CPsquare

A Conference like CPsquare’s Wikis all around the world and all the way is a way for our community to “work a problem together”, although we invite guests to join us in the process.  Part of the process is deciding how to get organized, what questions to ask, what level of analysis is appropriate, what assumptions are “givens” and what assumptions need to be reconsidered.  Then there’s the question of “what is a case?”  Although not all of the cases being presented will use the this framework, we’ve developed the following framework over the past few weeks to get at the question of “What role do wikis play in the repertoire of a community of practice?”

Depending on the size and complexity of a case being presented, here are some points that we agree are useful in discussions and presentations:

• Context or circumstances (how much history or context is useful in presenting this case?)
  • Presenting community or organizational or social context: a metaphor or story that gives a glimpse
  • Role of “the wiki”
  • Other technologies and connections in in use
  • People who are involved, interested, leading, evangelizing
  • Community assets and constraints
  • The topic: what it means to them and how it’s used by writers, editors and readers
• Mechanisms and processes (at what level of detail or scope to describe?)
  • Presenting technical details, screen-shots, process descriptions, anecdotes
  • Sparking interest / curiosity
  • Social and technical guidelines for resolving disagreements and legitimacy
  • Software features and mechanisms that support interaction
  • Time frame and pace of development
  • Specialization and breadth of content
  • How informality and speed are balanced with quality goals
• Direction of development or outcomes (to whom should this make sense and at what level?)
  • Presenting positive outcomes, metrics and measures of success (community, practice, domain?)
  • Uses and benefits of the wiki pages and the wiki as a whole
  • Challenges and possible solutions (brainstorming with group also encouraged)
  • Secondary effects