Wiki Patterns

A Records Manager quakes when faced with unstructured data that can be modified at whim by users however literate.

Questions are being asked that may sound critical, such as

• Where does the use of a corporate Wiki cross the bounds between records management and communication?
• Is only some corporate data ready to be Wikified?

A Records Manager might feel right to point out:

• Wiki entries may not be acceptable in a tax audit because the records can be doctored.
• Policies and procedures stored in a wiki have no authorization status.
• The documentation and records management system may not pass a management system audit (e.g by a major customer or for ISO 9001).

A wiki champion may respond by:

• Explaining the wiki's soft security features (all changes logged) and inviting the tax auditor to verify this to his own satisfaction.
• Defining a way to clearly distinguish an authorized “release” from a “draft”.
• Do both of the above.

Wikiphobia other arguments against wikis.

PageMaintainer understands the overall concepts, tasks, and reference information that a reader may require.