Virtual teams Wikis and other collaboration tools Valentin

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Valentin Todorov UNIDO v. todorov@unido. org (in collaboration with Diman Todorov, Cardiff University, UK) MSIS 2009 (Oslo, 18 -20 May 2009) 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 1

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Outline • • Introduction: what is Wiki; Web 2. 0; technical aspects Comparison with similar technologies Purpose, strengths and limits of wikis Example scenarios Wiki engines Information retrieval in wikis Summary and conclusions 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 2

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools What is a Wiki • “The simplest online database that could possibly work. ” --Ward Cunningham • “A wiki is a collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone with access to contribute or modify content, using a simplified mark-up language. ” --Wikipedia 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 3

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools What is a Wiki • A piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content • Any Web browser can be used. • Wiki supports hyperlinks • Has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and cross -links between internal pages on the fly. • Wiki is considered a Web 2. 0 technology 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 4

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools What is Web 2. 0 • Web 2. 0 is a term often applied to a perceived ongoing transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. Ultimately Web 2. 0 services are expected to replace desktop computing applications for many purposes. --Wikipedia • Web 1. 0 was all about connecting people. It was an interactive space, and I think Web 2. 0 is of course a piece of jargon, nobody even knows what it means. If Web 2. 0 for you is blogs and wikis, then that is people to people. But that was what the Web was supposed to be all along. -- Tim Berners-Lee 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 5

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools What is Web 2. 0 • Prominent examples for Web 2. 0 applications: – flickr – facebook – del. ico. us. • A commonly accepted set of characteristics of Web 2. 0: – – 18. 05. 2009 participatory decentralized linked emergent MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 6

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Are you Web 2. 0 compliant? 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 7

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Are you Web 2. 0 compliant? http: //web 2. 0 validator. com/ 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 8

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Technically speaking … • Special mark-up language • Simple, but poses a significant entry barrier • WYSIWYG content entry – wiki toolbar 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 9

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Technically speaking…(2) • Highly dynamic content: how to ensure quality of this content? – – 18. 05. 2009 A complete revision history Subscribe for notifications Major and minor changes Subscribe to an RSS feed MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 10

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Technically speaking…(3) • Revision history example 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 11

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Technically speaking…(4) • There are the following two categories of Wikis: – Wiki services or Wiki farms • Free or fee based – Self-hosted Wiki + A variety of OS software + Maximum control over the access and security + Fulfilment of specific requirements - Necessity of own server - Necessity of technical and network experience - Longer start up time 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 12

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Technically speaking…(5) • How to choose a Wiki? – – – – 18. 05. 2009 How many users Are separate groups necessary Is interaction between groups necessary How secure should be the pages Public or private pages How skilled are the participants How important is the layout MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 13

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Other technologies: mailing lists • • Emails are sent to a designated email address Mailing list refers to four things: 1. 2. 3. 4. • • A list of email addresses, Subscribers: the people receiving mail at those addresses, Publications (e-mail messages) sent to those addresses Reflector, which is a single e-mail address The receiver is a software which broadcasts received mails to all subscribers Two types of lists: announcement list (or newsletter)and discussion list Mailing lists are private (unlike Wikis) Archived mailing lists provide functionality (like searching, indexing) to achieve tasks similar to the ones accomplished with Wikis 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 14

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Other technologies: web forums • Modern form of newsgroups • Users can change their own content after it has been posted • Archival of communication threads is intrinsic • Forums are more communication centric (unlike Wikis which are document centric) • Wikis provide better support for authoring, retrieval and interrelation of documents From www. selfhtml. org 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 15

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Other technologies: blogs • The content is organised in reverse chronological order • One or few authors • Specific subject, personal information or combination of both • An interactive comments section right below the article • The comments can be written anonymously • A good tradeoff between the strict access control in traditional content management systems and the liberal approach in wikis 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 16

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Other technologies: blogs - Example • Blog About Stats http: //blogstats. wordpress. com/ 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 17

