Summary: First, I share Zwiki.org's outline for Wiki-based project documentation. Then I share what was for me the rediscovery of writing as it allows visions of the complex realities underlying present, action-dominated, moment-to-moment experiences . Writing about life is not recording faithfully and somewhat emptily, no, it is , or can be --if you're "listening" , a recreation and often a discovery of the deeper meaning, the undercurrent, beneath immediate experience.

I have been learning about several content management systems(CMS): complex(Plone), simple(VoodooPad plus VPwiki), commercial(Blackboard) and publiclly licensed(Moodle, Plone, Typo3) over the last 9 weeks.

More on those in the coming entries. Today a serendipitous "aha!". As I was happily exploring my new Plone CMS, complete with Zwiki pages, I found the material that is quoted below. Sometimes knowledge is made while doing what you should (keep records). Pay better attention; it isn't just duty that is being exercised here!

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From Zwiki.org's Wiki here(Simon Michael)

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A lot of complex projects - all of them ? - have difficulty collecting, sharing, generating and maintaining high-quality information and documentation in an efficient manner. This is a problem that ZWiki aims to help with.

Here's one way to proceed:

Set up a wiki, gather content

Set up a wiki for your project. Gather resources there - text, files, links you want to remember. Link these on your front page. Encourage people to look on the wiki for information, and to upload or write it when it's missing. One or more people should work on keeping the wiki clean and well-organized. Also decide and implement/announce policies for access control (open/restricted/private), content (topics, types, copyright), etc. The simplest and most open wikis have the best chance of success.

Gather discussion

Set up mail-out so participants can subscribe to receive page comments by email. If possible set up mail-in so they can reply by email. The wiki is now acting as a basic mail list, but with easier un/subscription. It is also your list archive, but one that is editable, organized by "topic" (pages), and integrated with your more "static" content. Encourage people to post on or cc the wiki, so that ideas are saved and visible to all. (Or, integrate the wiki with your existing mail list).

Organize content

As content proliferates, continue wiki cleanup. As pages grow, reorganize them and summarize/condense discussion when needed. Keep introductory and simple site map information on the front page. Organize the page hierarchy in a way that makes sense. Turn on subtopics and navlinks to make it more apparent. Single parents will be simplest.

Extract documentation

Using the page hierarchy as a starting point, develop a more formal outline of your project's documentation; call this the project's "book". Start by linking existing pages and pages that should exist, presenting these as "chapters" and "sections"; or merge small pages into fewer, larger chapter pages and link those; or, write new documentation, drawing from existing content.

Note there is a hierarchy of content here - with your open, mail-enabled wiki you cast a wide net for discussion, uploads and edits. Through editing/condensing/merging/reparenting, this is massaged into a hierarchy of meaningful document-mode pages - articles, proposals, how-tos, FAQs etc. These form the basis for more dense and complete documentation - guides, books.

We are experimenting with this process for the ZwikiDocs.

 

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While it may seem obvious to some, to me, the revelation is that documentation activities cause a process of discovery. Whenever I've done what is described above, I have discovered, synthesized or deepened my understanding of the concepts and values with which I was actively engaged.

Writing about your project's progress and the nature of the problems with which it grapples (simple reporting, right?, hah!), articulates, extends and sophisticates your understanding. It enables further action which would have been cruder or, more surprising, downright impossible without the documentation effort.