Chapter 4. Nurturing the Seedlings

While working on this book I heard from several people who thought that various projects in their companies would have benefited from the use of a wiki to help organize information and encourage a collaborative environment. In most cases when the idea was raised the response from their IT departments boiled down to “we tried a wiki once, no one used it, so why should it be any different this time?”

Further investigation showed that in the majority of cases the previous wiki implementation consisted of installing wiki software on a server, telling people it was there, and expecting them to use it. Such failures underscore that the oft-quoted maxim about wikis – just build it, and they will come – is in fact a myth. Wiki implementation is not just a simple exercise in technology, but more of an exercise in change management and sociology.

You cannot force people to use a wiki, or any other technology solution, if it doesn’t fit their needs or solve a problem for them. Just installing technology and expecting people to use it because they are told to guarantees failure. Wikis flourish through organic growth, where users see the benefit and talk about it to others.

Having said that, you may discover that the community you thought would benefit from a wiki simply prefers to collaborate and communicate in another way. As mentioned in Chapter 3, Planting The Seed – Think Before You Implement, a wiki I set up for a local writers group was a spectacular failure because they preferred to share information by meeting in a local coffee shop (and I can’t blame them). For them, the technology was superfluous. However, not every company or organization can meet in the local Starbucks. (Ironically, this happens to be where I am sitting as I write this.)

So how do you get people to use a wiki? The most successful wikis are the ones that meet a distinct need; either they serve a specific purpose, or they improve processes and promote efficiencies. Implementing technology just because it’s cool invariably leads to failure. Technology geeks (and I count myself among them) also need to realize that many of the ideas, features, and functions that get us excited and turn us into early adopters can intimidate non-geek users to the point where they are scared off and will not use a solution no matter how beneficial it may be.

There are a number of different techniques you can use to get people used to the idea of a wiki; most of the ones presented below are based on introducing a wiki in a company or team environment. You should be able to extrapolate from these and come up with similar ideas and activities based on the purpose and culture where your wiki is to be used.

One of the easiest ways to introduce the idea of a wiki is to use it for the most common (and most frustrating) group activity, organizing a meeting. How many times have you seen the following scenario play out? You send email trying to organize a meeting, and you get replies from various attendees proposing alternative schedules or asking for changes or additions to the agenda. Before long one simple email has spawned multiple email threads that have to be managed and reconciled. By posting the meeting details on a wiki and sending email pointing to the relevant wiki page, everyone involved can see any proposed changes, make comments, discuss, and quickly reach a consensus, all in one place.

Another great way to introduce potential users to the benefits of a wiki is to use it to organize a fun event, like an office party, that almost everyone will be interested in. By posting ideas for location, menu, dates, and offers to car pool on the wiki, everyone can get involved, put forward their opinions, and feel they have made a contribution to the end result.

Another example comes from a company that was contemplating an office relocation. The wiki was used to gather input from staff members as to what sort of facilities they wanted in the new space, what an ideal location would be, and what they thought about the environmental impact. Ideas for potential floor plans and layouts were posted to keep everyone informed and give everyone a voice in the process.

Using internal fun projects like this is a great way to let people experience the benefits of using a wiki without necessarily mandating its use. Once people experience the benefits, they will be more open to continued use.

Many wikis come pre-configured with templates for registered users to set up their own page and space on the wiki. Giving users their own private space is a great way to encourage wiki use. A sense of ownership is a vital part of encouraging wiki adoption and growth.

One software company uses the home page idea as a way of introducing people, not only to the wiki, but to the company itself. Every new person joining the company, whether a top-level manager or a front-desk receptionist, has to write an introductory page and blog post on the wiki on his or her first day. It’s an induction task, along with “eat the chocolates that you find on your desk.” They can write whatever they like. Some people post their life story, with pictures of their children and pets and favorite activities. Other people say very little.

It’s a great way to get someone started at the company. Everyone reads the introductory posts, because they know what it felt like when they had to write their own. Many people add comments to the post, just saying “welcome” or chiming in and saying things along the lines of, “oh, you’re a gaming fan too – join us on Thursday nights,” and so on. As well as being a great welcome to the company, it gets the new person using the wiki from day one.

Once you have people feeling comfortable using a wiki, the next stage is to seed it with even more information that is useful and relevant to the intended user community as a whole.

It may seem that the best way is to start from scratch and only load new information into the wiki once a project is underway. However, this approach will take time to develop a critical mass of information, by which point a large percentage of users may have stopped using the wiki because they “can’t find anything useful.”

There is undoubtedly existing content in your organization that would provide immediate benefits if imported into a wiki. But beware. When you import existing content into a wiki there is a tendency to include too much. Filling the wiki with lots of information before rolling it out can lead to users feeling overwhelmed. Early users may find it difficult to locate the information they want and consequently stop using the wiki. It will take a few iterations to get the structure and navigation scheme worked out; overloading your wiki with data at the start will only make this process more time consuming and difficult.

It is better to start with a smaller set of information and let users discover what’s missing and ask for it to be included. This also gives the users the sense of owning the information because they feel responsible for its inclusion.