To blog or to wiki software software development?
by noel on Apr.26, 2008, under Technical Communication
Tom Johnson recently wrote an interesting article about “Why Software Applications Need Product Blogs, and Why They Don’t Get Them”. While I completely agree with his sentiments I also believe that instead of blogging a good resource for the proliferation of knowledge, whether for a product or company, can also be done entirely using a wiki type tool. Wikiing, for want of a better term, can in essence be very much like blogging and in fact most wiki applications include a blogging option.
At the organisation where I work we use an internal wiki, where the various product development teams update wiki pages relating to the application and often branch these pages to include theoretical and design concepts. The wiki is used by staff, management and various outsourced resources to discuss possible issues relating to the product development. The wiki allows our organisation to communicate effectively and ensures that everyone remain in the loop. Most importantly it creates a resource that is easy to search and is recorded for all to see.
Interestingly the wiki application we use (wikispaces) also allows blogs to be created and various teams (marketing, IT, customer services) and people (CEO, Product Manager) have all created blogs to help others within the organisation to better understand their work and routines.
Unlike blogs where the only sensible method of viewing and staying up to date with them requires a “feed reader” or aggregator, the wiki pages created can be monitored and emails sent automatically when someone edits the page. This is extremely useful when your work relies heavily on specific information. In my case, progress and development ideas for products I am documenting automatically arrive in my email, without me needing to go and find out for myself it also ensures that I am aware of any changes that may have occurred to previously decided concepts.
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April 26th, 2008 on 2:04 pm
Thanks for your post about how you’re using wikis. I think wikis are highly useful for collaborative departments. Can I ask what wiki software you’re using?
By the way, welcome to the blogosphere. You might want to update your About page. I was curious to read who you are.
April 26th, 2008 on 6:46 pm
Hi Tom,
Thanks for taking an interest. We currently use wikispaces (http://www.wikispaces.com/)where I work, which we managed to integrate with our Active Directory. The whole single sign-on experience makes using the wiki so much easier.
I will be updating my About page soon. I’m in the process of drafting it at the moment.
April 27th, 2008 on 2:49 am
Great points. I have been championing the use of blogs but I like the wiki feature set you’re talking about – sort of a mashup between content and comments.