WIKI TECHNOLOGY AS A "FREE" COLLABORATIVE TOOL WITHIN AN ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING
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WIKI TECHNOLOGY
WIKI TECHNOLOGY AS A
“FREE” COLLABORATIVE
TOOL WITHIN AN
ORGANIZATIONAL
SETTING
Murali Raman
This article provides a brief tutorial of Wiki technology as a collaborative tool. A case example
from a university administration context suggests that — like many other end-user technolo-
gies — training and support needs should be carefully considered before the potential value
of using this “free” technology to support knowledge management efforts can be satisfactorily
realized.
IKI IS A HAWAIIAN WORD THAT RE- page, add or edit content in an existing wiki
MURALI RAMAN
W fers to being quick. Leuf and Cunning-
ham (2001) define a Wiki as “a freely
page, and delete content within a page, with-
out any prior knowledge or skills in editing and
received his doctorate expandable collection of interlinked publishing on the Web (Kille, 2006).Wikis offer
in management of Web pages, a hypertext system for storing and a simple editing and publishing interface that
information systems
modifying information — a database where can be used and understood easily (Leuf & Cun-
from the school of
each page is easily editable by any user with a ningham, 2001; Wagner, 2004; Kille, 2006).
information systems
and technology,
forms-capable Web browser client” (p. 14). The Fuchs-Kittowsk and Köhler (2002) define a
Claremont Graduate authors also differentiate between the terms wiki as an “open author system for a conjoined
University. He is Wiki (uppercase W) and wiki: the former is construction and maintenance of Websites” (p.
currently with used to describe the technology concept, and 10). These authors suggest that Wiki technolo-
Multimedia University the latter is used to refer to an application. gy can facilitate cooperative work and knowl-
Malaysia. His research Ward Cunningham invented the first wiki in edge generation. Specifically, they suggest that
interests are within the 1995. His objective was to publish information a wiki might be applicable in different contexts
domain of collaboratively on the Web (Leuf & Cunning- as a
collaborative ham, 2001), and this first wiki Web site (http://
technology and ❚ Content management system
c2.com/cgi/wiki) is still actively maintained.
technology adoption ❚ Discussion board
Cunningham’s vision was to create a wiki as
within the realms of ❚ Other form of groupware
knowledge
“the simplest online database that could possi-
management. He can bly work” (p. 15). The authors imply that Wiki technology can
be reached at Wikis are interactive Web sites that can of- support the requirements for collaborative
murali.raman fer numerous benefits to users (Wagner, 2004; knowledge creation within both corporate and
@mmu.edu.my. Kille, 2006). Anyone can create a new wiki academic environments.
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TABLE 1 Examples of Wiki Clones
Wiki Clone Comments
Wiki The original wiki developed by Ward Cunningham
Easily available resources from the Web
Easy to install
Numerous varieties of implemented versions already exist
Perl can be hard to use/understand for a novice
Twiki Designed for corporate users
More professional and powerful, with features such as automatic e-mails, file
attachments, etc.
Mainly for *nix, and depends on some UNIX tools
Squeak Wiki, Runs in Squeak Virtual Machine environment with Squeak Web server
Swiki, CoWeb Integrated Smalltalk environment
Highly extensible because of access to Squeak code modules in open and OS servers
Maps wiki pages to numbered rather than named files
More prevalent in academic environment because the technology ties nicely with
collaborative work in computer sciences
Plone Supports corporate need for file storing system
Easily downloadable and online PDF resources are available at www.plone.org
TikiWiki Easy to install even for a novice
Resources (online) for downloading and operating available at www.tikiwiki.org
TECHNICAL ATTRIBUTES the Web browser. Members of a wiki communi-
Wiki technology is based on open-source soft- ty can build and develop “meaningful topic as-
ware. The software that operates any wiki is sociations” (p. 16) by creating numerous links
called a wiki engine (Kille, 2006). A variety of between wiki pages (Leuf & Cunningham,
free wiki engines — also called “wiki clones” 2001). Originally, the technology was not
(Leuf & Cunningham, 2001) — are available meant to engage casual visitors; rather, it was
from the Web. Examples of the more popular designed to enable users to regularly update
wiki clones are described in Table 1. the wiki pages in a collaborative fashion, there-
Although wikis are easy to use once in-
by continuously changing the nature of the
stalled, the installation stage requires some ex-
wiki Web site.
