Tags:
create new tag
view all tags
This presentation was held at the monthly meeting of the Internet Developer Group on 20 May 2003. A webcast is available at their web site.

Start Presentation

Slide 1: Web Collaboration with TWiki



Writeable webs empower employees to share knowledge and to be more productive



Presentation for Internet Developer Group on 20 May 2003



-- Peter@ThoenyPLEASENOSPAM.com

Slide 2: Agenda

  • Introduction
  • Challenges of Intranets
  • Challenges of Distributed Teams
  • Challenges of CMS
  • What is knowledge?
  • What is a Wiki?
  • What is TWiki?
  • Who is using TWiki?
  • Who is developing TWiki?
  • Highlights of TWiki
  • Limitations of TWiki
  • Resources for Learning TWiki
  • Advanced Features
  • Web Applications
  • Initial Deployment
  • Collaboration Issues
  • Case Study Wind River
  • Summary
  • Questions & Answers

Slide 3: About Peter

  • Peter Thoeny - Peter@ThoenyPLEASENOSPAM.com
  • Software developer with over 15 years experience, with interests in corporate collaboration, web technology and UI design
  • Author of the open source collaboration software TWiki, managed the project over the last four years
  • Graduate of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
  • Lived in Japan for 8 years working as an engineering manager for Denso, the largest auto electric parts supplier in Japan
  • Now in the Silicon Valley for 5 years, managing the Engineering Operations group at Wind River

Slide 4: Introduction

  • Web collaboration empowers teams to work faster and more productively
  • Web collaboration is used to schedule, manage, document, support and present the work of task groups
  • Teams may co-reside in one building or be spread out around the world in different time zones
  • Their work may be secured or openly available
  • Collaboration works best if the culture is "right"; it needs to be coached appropriately
  • Today's talk focuses on TWiki, which is a leading open-source GPL web collaboration platform

Slide 5: Challenges of Intranets

  • Conventional Intranet sites are typically not very popular
  • This is because:
    • Some content is outdated
    • The quantity is limited
    • Difficult to find content; inconsistent
    • Special tools and knowledge required to maintain
    • Content is static, it has a "one webmaster syndrome"
  • Example of "one webmaster syndrome":
    • If I discover a page on the Intranet that has incorrect or insufficient information, I just ignore it because I am too busy to find out who the webmaster is and to write an e-mail requesting an update
    • Result: Content tends to get stale

Slide 6: Challenges of Distributed Teams

  • Open questions:
    • How to get a virtual team working together efficiently?
    • How to get everyone in sync?
    • How to avoid duplicate efforts?
  • Typical answers:
    • Scheduled conference calls
    • Occasional visits
    • Shared drives
    • Exchange documents by e-mail
    • Instant Messaging (IRC, AIM, ICQ, etc)

Slide 7: Challenges of Distributed Teams (cont.)

  • Issues with e-mail and mailing lists:
    • E-mail gets lost after some time
    • Search is limited to email client
    • Great for discussion, but ... hard to find 'final consensus' on a thread
    • E-mail is not hyper-linked and is not structured, content can't easily be grouped into related topics
    • E-mail and attachments are not version controlled, e.g. it is difficult to determine the history of a document

Slide 8: Challenges of CMS

  • Rigid structure (can be good and bad)
  • Control over content more important then free form knowledge sharing
  • Content is typically structured hierarchically or in table format, with limited cross-linking between pages
  • Limited support for unstructured content, or content that has "structure and exceptions"

Slide 9: What is Knowledge? How can it be Fostered?

  • KM: Is all about knowledge management
  • Can knowledge be managed?
    • Von Krogh, Nonaka and Ichijo in Enabling Knowledge Creation, ISBN:0195126165, do not think so:
    • Knowledge can only be enabled
  • Five key knowledge enablers:
    1. Instill a knowledge vision
    2. Manage conversations
    3. Mobilize knowledge activists
    4. Create the right context for knowledge creation
    5. Globalize local knowledge

Slide 10: What is a Wiki?

  • WikiWiki = Writeable Web
    • As quick to contribute as e-mail,
    • as easy to use as a website
  • Ward Cunningham implemented the original WikiWiki in 1995 to collaborate on software patterns
  • Inspired by HyperCard
  • Design principles:
    • Open - Should a page be found to be incomplete or poorly organized, any reader can edit it as they see fit.
    • 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.

Slide 11: What is a Wiki? (cont.)

  • The original WikiWiki has these features:
    • Every page can be edited, using just a browser
    • Read-write web, every page can be edited using just a browser
    • HTML form based editing
    • Pages are served dynamically
    • Pages are linked automagically with WikiWords
    • Simple markup, no need to learn HTML
  • Over 100 Wiki engines based on the original Wiki idea, mostly open source

Slide 12: What is TWiki?

