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Ask HN: Why do non-techies simply not "get" the idea of a wiki?

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Ask HN: Why do non-techies simply not "get" the idea of a wiki?

#1

Post by RiderOfGiraffes »

We here at work have been trying to reduce paperwork while simultaneously increasing knowledge dissemination. For some time the techies have been using a wiki, and others are starting to get the point that when they ask a question the first response is "Have you checked on the wiki?" The answer until recently has always been "no", and the question now is answered about half the time by doing what they should have done in the first place.

It's like "Let me Google that for you"

So we've moved the holiday booking system to the wiki. Now people can say when they're away on site, working from home, sick, or on leave. The leave days can be booked in advance and then confirmed by their line manager. At a glance we can see who is in, out, available or away, and the system is really helping our planning. Suddenly everyone knows when someone is on site and might need support, or on leave and unable to help. The non-techies have themselves said, when shown it, that it's really useful.

But the non-techies just don't "get it." They won't update the wiki, they still don't look at the wiki, they never add information to the wiki. Instead, they insist on sending things by email. Then in a few weeks time people are asking, and we have to trawl through email systems to find the information.

Except we (the techies) don't, because when we get information we put it on the wiki. Then when the non-techies ask us anything we can say "Have you checked the wiki?"

And they still don't get it.

Where is the mis-match? How can we make a wiki as accessible/understandable as a Word document?

How can we help the non-techies attain enlightenment?

Can the non-techies attain enlightenment?

Re: Ask HN: Why do non-techies simply not "get" the idea of a wiki?

#2

Post by mixmax »

This sounds like a classical techies/non-techies problem. The techies are trying to implement something, in this case a wiki, that is an unknown concept to everyone else. And since the techies "get it" they expect everyone else to get it too.

The thing is that to the rest of the organisation there are probably the following problems:

- they don't know what a wiki is, and they don't much care. Even though they use wikipedia they don't necessarily grasp the concept behind it: They just see a single entry, happily oblivious to how it got there.

- they don't want to learn what a wiki is, unless it directly helps them in the short term.

- They have ingrained ways of doing things. Changing people's behaviour is like changing direction of a supertanker: It takes a lot of time and effort.

The solution is to keep pushing it, paying attention to the following:

- Make it worth people's while in the short term. Reading your post it sounds like you may already be well on the way here.

- Make it easy. Usability should be top-notch, and there should be help available everywhere. If it's as simple as a mac it will be much easier to turn people around.

- Make sure that some things can only be done in the wiki, forcing people to do it. Don't put people's e-mails in the wiki, force them to do so themself.

Re: Ask HN: Why do non-techies simply not "get" the idea of a wiki?

#3

Post by mikeyur »

mixmax wrote: post #2

This sounds like a classical techies/non-techies problem. The techies are trying to implement something, in this case a wiki, that is an unknown concept to everyone else. And since the techies "get it" they expect everyone else to get it too. The thing is that to the rest of the organisation there are probably the following problems: - they don't know what a wiki is, and they don't much care. Even though they use wik…

I agree that you should force them into making the change. You won't make the most friends doing it, but it'll be less of a hassle.

You need to take the 'facebook approach.'

A lot of people HATED the new facebook design when it originally launched. I'm sure you remember, there were groups with millions of members saying "bring back the old facebook" and complaining about everything.

Months later everything has calmed down, for the most part people like it and the change needed to happen. Facebook needed to make the change to implement new features, design elements, etc.

They'll be mad at first but eventually get over.

Re: Ask HN: Why do non-techies simply not "get" the idea of a wiki?

#4

Post by cgranade »

mixmax wrote: post #2

This sounds like a classical techies/non-techies problem. The techies are trying to implement something, in this case a wiki, that is an unknown concept to everyone else. And since the techies "get it" they expect everyone else to get it too. The thing is that to the rest of the organisation there are probably the following problems: - they don't know what a wiki is, and they don't much care. Even though they use wik…

Make sure that some things can only be done in the wiki, forcing people to do it. Don't put people's e-mails in the wiki, force them to do so themself.

I second this point. Essentially, you don't want to be in the position of doing for your users what they "should" be doing themselves. While it sounds like you are there to support your users, you can support your users better with a bit of cooperation. From my experience with non-techies and wikis, I don't think it's a problem of not getting it so much as a problem of making it easier to learn how to use the wiki than continue not using it.

Re: Ask HN: Why do non-techies simply not "get" the idea of a wiki?

#6

Post by geuis »

The problem isn't the idea of the wiki. It's the implementation. Any non-techie gets how to write a blog post in Wordpress. Spacing, make things bold, etc. I've been editing with various wiki software for years and I still find it cumbersome. If you can have a system that is a wiki under the hood but has a normal-person level interface, you would see more usage. Regular folks have better things to do than learn our odd syntaxes for doing things. It's not something that saves them time because instead of being easy and automatic, they have to break their trains of thought to do this "wiki" thing. It's no different than when your coding in the zone and your manager interrupts you about something marketing wants.

Re: Ask HN: Why do non-techies simply not "get" the idea of a wiki?

#8

Post by brusqe »

I was heavily involved with a university project of designing and building an open wheel racecar. We tried to do the exact same thing, that is, reduce our paperwork while increase knowledge dissemination (as well as knowledge retention and accountability for work).

At first we implemented a wiki. The techie guys on the team saw the long-term value of it and filled it in dutifully, however, many people simply didn't "get" the idea. The wiki ended up stagnating, as only a handful of people used it. The non-techie guys would inevitably ask about what was currently happening, of which the answer was already posted on the wiki. People just never warmed to it. Knowledge management and communication should not be a struggle, or else it will fall by the way side.

The solution was to step away from a wiki system (MediaWiki) and towards something else (Basecamp). Basecamp fitted in with how everyone used the net. Message threads that were relevant to people were sent to their inbox, they could reply to from their own mail account. Milestones are clear - tasks are clear. It's just usable and seamless.

A wiki has a perceived barrier of entry. It's a lot to take on at once for a non-techie. Using the systems which are currently in place, (eg email, a homepage/dashboard setup) to disseminate info will go a long way, rather than fighting an uphill battle of getting people to understand #REDIRECT [[pagename]]

Re: Ask HN: Why do non-techies simply not "get" the idea of a wiki?

#9

Post by c1sc0 »

Cognitive load: it takes effort to learn a new way of doing things, especially if the 'old way' is deeply ingrained in the organization. You'll be amazed at the lengths people will go in order not to have to memorize things. If the perceived efficiency gain is not immediately clear people will not learn something new.
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