Wiki as alternative to document management and email
Alexander Muse , August 21, 2007
Documentation is key in the IT support game. We struggle with it all of the time here at Architel. Most small businesses have very little documentation related to their IT infrastructure and what little they do have is always out-of-date. In the past we attempted to build binder for each client. We would fill out lots of information in Word documents, print them and put them in three ring binders (we still have evidence of these binders on shelves in our NOC). This was great as long as the information you needed was historical. Reading one of our client binders was like reading a six month old newspaper ~ pretty worthless. That all changed in 2005 when we started using the Wiki as a tool for collaborative documentation.
The first step was easy: Client Wikis ~ We created a standard template for each new client (essentially a standalone wiki for each client). We then populate that template as much as we could. The second step was harder. Whenever data about the environment changed we had to get our engineers to update the wiki.
The second step was harder, but even more important: Operations Wiki ~ We began documenting how we ran the business (i.e. the Architel business). In the past our corporate policies were somewhat documented in a book we copied from a PEO, but in general we used email to update everyone on how things should be done. With the Wiki we had a place to create policy and allow that policy to change through the course of time.
The third step hasn’t taken place yet: Email via Wiki ~ Today we still email important business details. So much information is lost to email and it is a shame. Email certainly has its place. One-on-one communication is best conducted in the privacy of your inbox, but one-to-many communication is best conducted in a wiki. For example, if you need to send a message to the entire team explaining a process or a new piece of information you should consider writing the message in the wiki and emailing a link to everyone concerned. In this way each person can augment or change the supplied information, new employees (i.e. ones who weren’t hired before you sent out the mass-email) will be able to access the information if they need it. Of course there is information you shouldn’t document in the wiki, i.e. ‘everyone, there is cake in the breakroom.’ Here at Architel we are working to stop using our inbox as our corporate policy documentation system.