  • TWiki started as a Wiki engine, but has outgrown its roots and is now a platform for web applications
  • Mission: "TWiki is a leading-edge, web-based collaboration platform targeting the corporate intranet world. TWiki fosters information flow within an organization; lets distributed teams work together seamlessly and productively; and eliminates the one-webmaster syndrome of outdated intranet content."
  • Open Source software (GPL), hosted at http://TWiki.org/

Slide 13: What is TWiki? (cont.)

  • A Wiki in the original sense, but also:
  • A shared notebook for projects: Repository, scheduling, meetings
  • A departmental collaboration tool: Processes, project reviews, QA tracking
  • An Intranet publishing tool: IT, HR, ISO standards
  • A CMS with focus on free-form collaboration: Requirements capture
  • A knowledge base: Problem/solution pairs with attached patches
  • A platform to create web based applications like news portals, inventory systems, issues tracking systems

Slide 14: Who is using TWiki?

Slide 15: Who is developing TWiki?

Slide 16: Highlights: Web Environment

Slide 17: Highlights: Interactive Environment

  • Add and refactor content - "Share Knowledge"
    • Vs. posting e-mails
  • Notification of changes:
    • Get notified of page changes by e-mail or RSS feed
    • A way to keep everybody in synch
    • Also a way to check content by senior engineers
  • Peer review for up to date content:
    • Fix a posting that is inaccurate or insufficient

Slide 18: Highlights: WikiWords for Linking

  • Easy to create hyperlinks within TWiki pages, just use a WikiWord
  • WikiWords are capitalized words, run together, e.g. WebCollaboration, IntranetTools
  • To create a link, edit the page and type:
    • For more info, see IntranetTools
  • If the 'IntranetTools' page exists, it is turned automatically into a link:

Slide 19: Highlights: Creating New Pages

  • First, edit the page where you want to spin off a new page, and type in some text including a WikiWord for the new page. You will get:
    • For more info, see IntranetServices?.
  • The '?' is a link (to a page that doesn't exist, yet)
  • Now, to create the IntranetServices page, click on this link, type in some text and preview / save it
  • If you return to original page and hit Refresh, the link now covers the whole WikiWord:

Slide 20: Highlights: Version Control

  • Pages are under revision control:
    • See previous page revisions
      • Click on the r1.4 type links at bottom of page
    • See differences between revisions
      • Click on the Diffs link at bottom of page
    • See who changed what and when.
  • 'Soft Security' - anyone can change anything, but changes are logged
  • Complete audit trail, even for meta data like access control

Slide 21: Highlights: Access Control

Slide 22: Highlights: Preferences Settings

  • Three level of preferences settings:
    • TWikiPreferences: Site-level settings
      • Example: Site name, proxy settings, access control, skin
    • WebPreferences in each web: Web-level settings
      • Example: Web specific access control, navigation links, colors
    • In each user's home page, e.g. TWikiGuest: User-level settings
      • Example: Edit box size, preferred skin

Slide 23: Limitations of TWiki

  • Is a purely web based environment. This has the following implications:
  • The editor is simply an HTML form; browser editors are primitive
    • Some browsers allow you to launch your preferred editor, like w3m on Unix
  • Non WYSIWYG editing; nevertheless rich text can be created using a very simple markup language (WikiSyntax)
    • Type: Make text *bold* and =fixed=
    • Get:  Make text bold and fixed

Slide 24: Resources for Learning TWiki

  • It takes 20 minutes to learn TWiki essentials and start sharing knowledge!

Slide 25: Advanced Features

  • TWiki skins
  • TWiki variables
  • Server side includes
  • TWiki forms
  • Formatted search
  • Plugins
  • Plugin API

Slide 26: Advanced: TWiki Skins

  • TWikiSkins change the look of a TWiki topic, for example the layout of the header and footer
  • Rendered text between header and footer does not change
  • You can also use skins to define an alternate view, like a view optimized for printing
  • Separation of program logic, look and content
  • Many SkinPackages available for download at TWiki.org

Slide 27: Advanced: TWiki Variables

  • TWikiVariables are text strings - %VARIABLE% - that expand into content whenever a page is opened
  • There are predefined variables like %RED% and
    %GMTIME{"$day $month, $year"}%
  • There are preferences variables like %EDITBOXHEIGHT%
  • You can also define custom variables, with new names and values

Slide 28: Advanced: Server Side Includes

Slide 29: Advanced: TWiki Forms

  • Use TWikiForms to add form-based input to free-form content, e.g. you can structure topics with unlimited, easily searchable categories
  • A form is defined in a topic - (DB table definition)
  • Forms can be attached to topics - (DB table row)
  • The form appears in edit mode, and the contents are rendered as a table when viewing the actual page

Slide 30: Advanced: Formatted Search

  • Use FormattedSearch to generate customized reports in list format or table format
  • Typically used to list topics with attached form data
  • Report is embedded in a page with a %SEARCH{...}% variable
  • Examples:

Slide 31: Advanced: TWiki Plugins

  • You type:
    | *Region:* | *Sales:* |
    | Northeast |  320 |
    | Northwest |  580 |
    | South     |  240 |
    | Total: |  %CALC{"$SUM($ABOVE())"}% |
  • You get:
    Region: Sales:
    Northeast 320
    Northwest 580
    South 240
    Total: 1140

Slide 32: Advanced: Plugin API and Plugin Internals

  • A TWikiPlugin is composed of a Perl module that gets installed on the server and a topic with help and Plugin configuration
  • A Plugin implements callbacks that extend the functionality of TWiki
  • An API for TWikiPlugins provides the specifications for hooking into the core TWiki code from your external Perl Plugin module

Slide 33: Web Applications

  • The basic feature set of TWiki can be used to implement web applications
  • We look at two examples:
    • TWiki Installation Directory
    • Workflow system to track features and bugs of TWiki
  • Use/create Plugins for more advanced applications

Slide 34: Web App: TWiki Installation Directory

Slide 35: Web Application: Feature Tracking

Slide 36: Initial Deployment

  • Install TWiki on web server
  • Plan rollout and content
    • Pain killer vs vitamins
  • Build initial structure
  • Populate initial content with help from early adapters
  • Initial rollout with smaller group
  • Train and coach users
  • Do not underestimate inertia and time

Slide 37: Collaboration Issues

  • 'Don't Touch' syndrome
    • Looks like a 'proper website'
    • 'Better not touch it, John Smith owns that page'
  • Shared knowledge vs. 'Owners' - "I don't want to edit someone else's page"
    • DONE Wiki culture: nobody 'owns' pages, and any change can be built upon.
    • DONE First person to create page is *not* the owner!
  • 'No control' syndrome - "This leads to chaos"
    • Nightmare of DB admin; perceived as disruptive by upper management
    • DONE Soft security and audit trail

Slide 38: Collaboration Issues (cont.)

  • Effort - "It takes too much time to contribute"
    • DONE Save time by doing less e-mail, and finding critical info quicker
    • DONE Learn new technology and share by taking notes on TWiki
  • TWiki syntax - "yet another language"
    • DONE TWiki is e-mail, e.g. just *do it*
    • DONE Use the help pages, doesn't take long to learn
  • E-mail Habit - "I prefer e-mail"
    • DONE E-mail doesn't scale - new people, new technology, new customers, new partners...
  • Network infrastructure - "I'm not always connected"
    • Collaboration assumes constant network access

Slide 39: Case Study Wind River: Initial deployment

  • Wind River started a large software project in spring 2000, involving around 100 engineers located in 7 offices on two continents
  • Evaluated two web based products to keep track of teams, schedules, milestones, meeting minutes, code reviews, and to store all project related documents:
    • eRoom: Was in use by merged company ISI
    • TWiki: Was in use by acquired company TakeFive
  • Decided for TWiki because it was more flexible and configurable then eRoom, even though eRoom had a more polished UI and more out-of-box applications

Slide 40: Case Study Wind River: Build and Coach

  • Initial time was spent to compile the requirements with key stakeholders, and to build the content structure
  • Gave virtual trainings for each office on collaboration, with focus more on "pros and cons of e-mail, webmaster maintained Intranets, and TWiki based collaboration", and "why it pays off using online collaboration"
  • Coached employees by monitoring content and sending "collaboration hints"

Slide 41: Case Study Wind River: Growing Up

  • Other groups within the company started using TWiki after seeing how projects can be managed in TWiki
  • A big push in TWiki usage happened after the Corporate Council started using TWiki to document their initiatives, metrics and processes
  • Several skins have been created in the familiar Wind River Intranet look
  • Large deployment:
    • 1200 registered users
    • 100 webs, 26K pages
    • 133K actions / month
    • 11K updates / month

Slide 42: Summary

  • TWiki is a powerful platform for web collaboration
  • Free form content and content with structure where needed
  • Easy to share knowledge online
  • Careful coaching is needed
  • Viral growth after people "get it"
  • TWiki is a platform to build web-based applications efficiently

Slide 43: Questions & Answers




Slide 44: References

Notes

-- PeterThoeny - 20 May 2003

BasicForm
TopicClassification TWikiAdvocacy
TopicSummary

InterestedParties

RelatedTopics TWikiAdvocacy, TWikiDeployment
Edit | Attach | Watch | Print version | History: r12 < r11 < r10 < r9 < r8 | Backlinks | Raw View | Raw edit | More topic actions
Topic revision: r12 - 2005-06-01 - PeterThoeny
 
  • Learn about TWiki  
  • Download TWiki
This site is powered by the TWiki collaboration platform Powered by Perl Hosted by OICcam.com Ideas, requests, problems regarding TWiki? Send feedback. Ask community in the support forum.
Copyright © 1999-2026 by the contributing authors. All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.