Knowledge is perhaps the core asset of any organization. In order to do anything, we must know how to do it. Wikis can be a very powerful tool in the dissemination of any kind of information – there's a reason that wikipedia has become the primary destination for anyone seeking knowledge on a new subject. Process documentation is very much the kind of information for which a wiki is a perfect platform.
Strengths of a wiki for process documentation:
Decentralization
Because a wiki is by its nature decentralized, it allows the person with the best insight into a process to create the documentation for that process. There is no need for a central person, who may not understand the process as well, to act as a middle-person in the process.
Collaboration
If a colleague has valuable input into an existing document, they are able to make a change, or simply suggest that one be made. This allows the best input to come from anywhere we choose (if we want to place limits, we can), instead of being artificially limited in the number of gatekeepers.
Consistency of presentation
The wiki is versatile enough to present information on just about any topic, but we can leverage the use of powerful templates tools to maintain a consistency of presentation, allowing users to quickly find the information they need, and not consume brain resources on learning new and unfamiliar formats.
Single Source of Truth (SSOT) repository for process documentation
Because of the versatility of the wiki platform, there is no reason it cannot be the place to go, when anyone in our organization has a 'how do I?' question.
Use cases in the Healthyhorns context
Luke Klima is this how we should structure use cases? I'm thinking we include links here to separate pages demonstrating why a Wiki is better than the current ways we are doing these things. Thoughts?
- Staff Directory
- CMHC Administrator of the Day
- Designated administrative staff contact for Associate Directors
Examples of robust wiki deployments at UT
Synergy with other University of Texas entities
Because many processes are similar or even the same across UT and UT Austin, we can build off of some of the work that's already been done by our colleagues. The above mentioned Dean of Students wiki has some 60 how-to articles dealing with IT topics for example. We could build off of already existing documentation that we alter as needed for our situation, but we can also create pages that may be useful to others around the University, making us more valuable members of the UT community,