perience in working with databases and server
Wagner (2004) describes 11 principles that
configuration when downloading a wiki en-
gine.An alternative to managing a wiki using an govern the functional design of a wiki, as sum-
internal server is to obtain services from a vari- marized in Table 2. The major distinguishing
ety of Wiki hosts or farms, usually for a minimal factor between wikis and regular Web sites is
fee. Examples of wiki farms are Seedwiki (http: the ability of wiki users to easily edit all aspects
//www.seedwiki.com), JotSpot (http://www. of a wiki Web site. Wagner’s design principles
jot.com), and Socialtext (http://www.socialtext. also suggest that wikis might be useful for col-
com) (Kille, 2006). laborative work in organizations. However, giv-
Wikis run over the World Wide Web and can en the open nature of the technology, the
be supported by any browser. The technology notion of trust becomes vital within a wiki
is governed by an underlying hypertext transfer community.
protocol (HTTP) that determines client and The appendix provides a short user guide
server communication. Wikis are able to re- to how to perform some of the basic functions.
spond to both requests for data (GET) and data
submission (POST), in a given Web front, based
on the HTTP (Leuf & Cunningham, 2001). POTENTIAL BENEFITS AS A
COLLABORATIVE TOOL
The most often cited benefits of using wikis to
FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES
support collaborative work are
Any member in a wiki community can edit any
pages on the wiki Web site. The editing of wiki ❚ Simplicity of learning and working with the
pages does not require additional functions in technology (Kille, 2006)
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TABLE 2 Wiki Design Principles
Principle Explanation
Open If a page is found to be incomplete or poorly organized, any reader can edit it as he/she sees
fit. Wiki is based on open-source technology.
Incremental Pages can cite other pages, including pages that have not been written yet.
Organic The structure and text content of the site is open to editing and evolution.
Mundane A small number of (irregular) text conventions will provide access to the most useful (but
limited) page markup.
Universal The mechanisms of editing and organizing are the same as those of writing, so that any
writer is automatically an editor and organizer.
Overt The formatted (and printed) output will suggest the input required to reproduce it. (For
example, location of the page.)
Unified Page names will be drawn from a flat space so that no additional context is required to
interpret them.
Precise Pages will be titled with sufficient precision to avoid most name clashes, typically by forming
noun phrases.
Tolerant Interpretable (even if undesirable) behavior is preferred to error messages.
Observable Activity within the site can be watched and reviewed by any other visitor to the site. Wiki
pages are developed based on trust.
Convergent Duplication can be discouraged or removed by finding and citing similar or related content.
Source: Wagner (2004, p. 270).
❚ The technology is downloadable for free cess, a situation of having access to information
(Wagner, 2004) or even as a capability” (p. 109). Knowledge
can be tacit or explicit (Nonaka, 1994; Nonaka
Wiki technology can therefore also address
& Takeuchi, 1995). Here, a knowledge manage-
some knowledge management goals for collab-
ment system refers to any IT-based system that
orative work and organizational learning (Leuf
is “developed to support and enhance the orga-
& Cunningham, 2001; Fuchs-Kittowsk &
nizational knowledge processes of knowledge
Köhler, 2002; Wagner, 2004; Wagner et al.,
creation, storage, retrieval, transfer and appli-
2006; Kille, 2006). Any wiki clone can be de-
cation” (Alavi & Leidner, 2001, p. 114).
signed to support the following basic functions
Davenport and Prusak (1998) provide three
as a collaborative tool:
reasons why organizations implement knowl-
❚ Searching and indexing capabilities for effec- edge management systems:
tive retrieval
❚ To enhance visibility of knowledge in organi-
❚ Storage of presentations
zations, through the use of maps, hypertexts,
The next section provides an overview of yellow pages; directories, etc.