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Other technologies: blogs - Example RSS Searching Today Recent posts Tag cloud Recent comments 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 18

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Other technologies: CMS • CMS and Wiki have same features and functionalities, but different emphasis • Wiki is more open to authorship • In Wiki the support for authorisation and authentication is less sophisticated • Wikis implement elaborate interpersonal conflict resolution mechanisms • Free open source vs. expensive proprietary solution (exceptions like Joomla) • http: //www. cmsmatrix. com 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 19

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Other technologies: MS Share. Point • Used to build Intranet and Extranet portals and team sites • Maturity in terms of user interface, database design, workflow and communication features • Two platforms: – Windows Share. Point Services (WSS) - free with Windows 2003 Server – Microsoft Office Share. Point Server (MOSS) • Strong when type specific documents are conserned (Word, Excel, Power. Point) • Share. Point 2007 includes a wiki (low profile) • Not necessary to compare Share. Point to Wiki but rather to other CMS 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 20

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Other technologies: MS Lotus Notes • Two products – Louts Domino Server – Lotus Notes • Good interoperability with DB 2, JSP and XML but poor third party support • Some integration possible between Notes and wikis • Preferred for hosting large reference documents or more formal documents within Intranet 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 21

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Wiki best practices • A large user base is needed • Work best when the organization structure is flat • Willingness to share information – worry for not receiving credit • Conduct guidelines – the five pillars of Wikipedia • When introducing wikis often expectations are too high • Although simple wikis need introduction – tutorial or workshop • Wikis are never finished – this needs to be made clear from the beginning • Some content should be present at the time of introduction 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 22

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: Overview • Building collaboratively a knowledge base (METIS wiki, R wiki, Ubuntu wiki) • Collaborative software development • Education, teaching, training • Collaborative authoring (MSIS task force on software sharing, UNIDO INDSTAT 2 documentation) • Intranet (UNIDO Intranet) 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 23

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: METIS Wiki • To help experts in statistical agencies develop metadata management systems and processes. • Enterprise wiki Confluence hosted by UNECE • Content is structured around Case study entries • The case studies follow a predefined template with six topics • Only authorised users can enter and edit content • Easy upload from an Word document • The complete case study document in PDF format is provided too 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 24

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: METIS Wiki (2) 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 25

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: R Wiki • R is “a system for statistical computation and graphics. It provides, among other things, a programming language, high-level graphics, interfaces to other languages and debugging facilities. ” -- R-core development team • An (unfriendly) R-Help mailing list • R Wiki launched in 2006 • Uses Doku. Wiki engine (targeted to software documentation); R-specific extensions • Distinguish between – large guides and books and – short tips 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 26

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: R Wiki (2) • Statistics: – 2800 pages – 460 pages with probably legitimate content (h 2 titles) – 650 registered users 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 27

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: Ubuntu Wiki • Ubuntuusers: http: //www. ubuntuusers. de • A portal (in German) – provides everything necessary about Ubuntu and its derivatives • Single entry point to: – Web forum – ask questions – Wiki – read (and/or write) guides and explanations – Blog – publishes news from Ubuntuusers • Clean structure build on a small number of top level categories: download, installation, drivers, security, programming and so on. • This structure can be further extended 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 28

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: Collaborative software development • A small team of software developers working on a midrange project • A Wiki is included in the development process • The Wiki is not a part of the developed project • Wiki is used to – – Share know-how about third party products Collect information about competing products Store meeting minutes To-do lists • Wiki is inappropriate for technical documentation of the source code (too informal) 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 29

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: UNIDO SDMX pilot project 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 30

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: Collaborative authoring • A small team of up to 10 members (possibly distributed geographically and organizationally) with the task of creating one or more documents • Real time or asynchronously • Software tools and technologies: – – – – 18. 05. 2009 Supported file formats Text chat or conferencing Tracking changes and revisions RSS feeds and email updates Private and public sessions Real time co editing Possibility for adding comments Spell checker MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 31

