Complexity is one of the primary challenges in project management. The goal of this exploratory research is to investigate how a collaborative Web 2.0 tool called a wiki can help teams deal with complexity. To support this case study, we conducted fieldwork over a five-month period in a telecommunications company. During this period we observed the adoption of a wiki that was used as a collaboration platform to support an internal software development project. Data collection involved preliminary interviews, a mid-project survey, internal documents and participatory observation. The data were analyzed using Edgar Morin’s principles of complexity as a theoretical lens. Here we present a model of socio-technical wiki systems based on complexity and systemic theories and grounded in empirical observations of the workplace.
25. Dates Authors Contributions
Complexity = several diversified interrelated
1996 Baccarini
parts
Complexity = several diversified interrelated
1999 Williams
parts + uncertainty
2003/2007 Jaafari/Shenhar Necessary paradigm shift
2006 Jafaari Towards a self-organized society
Geraldi&Albrec Towards a typology of complexity in project
2007/2008
ht/Mayor et al. management
27. It is not the multiplicity of the components, nor
diversities of their interrelationships which
characterizes complexity because as long as they are
countable one is in the presence of a complicated or
hypercomplicated system, whose combinative
enumeration could make it possible to describe all the
possible behaviors. It is the potential unpredictability
of the system behaviors which caracterise complexity.
Source: http://www.mcxapc.org/static.php?file=lexique.htm&menuID=lexique
28. 3 morinian complexity
principles
Source: E Morin - Introduction à la pensée complexe, 2005
38. 5 principles of Morgan
• build the whole in the parts
• redundancy
• requisite variety
• minimal specifications
• learning to learn
Source: Morgan - Image de l'organisation - 2006
40. • Web pages
• Collective edition
• Search
3 principles
• Hyperlinks
Attributes
Epistemology of dialogic
Dialogic
• Tags & categories
Recursion Culture of recursion • Historic
Hologram • Trackers
Holographic Structure • Dynamic mindmap
• Accessibility
• Conviviality
• Flexibility
• build the whole in the parts
• redundancy
• requisite variety
• minimal specifications
• learning to learn
Principales sources:
Bertalanffy L. von (1956) "The theory of open systems"
Edwards Jonathan (2007) "Wiki at Work"
Morin E. (1977) "La Méthode T.1 La Nature de la Nature"
Morin E. (2005) "Introduction à la pensée complexe"
Morgan G. (2006) "Images de l'organisation"
For the complete model go to www.regisbarondeau.com Cunningham W. et Leuf B. (2000) "The WikiWay"
41. Data collection in 3 phases
08 Dec 2008
02 Oct 2008
16-17 July 2008
Source n.1: Source n.5:
Interviews Survey Source n.6:
Final report
June 08 Before the use of wiki During the use of wiki Dec 08
Source n.3: Internal documents
Source n.4: Wiki observation
Source n.2: Participative observation
42. Scanning the wiki system
• What is it doing?
• In what?
• For what?
• Becoming what?
Source: http://www.mcxapc.org/static.php?file=lexique.htm&menuID=lexique consulté le 29.12.09
44. Organisation: World leader in telecommunication
Project Internal testing software
Budget for the phase: 1,2M$CAD
Canadian team members: 16 persons
Direction members implied: 8 persons
Geographic area: North America - Europe
Duration: 6 months
48. Findings
• Multiple tools leads to duplicate content
• Some unofficial tools are used
• There is no overview of the whole project
• Control is important
• Information transfer is limited and some information is lost
• Users don't know the wiki well
• A wiki is created by the users for the users
• The wiki is seen as a center repository
49. Analysis
• A complicated information system that
could be simplified
• Simplification of reality can mutilate
complexity
• A vertical system that may not provide
the requisite variety to pilot the project
51. Findings
• The wiki became a central repository for shared intelligence
• Without strict rules users are free, it seeds self-organization
• The wiki morphs and adapts to the project needs
• The wiki changes the work habits towards double loop learning
• The wiki represents the parts, the whole and interrelations
53. Analysis
• Epistemology of dialogic
• flat hierarchy
• expression of contrary truths
• Culture of recursion
• cultural changes towards transparency
• constant morphing
• freedom of expression
• Holographic Structure
• the whole in the part and the part in the whole
• double loop learning
• a tool to pilot projects
Epistemology = the religion we subscribe to - what i'm responding to
Overview: If the organisation knew what the organisation knows
Administrative control is important, IT less
Information from a 3D timeline to a 2D Word stored on a DB without search options
Internal Web 2.0 strategy seems go towards
Wiki= agregator to share and store information and ideas - link capacity important
sometimes we just see the tip of the iceberg, here no one has a view of the whole project
simplification, separates what is linked (disjonction) or unify what is diverse (reduction) -
Ex 1: documentation = disjonction entre documentalistes et dev p.125
Ex 2: compression en Word 3D vers 2D = réductionniste
1.centralise, simplify complication
2.- rules = no excess of process
3.Morph: Cas Z adaptation to the need (pilot)
4.double loop =reflective practice Ex: risk management, documentation, no more private storage
(it became our remote control. Since we have it we can't leave without it anymore) - - 70% courriels
5. "I can see what others are doing" but can get better (trackers)
3 angles - project, product, KB
Wikimindmap.org - Hydro-Québec and Hydro_One
1. Duality and unity - free expression of opposite thruth - Documentation had constrains, dev and organisation
Not going towards one idea but crealisation of ideas (Glissant)
2. Knowledge base, you know on what others are working on, information is not scatered around mail boxes. You take decisions knowing the causes but also sometimes the consequences.
Chief architect: "It changed users mentalities, they lost their fear to share and became more transparent"
3. Strong links exist btw hologram principles and wikis, that make me think they have holographic capabilities.