knowledge management systems and how Wiki ❚ To build a knowledge-sharing culture;
technology as groupware can be categorized as namely, to create avenues for employees to
a type of knowledge management system.Then share knowledge
a case example is provided to demonstrate ben- ❚ To develop a knowledge infrastructure, not
efits and implementation challenges in a non- confined solely to technology, but to create
profit organizational context. an environment that permits collaborative
work
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Gupta and Sharma (2004) classify knowl-
AND GROUPWARE edge management systems (KMSs) into seven
A single definition of knowledge management major categories, as summarized in Table 3. Ac-
does not exist (Alavi & Leidner, 2001). Knowl- cording to this classification scheme, Wiki tech-
edge can be viewed from several perspectives: nology is an example of a groupware technology
“as a state of the mind, as an object, as a pro- to support collaborative work. The technology
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TABLE 3 Categories of Knowledge Management Systems
Category Purpose Example of Technology within Category
Expert systems Capture knowledge and perform analysis on existing Artificial intelligence (AI)
knowledge base to assist in decision making Neural networks
Often associated with rule-based and pattern
recognition systems
Groupware (computer- Permit sharing and collaborative work Lotus notes
supported Enable individuals and teams to share knowledge E-mails
collaborative work) with each other via the support of information Blogs
technology Electronic logs (E-logs)
Wikis
Videoconference
Instant messaging
Document Support the need for managing text and images, to Spreadsheet software (e.g., Excel)
management make information much more accessible Word documentation software (e.g., Microsoft Word)
systems
Decision support Contain summaries of large amounts of data, filtered Business application software
systems and synthesized particularly to support strategic
decision making
Semantic networks Explain not just relationships between entities but Semantic Webs
the meaning based on how the entities are
structured
Database Permit management of both structured (relational) Relational database management systems
management and much more complex datasets (RDBMS)
systems Object-oriented database management systems
(OODBMS)
Simulation tools Run computer-based simulations for a variety of OpNet network simulator
purposes
Source: Adapted from Gupta and Sharma (2004).
might be used to support knowledge manage- Figure 1 illustrates the emergency pre-
ment and collaborative work in general, given paredness operations structure for the Clare-
its simplicity (Kille, 2006). In particular, the mont Colleges. Every college and the CUC has
technology might appeal to organizations its own emergency operations center (EOC).
faced with cost constraints in implementing a An EOC is usually activated when an emergen-
more robust knowledge management system cy occurs. The main objective of every EOC is
for a specific objective. to coordinate all emergency planning, re-
A short case example of Wiki technology to sponse, and recovery assistance efforts.
support knowledge management and communi- The Multi-Agency Coordination Center
cation in a university setting is described below. (MACC) is a central coordinating entity for
emergency response within the Claremont Col-
CASE EXAMPLE leges.When an emergency occurs, the MACC is
The Claremont University Consortium (CUC) activated. MACC members from each of the
assists its seven member colleges on common seven Claremont Colleges and CUC report to
issues such as campus housing, procurement the MACC chairperson and begin working to-
of supplies and textbooks, facility manage- ward a coordinated emergency response initia-
ment, payroll, and emergency preparedness. tive. MACC members receive information about
Prior to 2003, information about emergency the emergency situation from their respective
preparedness was poorly organized.The major- EOCs. This information is channeled to the
ity of information pertaining to emergency MACC operations coordinator, who then leads a
planning was stored in several paper-based consolidated response to a particular situation.
emergency manuals, and some of it was outdat- The CCERC (Claremont Colleges Emergency
ed. The CEO requested that the researcher or- Readiness Committee) is the planning entity for
ganize the information better. the MACC. The EPPC (Emergency Preparedness
62 W W W . I S M - J O U R N A L . C O M
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FIGURE 1 Claremont College’s Emergency Preparedness Operations Structure
EOC
EOC EOC
MACC*
EOC EOC
CCERC**
EOC EOC
CUC
EOC
EPPC***
*Multi-agency Coordination Center
**Claremont Colleges Emergency Readiness Committee
***Emergency Preparedness Planning Committee
Planning Committee) is the planning entity for ❚ Support communication
CUC’s EOC. ❚ Organize and make available informa-
Information flow into the MACC, and from tion/knowledge to be used during training,
the MACC to the respective colleges EOCs, was drills, and tabletop sessions
originally maintained primarily through tele- ❚ Support decision making during an actual
phone and radio communication. The flow of crisis situation
information was also documented on a large
Table 4 summarizes the advantages and
white board, located in the MACC room.The au-
drawbacks associated with four types of KMS
thor was involved in several drills that involved
technologies, including groupware. Wiki tech-
communication between the MACC and the col-
lege EOCs, in which several issues pertaining to nology was selected as an instantiation of a
communication and knowledge sharing were knowledge management system using group-
observed. Overall, the communication process ware technology to support the emergency
can become too complex and chaotic: preparedness efforts within the Claremont Col-
leges. This decision was made because of the
❚ There are times when the scribe for MACC is technology characteristics of Wiki technology,
not able to cope with the level of informa- the budgetary and resource constraints faced
tion flow into the MACC. by CUC, as well as the availability of an assis-
❚ The college representatives do not have a tant (the author) who was familiar with using
structured manner of documenting informa- wikis for teaching and learning (Raman et al.,
tion from their respective colleges. 2005).
