Agile “Open Source” Content Creation framework

Question

I work for an agile consulting practice. We now have over twenty coaches and about half again that number of other key contributors.

We're wanting to create an agile framework to support the creation of common content (job aids, workshops, tracking tools, etc). We want to have some ownership of a document, while allowing it to be updated. At the same time, we want to get away from where we are now, with multiple versions of all our common materials as each coach customizes it for themselves with no feedback loop to the original material.

Does anyone have experience with an knowledge creation process (not a tool) that fits into an agile collaboration environment?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You are looking for a way that all can participate on improvements of (e.g.) documents made by someone?

This demands transparency regarding the change in order to enable other to check if the change fits their needs.

You will achieve this transparency using a version control system. The version control system should enable everyone to keep their version but to integrate updates of others. This is quite similar to SW-version control so let's assume branching and merging capabilities in the following.

The corresponding change process should include an aspect that everyone document updates at least with:

• Reason / motivation of update
• Summary of update

The process should also include some notification aspect in order to inform all about a new update.

Finally the process should force some kind of master branch to avoid the other branches to differ away from each other. The process should include a review of the master branch on a regular basis to integrate the best-of developments in order to achieve a common baseline. The other branches should be always based on the current master / baseline.

Realisation might be tricky due to the required branching and merging capability. Assuming this process you could either

• find a nice software that enables merging of your current kind of data or
• you consider switching to a data format that allows merging with a given tool

Both might not be easy...

Answer 2

A separate platform can be made on technologies like Ruby on Rails or WordPress (CMS). It'll allow you to build a customized platform; your Coaches can manage each & every functionality by themselves. A web platform build on RoR will be much more responsive and interactive.