What is the Value of TWiki for Managers and Executives?

TWiki like other Wikis typically start as a stealth project within an organization. An individual contributor or group leader installs TWiki on his/her machine or on a server owned by the group. Some deployments stagnate, others slowly but surely gain momentum. A few deployments gain mission critical status as you can see from the TWikiSuccessStories.

The TWiki.org home page lists the main features of TWiki, which is basically the value TWiki brings for individual contributors and group leaders.

If you want to "sell" TWiki to directors and executives what would you tell? It is certainly different from the list of TWiki features. In fact, features like WikiWords and autolinking are just confusing and should not be mentioned.

GeorgePeden posted some in the recently posted TWikiSuccessStoryOfEnsequence:

• TWiki is a centralized information clearing house
• Easier way to manage project; the plan is transparent - everyone knows what we are doing, the expectations, timelines, etc.

In addition I see:

• Increased productivity
• Ability to create tailored TWikiApplication in a short time
• Helps organize work of remote teams
• Helps identify domain experts
• Empowers employees (restraint by complete audit trail TWiki offers)

What other key values do you see for managers?

-- PeterThoeny - 17 May 2004

You hit the key ones; some others (or maybe just other ways of expressing the same ones):

• TWiki is a TIM (a Team Information Manager c.f. PIM). If you use a PDA, filofax or even a notebook you should recognise the value.
• Rapid & reliable capture of working informations such as meeting minutes
• Tracking integrated with documentation (action tracker)
• Great supports for the concept of "dynamic stability" in documentation - documentation in TWiki that remains largely stable, but is continuously improved by all team members. Especially imortant for process docs, as it engages team members directly with the process.
• Time and space independent whiteboard, never erased, equally accessible in US, India and Japan.

• Performance, when compared with "standard" TIM solutions

-- CrawfordCurrie - 17 May 2004

I like the TIM vs. PIM comparison. At work we coined the term "shared notebook".

-- PeterThoeny - 20 May 2004

Check out ConvincingYourBoss for more information.

-- AmandaSmith - 09 Jan 2006