❚ Information within MACC, via the white A prototype wiki was developed and tested
board, cannot be shared with members of to aid emergency preparedness efforts at the
the college EOCs. Claremont Colleges. Called the Emergency
❚ Each college representative has information Management Systems (EMS), the wiki was
about only her/his college without any idea launched on the 25th of January 2005 and was
of what is happening in the other colleges. tested by emergency responders from the Clar-
On balance, the emergency preparedness emont Colleges during two emergency pre-
initiatives within the Claremont Colleges could paredness drills that were held in the month of
benefit from the use of information technology February 2005. Interviews with the participants
to of these two drills highlighted the benefits and
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TABLE 4 Comparisons of Four KMS Application Types
KMS Technology Advantages of Using This Type of KMS Drawbacks of Using This Type of KMS
Expert systems, artificial The systems develop intelligence over time, based on This category of KMS might be too complex
intelligence (AI), and pattern recognition technology. for organizations to use.
knowledge-based Organizations that need to look for particular trends Expert systems and artificial intelligence
management system given voluminous data might consider using expert might not be necessary for structuring the
(KBMS) systems and AI. emergency preparedness knowledge
management process.
Groupware (computer- This KMS category permits collaborative work. Some level of familiarity in working with
supported collaborative Certain types of groupware can be customized based on open-source systems is needed.
work, CSCW) open-source systems at no cost. Examples are wikis.
Groupware and CSCW group processes and decision
making.
Wiki technology is an example of a groupware that can
benefit organizations that intend to develop a cost-
effective collaborative system.
Document management The goal is essentially to enhance an organization’s May not be able to support group work
systems (DMS) document management efforts. effectively.
Decision support systems Provides summaries of large amounts of data, filtered This category of KMS might be too complex
(DSS) and synthesized particularly to support strategic and expensive for organizations to use.
decision making. DSS might not be necessary for structuring
Useful when there is a need to analyze quantitative data. the emergency preparedness knowledge
management process.
implementation challenges of the wiki applica- response areas, such as search and rescue,
tion, as described below. CPR, and first aid, now have a central plat-
form to document their respective knowl-
Benefits Achieved edge and share it with others. Wiki pages
The findings from the participant interviews can be edited by anyone, from anywhere,
suggest that Wiki technology can be effective in because of the technology’s open nature
supporting cross-unit collaboration in two pri- (Wagner, 2004).
mary ways:
1. Enhancing communication. Individuals Implementation Challenges
and teams involved in emergency prepared- The emergency knowledge management sys-
ness now have a common platform from tem implemented in this project received an
which to obtain emergency-related infor- average usability score of 69.5 percent, based
mation. The wiki provides a central infor- on end-user responses to ten statements using
mation base with reference to various Brooke’s (1996) systems usability scale (SUS).A
emergency situations, activities, and events maximum score of 100 percent means that the
organized by the respective colleges. This system is very simple to use. In addition, the us-
supports the internal communication ers mentioned issues such as the need for more
between members involved in emergency training and greater familiarity with Wiki tech-
preparedness initiatives. The system also nology. Other participants provided sugges-
provides a structured approach to docu- tions about the application design and the
menting emergency-related information, cumbersome handling of e-mail (outside of the
which can be used to support external system). The majority of the users also wanted
communication with both federal (e.g., a written, step-by-step “cheat sheet” that guides
Homeland Security, FEMA) and local (e.g., how each component in the wiki can be used.
fire, police, hospitals, etc.) agencies. In particular, they requested guidelines for cre-
2. Supporting knowledge sharing. Wiki tech- ating new pages (links) and also editing infor-
nology thrives on being an open system mation in a given page.
(Wagner, 2004). This means that anyone These case findings suggest that Wiki tech-
can edit any wiki page and share informa- nology, when used as a collaborative tool to
tion with others. In the context of CUC, support the knowledge management require-
individuals trained in specific emergency ments of an organization, is subject to potential
64 W W W . I S M - J O U R N A L . C O M
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drawbacks. The technology may not seem very Brooke, J. (1996). SUS: A ‘quick and dirty’ usability
intuitive to everyone, because most users are scale. Retrieved March 24, 2004 from HCIRN
used to “read-only” Web-based systems. The Web site: http://www.hcirn.com/ref/refb/
broo96.php
power of Wiki technology lies in its ability to
Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (1998). Working
capture dynamic changes within its pages due knowledge: how organizations manage what
to the edit function. Using and working with
T
they know. Boston, MA: Harvard Business
this editing capability requires time and suffi- School Press.
he cient training. Fuchs-Kittowsk, F., & Köhler, A. (2002). Knowledge
technology creating communities in the context of work
may not seem processes. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 23(3), 8–13.
