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Other Uses for Wiki Software?
CodeMonkey22 asks: "The much-discussed Wikipedia could be considered the quintessential definition of what Wiki software is capable of. More recently, however, a plethora of specialized reference websites, such as Wookieepedia (Star-Wars) and the Marvel Database (Marvel Comics), have popped up. This got me to thinking, are websites the only viable use for wiki software? Working in an IT department, the first alternative that came to my mind was an intranet knowledge-base. TWiki, for instance, touts itself as 'an Enterprise Collaboration Platform'. What other uses could take advantage of Wiki? What changes would be needed to make it more applicable in other areas of use?"
I was actually thinking about this earlier today. Would it not be pretty useful to use wiki software for customer "tickets" in tech support?
Seems pretty sensible to me, even if it's a little overkill.
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I know the original question is about non-website uses, but my idea could be intranet based also. I had the idea for a collaborative writing sytem at wiction.org but things came up and I never finished the site. I still think it is a good idea though.
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Documentation for open source projects, such as this example from VideoLAN's wiki. Also, collaboration on new features
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What you should be asking yourself, is what can CVS/Subversion be used for?
Modern wiki software is really just a subset of what any good repository offers (versioning, resolving conflicts, moving files around, etc.). The only difference is that they provide a nice LaTeX-like syntax and a pretty front-end with an on-the-fly interpreted syntax.
Really, LaTeX backed by CVS would give you many of the same features. The possiblities of a repository-backed work are virtually endless!
However, the front-end on Wikis make them extremely nice for collaboration on numerous distinct text-based documents. The inter-linking and (relatively) simple syntax allow users to focus on sharing their knowledge. I think the next step for Wikis would be WYSIWYG editing, to de-emphasize any kind of syntax at all. This would make them truely user-focused.
I work in IT installing software and other kinds of support. I've been trying to convince the boss to use this for documentation as a lot of our stuff changes without warning and we don't have anything to keep us up to date otherwise. But sadly have been unable to get him to see the light. Jst the usual right something up on it for me and then watch him forget about it.
Lage corporations are great that way.
TiddlyWiki (http://www.tiddlywiki.com/) is effectively a wiki in a single web page. It sounds odd but is very impressive, it can be used for free format note keeping with all the linking etc that a wiki implies. There are a number of enhancements on the web - various customizations including skins.
It's obviously not for multi-user use but great for personal stuff.
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We use one over at the Toughbook wiki to keep track of details of various machines.
I've been looking for a good table manipulation tool. Wiki tables like the HardwareComparison quickly grow out of control. A way to sort and filter records, show and hide columns, an define alternate views for tabular data, would be great.
I picture sort of a webmail-like interface. Perhaps the data shouldn't live in the wiki page at all, but in a real database back-end with the appropriate interface(s) for adding and editing records.
In some projects I work on, the bosses email a "tracker" spreadsheet back and forth, where each site has a row, and each stage or activity has a column. They sort and filter the spreadsheets to get a picture of progress. One challenge is getting the data in, since it comes from dozens of different field techs, shippers, other companies, and arbitrary other events. Another challenge is making sure everyone has the most updated version, since emailing a file around is effectively file-level locking, so no more than one person can be working at once.
A central store like a database, with web interfaces that any Excel weenie could use, would alleviate much of the trouble. A hybrid of spreadsheet functions, database query tools, and wiki-like markup, could be really powerful. Anyone know if such a thing might exist, or if such projects might be in the works?
I'm in the process of creating a wiki for a test ITIL implementation. As far as I can tell, it will be great for the Configuration Management Database, and therefore the Change Management, Service Desk, etc. processes because they can log incidents against particular machines, and RSS feeds for the machines' wiki pages will alert the relevant sysadmin that there's an incident to look at.
:)
Anyways, it's kinda pie-in-the-sky for me at the moment, but I'm convinced it will work, and cost considerably less than the commercial ITIL tools that suck
We've used it sometimes for things like:
-documentation on a project
-knowledge base for various IT stuff
-sharing various infos (guides, training stuff, etc)
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I set up TikiWiki for my department to track projects. We are a commercial HVAC firm (my dept is the automation side), so CVS and the like don't (at least I don't think!) really apply. But I do the engineering and layout, with others doing the actual installations and we needed a way to easily transfer information. They always have their laptops with them, and have VPN access to the office, so this idea came to mind.
It has worked pretty well, and quite a few people in other departments have started using it too. It's a nice way to do "brain dumps" and record those things people tend to say in passing in the hall! I still have a few people that "forget" about it and call / barge into my office to ask a question. "Did you check the wiki?" standard response now!
Agenda tool, (non-profit here, lots of meetings), you create an agenda wikipage for the next meeting, participants add or make changes to the topic list after the meeting the notetaker completes the page by ading in the outcomes and creates the next agenda page, not only do you have less paperwork you also have a building history that all can refer back to without hving to look up file names.
Staff directory - (assuming you don't have like AD or LDAP), includes addresses emails, etc. Changes are made on the spot and therefore most up to date.
Knowledgebase - either a replacment or an extension to the job procedure manuals, all staff can add into it and make changes as needed, as well as add content as special circumstances arise.
Documentor - if the apps are web based you can even program wiki links into your pages to the documentation (as well as link in your job procedures if on the same wiki) As program changes or as better instructions/definitions the documntation gets updated.
Project notes repository - self explanitory
Simple CMS - Keep the editing behind a password/access system but offer up the content as read-only to the public, opens the sirte for editing beyond just the webmaster.
I like the story board idea.
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My creative collaboration partners and I use DidiWiki (a very small and stable Wiki server) to house the knowledgebase of our roleplaying universe, and to house stories and related tales that end up being written about it. Character sheets, timelines, synopses... Wiki does it all.
;)
I won't post a link to it here, naturally.
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I just released a new version of Wikalong that is compatible with Firefox 1.5 last night.
Wikalong is a Firefox Extension that embeds a wiki in the Side Bar of your browser, indexed off the url of your current page. It is probably most simply described as a wiki-margin for the internet.
Wikalong