Hvis jeg ba deg om å navngi verdens mest kjente wiki, ville du kanskje sagt 'Wikipedia.' Og du ville hatt rett!

Men hvis jeg ba deg om en definisjon av 'wiki,' eller hvorfor bedrifter kanskje kjøper en bedriftswiki, kan det hende du sliter.

After all, there are a lot of different types of wikis out there. Det finnes en intern wiki, en ekstern wiki, en bedriftswiki, hva betyr det hele? Some are accessible to everyone, others are tightly restricted to specific groups of people. Noen er drevet av AI, andre er det ikke.

I denne artikkelen vil vi definere hva en wiki er, diskutere de forskjellige typene wikis, forklare hvordan man lager en wiki, gi deg en oversikt over fordelene og bruksområdene, sammen med noen eksempler.

La oss dykke inn!

Wiki definition

What is a wiki?

A wiki is a web-based application that lets users easily publish, edit, manage, access, and share information. Companies use wikis to allow their employees to access the information they need to do their jobs and to document their own knowledge with ease.

Ordet 'wiki' kommer fra det hawaiianske ordet 'wiki wiki', som betyr 'raskt.' Det er et passende navn fordi en av de viktigste fordelene med en wiki er hastigheten det gir lagmedlemmer til å dokumentere og dele informasjon med hverandre.

Nå som vi har definert hva en wiki er, la oss ta en titt på noen av de forskjellige typene wikis som er tilgjengelige i dag.

Internal wiki vs external wiki

An internal wiki is a type of software that companies use to store, organize, and share sensitive information. De er sikre interne nettsteder som kun er tilgjengelige for personer som har spesifikke tillatelser – vanligvis en bedrifts ansatte. A company wiki is used to give teams a single source of truth for useful information and to ultimately improve efficiency.

An external wiki is a software application that members of the public can use to view, publish, and edit information. They are public-facing websites that can be accessed by anyone. Some external wikis provide different permissions to different people. For example, in some cases you might need to have an account to be able to edit content on an external wiki. Companies use external wikis to share content like product specifications and company updates with the public. Both business and non-business communities use external wikis to make relevant information widely available.

To summarize, the key difference between an internal wiki and an external wiki comes down to who has access. Internal wikis are specifically designed to limit access to specific groups of people, while external wikis are widely accessible to the public.

What is a company wiki?

A company wiki, also known as a corporate wiki enterprise wiki, is a private website used by internal teams to capture, find, and share knowledge. It acts as a central repository where employees can collaboratively create, edit, and remove information. Most company wikis have strict permission controls and privacy features that ensure only employees can access and adjust content. The primary purpose of a company wiki is to enable knowledge sharing between teams, improve alignment, and increase employee productivity.

Nå la oss ta en titt på noen eksempler på populære wikis.

Wiki examples

The first ever wiki was developed in the mid 90s by Ward Cunningham, an American computer programmer who co-wrote the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. The wiki he developed was called WikiWikiWeb and it set the standard for all the wiki software that would follow. 

Here are some examples of wikis that are widely used today:

• Wikipedia: an free online encyclopedia where members of the public add, edit, and organize information on a vast variety of topics.
• WikiHow: en nettmanual full av informasjon om hvordan man fullfører ulike oppgaver, håndterer forskjellige situasjoner og finner løsninger på mange av livets utfordringer.
• Wiktionary: a free digital dictionary that contains definitions of words in a wide range of languages, alongside a thesaurus, quotations, and details of the etymology of different words.
• iFixit: a wiki of repair guides for consumer electronics and appliances that users can edit and contribute to.
• Wikivoyage: a free web-based travel guide assembled through collaborative editing, providing destination guides and travel information.
• SharePoint: sometimes referred to as SharePoint Wiki, this is a cloud-based content management platform used by companies across the globe to help their employees share information with ease.

Read on to learn about the key benefits of a company wiki, and how to make a wiki.

What are the benefits of a wiki?

Company wikis are fast becoming a standard part of the tech stack for most organizations, from small startups to large enterprises. After all, they can solve many universal business problems and offers a range of benefits. La oss se på noen av dem nå.

Find information easily

A wiki makes it easy for employees to find information. Simply put, wikis give every member of a team one place to find the information they need to do their jobs. Enten de leter etter en dato for produktutgivelse, en godkjent bedriftslogo eller HR-policy, kan de finne det i sin bedriftswiki. Og i økende grad legger noen moderne wikis til integrasjoner som lar ansatte søke etter informasjon direkte innenfor appen de jobber i til enhver tid.

Share knowledge quickly 

A wiki gives employees a way to share information quickly. With a company wiki, employees have a single location to document the information they want their colleagues to be able to access. Enten det er en prosjektstatusoppdatering, en melding som skisserer markedsstrategi, eller en standard prosedyrer, kan ansatte publisere verdifull informasjon i sin wiki med tillit til at det blir funnet av lagmedlemmer som trenger det.

