Among the extravagant web-based project management solutions on the web (Basecamp, @task, Wrike, VeoProject, Clarizen, FogBugz, …more) lies an overlooked gem called “Wiki.” A Wiki is a website designed for collaboration. Wikis allow multiple authors to create, remove, and modify content. The inherent collaborative nature of Wikis makes it a perfect addition to the project manager’s arsenal. Wikis cannot replace software written specifically for PPM, but Wikis can assist organizations during development. This article reviews the following:
- Some of the relevant features and uses of Wikis for PPM
- Some overuses of Wikis
- Possible risks associated with using Wikis
- A list of articles that prompted me to try Wikis for PPM
Wiki Features
- Wikis are built for collaboration.
- Wikis implement unobtrusive document versioning methods.
- Category and page structure is flexible but can be standardized for specific needs.
- Wiki content is stored as plain text. This makes it easy to duplicate and format in a text editor if necessary.
- Plugins and extensions allow further customizations to suit your organization’s needs.
- Relatively easy to maintain. (Most of the Wikis I tried had simple install scripts)
Recommended Uses of Wikis
- Meeting and phone conversation notes
- Requirements gathering
- Planning project design
- Risk analysis notes
- Writing user stories
- Lightweight asset management (documentation, comps, UML diagrams)
Overuses of Wikis
It’s probably best to use a separate tool for the following project tasks:
- Bug tracking
- Time tracking
- Code versioning
- Code documentation
Choosing the Right Wiki
If you have not already selected a Wiki package, I recommend reviewing these links:
After you have selected and installed the Wiki of your choosing, it is time to move on to structuring and securing content.
I chose MediaWiki because of its simple installation process and configuration through LocalSettings.php. A friend of mine brought up a good point – most people will be familiar with MediaWiki because Wikipedia uses it; everyone has visited Wikipedia.org.
Wiki Categories
Determine what topics you would like to store in the Wiki and how it will be organized before adding content. This planning will prevent dead links and reworking the Wiki’s structure. Refer to MediaWiki’s category help page for more information and recommendations.
Wiki ACLs
By default, wikis are not built to enforce strict access to pages, categories, and media. Custom extensions can provide Access Control List (ACL) behavior. I would adopt an ACL extension only after considering the sensitivity of your Wiki content. This list contains potential MediaWiki vulnerabilities for adopting 3rd party ACL extensions but may also apply to your wiki software. If you use a MediaWiki alternative, see if it has a built-in ACL or documentation regarding the risks of using ACL plugins.
I recommend installing a new Wiki for each client and protecting the directory with an .htaccess file in favor of using a 3rd party ACL.
Wikis and Version Control
Storing Wiki contents outside of development repositories creates a divergence between project plans and project code since Wikis have their own version control mechanism. This divergence does not introduce risk if the latest project plan is always relevant regardless of the code’s stability. I would recommend keeping Wiki content and code separate because duplicate version controls on a project asset is dangerous.
References
- Kelly, William. “Building a project Web site the easy way.” TechRepublic – A Resource for IT Professionals. 12 Mar 2003. Tech Republic. 6 Aug 2008 <link>.
- Macomber, Hal. “Proposal for a P-Log Specification.” Reforming Project Management. 2003. 6 Aug 2008 <link>.
- Adamy, Miro. “Project management using Wiki.” Miro’s World. 05 Mar 2007. 5 Aug 2008 <link>.
- Child, Tim. “Wiki as project management tool..” blog.timc3.com. 19 Nov 2006. 6 Aug 2008 <link>.
- Hohman, Jamie. “Wiki Customization to Resolve Management Issues in Distributed Software Projects.” Software Technology Support Center. Aug 2008. STSC. 6 Aug 2008 <link>.
Wiki is a great technology indeed. It offers a lot of flexibility in the collaboration area. But I doubt that wikis are perfect project menegement tools. They lack control and planning features. They can curtaintly facilitate project team\’s collaboration, but I don\’t think a project can be managed using a wiki as the only project management tool. In the very beggining you mention project management tools that work like wikis.I don\’t know about all of them, but I\’m familiar with wrike, as we use it for a couple of our projects. What I like about it is that it has both flexibility and ease of use of a wiki and strong scheduling/rescheduling features.
Garry,
Thanks for your comment. I agree with “I don’t think a project can be managed using a wiki as the only project management tool.” The tone of the first paragraph might suggest using a Wiki for all PM tasks, but I tried to outline some overuses of Wikis such as time tracking, bug tracking, etc. I’m suggesting project managers use the right tool for the task.
For example, I use OneNote to draw planning diagrams and upload them to a Wiki page for comments. Time tracking and estimation is done in FogBugz but I might have a screenshot of the latest delivery probability graph.
Wikis are great for centralizing knowledge for team collaboration. But we found that always going back and updating the wiki was cumbersome. We found it best to enter our comments in the mode we are working and then aggregate that knowledge using a keyword search. For example, if we are tracking our time, we add notes to the time entry. If we are updating a task, we add our notes there. Wikis are great for a lot of purposes, but for us, project management was not one of them.
Everone has known Wikipedia and its the no.1 influential website too. So giving links to Wikis has been a good strategy nowadays and people opt for it too. So we must make sure that we choose the right wikis for us
If you need a tool to manage your software development projects,
I can reccommend
http://www.ganttzilla.com