator with nearly 25 years experience in the IT industry. He is co-author of The IT Manager's Survival Guide and ran the InTEP IS executive gatherings in Australia for over 10 years
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