Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard - Wikis

former_member183750 · ‎2013 Jul 04

Purpose

This blog is a continuation of a series of blogs under the heading of Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard. This blog discusses wikis, which are one of the many tools available to us for sharing knowledge.

Overview

Wikis are now free of moderator intervention (a new change this May 2013). From the standpoint of points, wikis are most valuable as they are worth 40 points. Perhaps another value to wikis is that they are saved (or can be saved) in layered hierarchies.

How to Wiki

Wikis are by definition collaborative documents. A short description of when to create a wiki is provided by Jason Lax in the Jive Document The Difference Between a Discussion, Blog Post, Document and Wiki. To add to Jason's Document, wikis are great for storing content that requires layered hierarchies or that will need such structure in the future. These can be collaborative efforts where other users can alter the wiki or add child pages where allowed. The main landing page for SAP wikis is here: Welcome to the SAP Community Network Wiki. A good starting resource that discusses wiki creation is at this link. Also, see the Wiki FAQ. SAP employees are required to use a template as designed by Brendan O’Brian. The guide is available on the SAP Employee Network Wiki.

Why to Wiki

The process of creating a Wiki is rigorous and well defined - for SAP employees
Anyone registered with SAP SCN can create a Wiki
You receive lots of points for creating a well structured Wiki (See the header information on the Welcome to the SAP Community Network Wiki page)
Wikis are searchable on SCN and SAP Market Place
Wikis can be metatagged to increase visibility and allow for easier searches
Anyone can add a comment to a Wiki
Anyone can add and improve a Wiki
Anyone can add a child wiki
Wikis can be rolled back if new changes are deemed to be incorrect or un-necessary
Title of a wiki can be changed at will since the URL is not tied to the title
Wikis can be "watched" using the functionality "Start watching this space"

Why not to Wiki

Anyone registered with SAP SCN can create a Wiki
Anyone registered with SAP SCN can modify a Wiki
Non SAP employees do not have access to the new Wiki template
Wikis are located on an external server, thus are not part of SAP SCN
Lots of confusion on where to create Wikis.
Hard to get help
Cumbersome editor tool
Lots / too many(?) rules on best use

My Experience

Initially I enjoyed creating Wikis. However, my preferences shifted to tools such as Blogs, and Jive Documents. I find the whole wiki “system” cumbersome and confusing – and that’s from both an author and moderator points of view. I also find the organization of the wikis quickly becoming hard to follow. Due to the hierarchical nature of the wikis, to get to a specific wiki may require a number of. Since the wikis live on a server separate from the SCN Jive platform, they are not part of the actual SCN Space. At this time. At this time I only create Wikis as a continuation of an existing series. E.g.; Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2010 - Service Pack 1 - Fixed Issues.