Reduced app overload

The number of apps the average company uses has grown dramatically over the past decade. While each app has a role to play, having a large number of software tools can create information silos, decrease productivity, and reduce operational efficiency. En ny type AI-drevne wikis hjelper selskaper med å løse dette problemet ved å gjøre det mulig å søke på tvers av flere kilder fra et enkelt brukergrensesnitt – en arbeidsflyt som noen ganger refereres til som bedriftsøk. Some AI-powered wikis also allow users to create, edit, and adjust content to make it relevant to specific groups of employees. With features like these, wikis allow companies to consolidate tools, such as an intranet. 

Increase employee efficiency 

A study by McKinsey found that employees spend 20% of their time on average searching for the information they need to do their jobs. Det er ekvivalenten av å miste én dag hver uke til en oppgave som både er ineffektiv … og dypt frustrerende! With a company wiki, employees have a single source of truth for information. This drastically reduces the time each employee has to spend searching for information and helps to significantly increase efficiency company-wide. 

Improve company culture

Forskning fra Gallup fant at ansattengasjementet har stagnert de siste årene, ettersom arbeidere rapporterer om en følelse av å være frakoblet fra lagkameratene og selskapets oppdrag. Dette har en ringvirkning på teamets kultur, produktivitet og samlet ytelse. However, with a wiki, company leaders can share important updates with their teams more easily and employees can engage with each other's content daily. This can go a long way to helping workers feel more connected to their company and engaged with their work.

As you can see, wikis offer an array of benefits to teams across an organization. But what type of information is most commonly documented in a wiki? Vi vil utforske det i neste del, hvor vi ser på vanlige bruksområder for wiki.

Top wiki use cases

Companies typically use wikis across a range of use cases. After all, a wiki is at its most effective when used across multiple teams and home to various types of content. Here are some of the top wiki use cases.

• Employee onboarding materials: a company wiki is a great place to store the documents, tasks, and handbooks that are needed by new hires during onboarding.
• Standard operating procedures: for many companies, the most common type of content found in a wiki is standard operating procedures that outline how best to complete certain tasks like filing a ticket with IT, filling out an expense report, or referring someone for an open role.
• HR-policyer: enten det er informasjon om fordeler, PTO-policyer eller opplæringsmaterialer, blir wikis ofte brukt av HR-team for å lagre materialer som er relevante for alle ansatte i en bedrift.
• Produkt FAQ: en wiki gir kundevendte team en enkelt sannhetskilde for produktinformasjon, noe som gjør det enklere for dem å svare på kunders spørsmål raskt og nøyaktig.
• Brand assets: company logos, employee headshots, and product images are often stored in company wikis, making it easy for employees to find the latest versions of key brand assets.

How to make a wiki

Til dette punktet kan det hende du lurer på: 'hvordan kan jeg lage en wiki?' Enten du ser etter å lage en bedriftswiki, en ekstern wiki for et online fellesskap, eller en annen type wiki helt, her er de viktigste trinnene å følge.

Choose a wiki platform

The first step is to select a wiki tool that suits your goals. If you want to make a personal wiki, a free open-source solution like DokuWiki might be a good fit. Hvis du ser etter å implementere en bedriftswiki, må du vurdere faktorer som kostnad, brukervennlighet, tillatelseskontroller, integrasjoner og AI-drevne funksjoner. You might find it helpful to read about the best wiki software tools.

Set up your wiki

Once you choose a platform, the next step is to set it up. This might involve creating an account, assigning roles to different team members, customizing a homepage, and configuring permission settings. Many wiki tools provide templates to help you get started quickly.

Add and organize content

The next step is a fun one: adding content. Det er viktig å vurdere strukturen og layouten på wikiene dine for å sikre at det er så lett som mulig for brukerne å navigere. Create pages for high-level subject areas, and add detailed subpages underneath. Det er også viktig å legge til interne lenker mellom relaterte wiki-sider.

Customize appearance

Før du deler din nye wiki bredt, er det viktig å tilpasse den – spesielt hvis den er en bedriftswiki som skal brukes av et stort antall ansatte. Mange wikis lar deg justere farger, skrifttyper, layouter og andre designfunksjoner for å matche merkevarens stil. This can go a long way to ensuring employees have familiar and engaging experience every time they use the wiki.

Establish processes to keep content fresh

The final step is to create guidelines and processes that ensure the wiki is widely adopted and well maintained in the long run. Historically, a lot of the work in maintaining a wiki was done manually, but with the advent of AI technology, the task is a lot easier nowadays. Uansett hvilken wiki-programvare du bruker, er det viktig at gammelt innhold blir arkivert, populært innhold alltid er oppdatert, og analyser kontinuerlig utnyttes for å drive adopsjon.

Best wiki software

The world of wikis has changed dramatically since Ward Cunningham launched WikiWikiWeb in the 1990s. I dag er noen av internettets mest populære nettsteder eksterne wikis, mens selskaper over hele verden ser på interne wikis som en kritisk del av sin teknologiske stabel.

In this article, we explained what a wiki is, shared examples of popular wikis, discussed the many benefits of a company wiki, and outlined how to make a wiki. Now you might be wondering what the best wiki software is for your business. The good news is there are a lot of options available today, many of which are adopting the latest AI technology to make it easier than ever for employees to find the information they need to do their best work. For å lære mer, les om de beste wiki-programvareverktøyene.