all the wikis

Online collaboration needs good planning. This three-point statement of purpose will put G.A.S. in your tank. It will help decide if you what type of collaboration software you need and how you proceed with the project.

• Goals - Why am I doing this?
• Audience - Who will be the end-users of the collaboration?
• Success - How will success be measured?

Think carefully about each of these questions before you start on the design process. The answers will put you on the right track and help you decide on software needs. For example do you need a wiki or other collaboration software or will you be better served by a simple website design?

One to five answers for each of the questions is usually enough to give you a clear picture of what is expected of you.

Below I have given some examples of answers to these questions. Please spend at least 30 minutes thinking out your own responses. It will save you time, effort and money in the long haul.

Goals - Why am I doing this?

Having clear goals will turbocharge your project. Every decision along the way will be clearer and easier because you can measure each option against how much it helps you achieve your goals. Here are some goals people going online have come up with:

• show off my skills
• sell more of my products
• establish an information source for people with the same illness as me
• share information with people with the same hobbies as me
• sell my e-books
• make my job easier
• keep my family in touch with my travels

The first of these goals, showing off your skills, may be legitimate but if it is only a secondary aim make sure it stays under control otherwise you will find yourself doing things ‘because you know how’ not because it advances your primary goals.

A suitable goal for online collaboration might look something like:

“To facilitate development and implementation of work practice policies by: encouraging staff to collaborate in their development, and providing easy access to finalised policies.”

Audience - Who will be the end-users of the website?

Website designers need to know the intended audience or end-user for a website. This question remains unanswered for many online projects. As a result, the approach is scattered instead of targeted at the right people. The website becomes confused and confusing as it attempts to suit every taste, interest and level of expertise.

You cannot presume your collaborators will be just like you.

Knowing your audience is the key ingredient for achieving good audience dynamics. In my article on audience dynamics, you can read that audience dynamics is good when the website recognises and meets the users needs and interests.

People you could be writing for include:

• Yourself
• People learning to play the clarinet
• Potential clients
• Your work team
• The boss
• Friends and family
• Experts in the field of cryogenics

A suitable starting point for an audience / end-user statement could read something like the following, but the more details that can be achieved the better:

“People who share an interest in veteran Ford motor cars and want to swap stories and photographs. Their main interest is Ford motor cars not the internet. They will usually, but not always be adult males.”

Success - How will success be measured?

Knowing how success of the collaboration will be measured gives you something concrete to focus on. Goals become clearer and decisions easier once you know the answer to this question.

Success might be measured by:

• Number page visits a month
• Income from the site
• Number of registered members
• Acclaim from members of a club
• Staff enthusiasm and support for workplace policies

So now its your turn:

• Goals - Define them
• Audience - Describe them
• Success - Know how success will be measured

Come on its worth it. Just do it! Then you will be in a great position to decide what features you need from a wiki.

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