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example: MSIS Task force on software sharing • Cross-organizational workgroup with 10 members • No face-to-face meeting was envisaged • Evolution – a) conventional mail exchange – b) web forum – c) wiki hosted by ISTAT • Some initial structure was offered, which turned out to be sufficient • Real time (teleconferences) and asynchronous editing • Advantages – free – simple – no problems with the organizational “borders” 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 32

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: Intranet • Quick and uncomplicated collecting of information • Google, Nokia, Motorola • Why (top ten reasons - from TWiki blog)? – – – – – 18. 05. 2009 Slowing of the e-mail flood Up-to-date Open structure Powerful tools Flexibility Operability Transparency Security Low resource demand Cost savings MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 33

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: UNIDO Intranet • Launched in 2006 as a successor of the previous conventional HTML site • Mediawiki with many optional modules • Statistics: – – 20000 pages 8000 pages with probably legitimate content 650 registered users 200 users actively contribute content • Semantic Media. Wiki (SMW) – experimental installation 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 34

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Example scenarios: UNIDO Intranet 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 35

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Wiki engines • Wiki engine is the software enabling the wiki services • An overwhelming list (by programming language and by name) is provided at http: //c 2. com/cgi/wiki? Wiki. Engines • A Top. Ten list (what criteria? ) can be found at : http: //c 2. com/cgi/wiki? Top. Ten. Wiki. Engines – Media. Wiki, Moin. Wiki, Tiki. Wiki, Doku. Wiki • Help for choosing and comparing: http: //www. wikimatrix. org/ 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 36

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Information retrieval and structure in Wiki • Common critique: hard to find information if unfamiliar with a specific wiki • Structuring the wiki – Useful structures are created by the user – A particular structure can be created, suggested or enforced – Structuring elements such as • Namespaces • Subpages • Categories • Different types of links • Keywords search • Templates • Skins 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 37

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Semantic Wikis • Follow the idea of semantic web as envisioned by Tim Berners Lee • Enrich the WWW with machine processable information • A Semantic Wiki extends a Wiki by adding Metadata in the form of semantic annotations to the Wiki-pages • Semantic technologies: RDF, OWL, Topic Maps, or Conceptual Graphs • Semantic navigation: – in traditional Wiki - follow a link, – in semantic Wiki - additional information on the relation the link describes. • Semantic search: e. g. SPARQL queries 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 38

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Semantic Wikis : Example • From http: //semanticweb. org/wiki/Upcoming_events • Query: – List all upcoming events (title, city, country, start and end date), sorted by end date <ask format="table" sort="end date" > [[end date: =>{{CURRENTYEAR}}-{CURRENTMONTH}}{{CURRENTDAY}}]] [[title: =*|Name]] [[has location city: : *|City]] [[has location country: : *|Country]] [[Start date: =*]] [[End date: =*]] </ask> 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 39

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Semantic Wikis : Example 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 40

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools Summary • Simple and inexpensive (if not completely free) • Ideal scenario: a small group of people working intensively on related material • Intranet for a moderately sized company or organization – How well does it scale? – How does it mach the organization culture? • Although Wikis hold much potential, the norms for their use are still emergent • Design guidelines needed 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 41

Virtual teams: Wikis and other collaboration tools References • • • B. Leuf and W. Cunningham. The Wiki Way: Collaboration and Sharing on the Internet, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2001 B. Huettner, M. K. Brown, and C. James-Tanny. Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools. Wordware Publishing, 2007. M. Krötzsch, D. Vrandecic, and M. Völkel. Wikipedia and the semantic web - the missing links. In: Proceedings of Wikimania 2005 - The First International Wikimedia Conference. Wikimedia Foundation, 2005. D. Frongia and C. Vaccari. Introduzione al Web 2. 0 per la Statistica, Contributi ISTAT, 4, 2008. J. A. West and M. L. West. Using Wikis for Online Collaboration. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , San Francisco, 2009 18. 05. 2009 MSIS 2009, Oslo: Valentin Todorov 42