Forum software and wikis are ideal collaborative tools for managing projects that span countries and time zones. They facilitate a follow the sun model. To date they have found most use in open source software development. However their applicability goes way beyond this and they’re potentially very useful for any multinational organization.
Wikis provide structured and easily searchable information about a project. They can be extended and maintained by any team member. Forum software enables team wide discussion about issues and objectives. It provides a context for decisions and a historical record.
Although proprietary solutions are available there are plenty of highly effective open source alternatives.
However using these products creates organizational and cultural problems. They require a degree of project transparency that not all team members will be comfortable with. More dangerously they tend to undermine traditional organizational hierarchy.
Nevertheless the benefits are immense and intelligent anticipation can normally resolve the organizational issues.
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