CONCLUSION
Gupta, J. D., & Sharma, S. K. (2004). Creating
very intuitive If designed and implemented effectively, Wiki Knowledge Based Organizations: IDEA Group
to everyone, technology can support a portion of an organi- Publishing.
zation’s collaboration and knowledge manage- Kille, A. (2006), Wikis in the Workplace: How Wikis
because most ment requirements — specifically, knowledge Can Help Manage Knowledge in Library
users are used sharing, storing, and support for the communi- Reference Services. Last accessed April 24, 2006,
cation process within organizations. A key ad- from Archives publication at University of Texas
to “read-only” Austin Web site: http://libres.curtin.edu.au/
vantage of using wikis to support knowledge
Web-based libres16n1/Kille_essayopinion.htm
management initiatives is that the technology Leuf, B., & Cunningham, W. (2001). The WIKI WAY.
systems. is free. Quick Collaboration on the Web: Addison-
Nevertheless, although the majority of lit- Wesley.
erature about wikis suggests that the technol- Nonaka, I. (1994). A Dynamic Theory of
ogy is easy to use, this case indicates that, in Organizational Knowledge Creation.
reality, working with wikis might not be im- Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37.
mediately intuitive to all users. Issues such as Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge-
Creating Company? New York: Oxford
sufficient user training, the availability of re-
University Press.
sources and skills to support the technology, Raman, M., Ryan, T., & Olfman, L. (2005). Designing
and effective customization of wiki features Knowledge Management Systems for Teaching
must be considered before the value of using and Learning with Wiki Technology. Journal of
this technology to support knowledge man- Information Systems Education (JISE), 16(3),
agement efforts within any organization is sat- 311–320.
isfactorily realized. Wagner, C. (2004). WIKI: A Technology for
Conversational Knowledge Management and
Group Collaboration. Communications of the
References Association for Information Systems, 13,
Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Review: 265–289.
Knowledge Management and knowledge Wagner, C., Cheung, K.S., & Rachael, K.F. (2006).
management systems: Conceptual foundations Building Semantic Webs for e-government with
and research issue. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107– Wiki technology. Electronic Government, 3(1),
136. 36–55.
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APPENDIX Basic Wiki Functions
Function Purpose of Function Using the Function
Editing in general Enables users to quickly Every page in a wiki has an “edit this page” link.
add, delete, and modify A user can click on the “edit this page” link to add or delete content in a given
content in wiki pages. page, using plain text.
Once the edit has been completed, the user can hit the “save” or “update”
function.
The new content on the page will automatically be published in Web format.
Notice that the editing is done in plaintext with no use of HTML tags.
Creating new wiki Enables users to build A user has to edit an existing page (e.g., the home page) and type the name of
pages new pages within the the new page using “WikiWords” or “CamelCases.”
wiki to develop a logical WikiWords or CamelCases are words that are smashed together (Leuf &
flow of related ideas. Cunningham, 2001).
For example, to create a new page called “Information Management,” a user can
type “InformationManagement” while editing an existing wiki page.
This InformationManagement syntax automatically creates a link from the
existing (currently being edited) to a new page called
InformationManagement.
Linking between wiki Enables users to Wiki pages cite each other.
pages establish links between Assume we have a page called InformationManagement.
wiki pages within a wiki While working on or editing another page, typing the words
Web site. InformationManagement will automatically link this page to the
InformationManagement page.
Linking to external Enables users to link a By clicking on the external link icon (under quick links), the following will appear
Web sites from a page or specific on the wiki page that is being edited: [http://example.com|desc].
wiki idea/content on a wiki To create an external link, simply type the URL needed, between the // and
page to an external |desc.
URL.
Formatting (e.g., bold, Enables stylistic Every page has a standard set of formatting functions, such as bold, underline,
underlining, creating presentation of text and and bullets, under the quick links navigation bar.
tables, etc.) images created in a wiki Click on the particular formatting style you want and fill the text in the
page. appropriate space indicated.
Example: Assume you intend to underline the word “manager.” Click on U icon
and you will get the following: __text__. When you write the word manager
between the two lines, the word (manager) becomes underlined.
See http://www.chat11.com/30_Second_Quick_Wiki_Tutorial for more details on using basic editing features within any wiki. Another
useful resource is http://angelakille.pbwiki.com/WikiResources. To download a wiki engine, use www.tikiwiki.org as a reference.
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