Using Wikis with Enterprise Content and Process Management

Sandy Kemsley www.column2.com @skemsley

Or... The Wiki/ECM/BPM Debate

About Me

Enterprise process and content stuff

ECM/BPM sincewhoa, that long? Papers on BPM and social software

Social media maven

Five+ years of blogging (column2.com) The Hungry Geek at IgniteTO (bit.ly/HungryGeek) Im tweeting this (@skemsley)

Decisions, Decisions

Wiki ECM BPM

But In Reality...
Wiki
Manual processes, paper and shared drives ECM BPM

Content: Wikis and ECM

Content Management Features

ECM Document-focused Document lifecycle, records & retention mgmt Fine-grained security Pre-defined structure and taxonomy Check in/out & versioning Wiki Not restricted to document format Collaborative creation Coarse-grained security User-created taxonomy Interactive editing with history and rollbacks

Selection Philosophies
ECM Default Use wikis for pure content that requires no level of security and maximum levels of accessibility. Use ECM for everything else. Wiki Default Use wikis for all internal content by default, unless specific factors dictate the use of ECM.

When To Use A Wiki

Created by multiple authors Accessible to a wide, internal-only audience Frequent updating with revision tracking, but no approval or versioning

When To Use ECM

External origin/participants Only exists as a document, e.g., PDF Requires precisely-formatted printready version Requires versioning Requires fine-grained security control Requires records/retention management

Wiki-to-ECM Transition
Initial collaborative content in wiki for brainstorming Reformat and check in to ECM as version 1 of controlled document May continue discussion in wiki with link to document in ECM

Process: Wikis and BPM

Process Management Features

BPM (and ECM) Predefined structured process Does not require content Includes human and automated tasks Complex branching, rules and event handling Analytics and KPIs Wiki Wiki to manage a process

Case management Project management Documentation trail of manual process

Add-ons to manage wiki content lifecycle:

Wiki content approval Ad hoc human task management

The Line Blurs

BPM gets more unstructured:

Ad hoc process definition Adaptive case management

Wiki workflow gets more structured:

Predefined workflows Content lifecycle management

Unstructured human workflow may be done successfully in either

Wiki/ECM/BPM: All Together Now

Use case: Insurance claims

Faxed-in claim reports and customerfacing documents in ECM to manage retention and security Pre-defined structured claims processes in BPM to meet regulations Claims exceptions using collaboration capabilities in BPM Claims best practices and tips in wiki, updated by claims staff

Summary
Clear use cases exist for each of wikis, ECM and BPM Large overlap between wikis and ECM for internal content Large overlap between wikis and BPM for unstructured processes

Questions?
Sandy Kemsley www.column2.com @skemsley