wikis

WIKIS By

The Experts

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction Importance of wikis Companies in UK using wikis Advantages Disadvantages Conclusion

INTRODUCTION TO WIKIS

Term of Wikis“...The term wiki comes from the Hawaiian

phrase, wiki wiki which mean super fast .I guess if you have thousands of users adding content to a web site on a regular basis, the site could grow super fast” Tech Terms. Com(2005-2009)

CONT.....

Definition of wikis:-“The simplest online database that could

possibly work wikis is a web site that allows users to add

and update content on the site using their own web browser .This made by a collaboration effort of the site visitors. A great example of a large wiki is the Wikipedia, a free encyclopaedia in many languages that anyone can edit...”

Tech Terms. Com(2005-2009)

IMPORTANCE OF WIKIS

Organisation uses wiki mainly for five reasons.

DOCUMENTATION: As the term implies, this way the company build content to be used in product documentation, feedback and keeps record of information, which enables them to edit, and add the contents of documents. When online, changes can be made and update can be viewed at anytime everywhere..

ONLINE COMMUNITY: The whole use of wiki is to invite community participation. The online wiki is used in an organisation to coordinate event such as sharing knowledge, suggestions, creating ideas so that each can experience collaboration.

CONT.....

CUSTOMER/CLIENTS COLLOBORATION : Wiki in an organisation serves as central hub between the customer and client, work can be done on a project or just a document with another person or a group through internet and get global.

FAQS POLICIES AND GUIDLINES: This specifically focuses on commonly asked question, like FAQ and Guidelines and policies. its a room for employee to ask questions about the company's products

Or even a personal problem new pollicises take place within organization

COMPANIES IN UK USING WIKIS British Telecommunications. British Telecommunications

have developed a wiki within one of their major Lines of Business to manage their CIO Architecture and Design assurance processes and documentation.

At Yahoo, engineers, marketing teams and lawyers use wikis on a regular basis. The legal team use wikis to quickly circulate access-controlled contract forms and policies.

Intel’s Josh Bancroft developed a wiki called Intelpedia within the company to share internal projects information with colleagues.

ADVANTAGES

It enables uploading of documents which can be used to read and research further on various topics without the need of any programming knowledge or ability

Wikis save drafts of every single document no matter how many times its been changed or by whom. This enables the users to revisit the original documents if they feel it is more useful.

Wikis enable users to track a project from start to finish by opening a user account where all the team members involved can report their progress and how much they have left to do.

ADVANTAGES

Wikis encourage the development of an online community as well as collaboration between a customer a client

Wikis are geographically and physically mobile in the sense that you do not need to carry files and documents with you. You can access all information from a wiki as long as you have internet connection where you are.

ADVANTAGES

Wikis saves the time a user will spend sending a document via email and reduces the probability of users not receiving a document for reasons such as spam filters

Wikis make it possible to capture ideas spontaneously giving the users more time to go back and write or edit it formally at their own convenience at the same time allowing other users to contribute to the same idea.

ADVANTAGES

Wikis allow users to see each other’s contributions hence makes for better evaluation and more insightful discussions about those contributions. This is because users are able to view a particular topic of discussion from a larger perspective.

Wikis are independent of a particular type of PC, operating system and so on. All it requires is the user having access to the internet hence making it usable to a wider range of people.

DISADVANTAGES

A Wiki is edited and updated by a number of users which can make it disorganised and cluttered.

Wikis needs maintenance at regular bases.

The format in wikis can be difficult to get used and sometimes the user needs to learn how to use hypertext.

Users can get confused using wikis in there familiar browser because, they feel that it is not a professional tool to use.

Companies have to create a new managing team for the wiki.

CONT..... Getting and training employees to use Wikis can take some

time in some companies.

Wikis have a security issue they are just not safe enough.

Wikis do not have the tools to manage an IT project.

Wikis users could face the same health problems that computer users face such as sight and posture problems.

Exporting and importing files and data in a wiki can be complex in some cases.

CONCLUSION

wikis are important to use in organizations in order to collaborate within and outside organizations .Although useful in sharing information against different platforms and across various users worldwide among other things, wikis are hard to maintain. Also, obtaining accurate information in wikis is a times questionable due to the ability of all users to make changes to it

References:-

o Better catoon Vlad kolarav(2006-2008)

http://www.bettercartoon.com/portfolio/cartoon322.htm, date accessed march,12,2009

o Elgg community learning space November 12 2006. Article: mark Morrison:: weblog::wiki advantages and disadvantages date http://digitaldialogues.org/eportfolios/markm/weblog/1095.html, date accessed feburary,21,2009

Marluck marketing 2008-present. Article: the advantages of using a wiki. http://marluckmarketing.com/40/wiki-advantages.html,date accessed feburary,21,2009

.stage buzz. Just a minute with kush(2005-2009)

http://www.stagebuzz.info/Humour/Cartoons07.htm, date accessed march,12,2009

Sun Microsystems inc 1994-2007.article: advantages and disadvantages of using wikis.

https://learning.sun.com/sls/staff/display/NEWHIRE/Advantages%20and%20Disadvantages%20to%20Using%20Wikis, date accessed feburary,21,2009

o The international data group network 1994-2009. Article: http://www.cio.com/article/447199/The_Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Using_a_Wiki_to_Manage_Your_IT_Projects , date accessed march,21,2009

Queens university Belfast 2005. Article: using wikis. http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/CentreforEducationalDevelopment/e-Learning/UsingWikis/, date accessed march,21,2009

WISH WASHY E-mail 2005http://wishwashy.blogspot.com/, date accessed march,12,209

o webworkerdaily.com/2007/07/13/15-productive-uses-for-a-wiki/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/

tc20070312_740461.htm,date accessed on 5th march 2009.13:05pm