COLL105: Using Wikis and Online Project Management Tools in Poverty Law September 12, 2008

Todays Presenter Jeff Narabrook, NTAP Training Coordinator

Agenda Wikis Introduction Wikis and Their Uses in Poverty Law Options and Costs Project Management Software Introduction Project Management in Poverty Law Options and Costs Successful Implementation Strategies

Introduction: what is a wiki? A website Is easily edited by multiple users Provides a logical and highly navigable platform for storing and retrieving information A cost-effective, paper-free tool

Pre-Training Wiki

Traditional Website

Wiki Innovation

Wikipedia (MediaWiki)

Wikis within the Electronic Pantheon Wikis and Word Processers Wikis provide more flexibility to change and work with earlier version Wikis and Traditional Websites Wikis edit more easily and were built to prioritize information organization

Wikis within the Electronic Pantheon Wikis and Blogs Wiki content creation is shared, rather than a single author, reader response dynamic Wikis and and Listserve Wiki captures knowledge and archives it in an environment optimized for easy retrieval by multiple users

Wiki Disadvantages Depends on widespread user adoption Can be intimidating for new users Can be difficult to integrate with other common office software Can require steep initial time input Advanced functionality sometimes requires advanced technical support

Agenda Wikis Introduction Wikis and Their Uses in Poverty Law Options and Costs Project Management Software Introduction Project Management in Poverty Law Options and Costs Successful Implementation Strategies

Why Use Wikis in Legal Aid? Cost-effective Need for Collaboration Data Organization and Efficiency

Wiki Uses In Poverty Law Community Intranet Portal Training Document Repository Intake Tool Community Knowledge Capture Project Management

Wiki as Intranet NTAP Georgia Legal Services Program Legal Aid of Southeastern PA Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota

Intranet

Wiki as Intake Tool Neighborhood Legal Services (MA)

Wiki as Training Document Repository Shriver New Legal Aid Attorney Wiki Dozens of intranet wikis focus on the distribution of manuals

Example of Manual

Wiki as Community Knowledge Share Massachusetts Post Foreclosure Wiki Georgia Legal Services Program Food Stamp Fraud Advocacy Wiki Michigan Reentry Law Wiki FEMA Answers Wiki Elder Law

Wiki as Event Planner Make lists Assign tasks Brainstorm Set deadlines

Wikis and Statewide Websites Consider wiki use in conjunction (not duplication) of a statewide website. Wikis may be appropriate for large (manual) content not easily placed on a statewide website Wikis may be used to develop content for a statewide website May be used for taskforces or working groups 22

Wiki Access Models System Admin Editor 1Editor 2Editor 3Editor 4Editor 5Editor 6Editor 7 Writer 1 Writer 2 Writer 1 Reader

Wiki Models: Permission-Based Closed System Admin/Editor Reader

Agenda Wikis Introduction Wikis and Their Uses in Poverty Law Options and Costs Project Management Software Introduction Project Management in Poverty Law Options and Costs Successful Implementation Strategies

Options for Wikis Visit You can pay for hosting or host it on your own server depending on the software Which way should you go? Depends on: Technical expertise and available technical support Privacy controls your program needs 26

Popular Wiki Options Proprietary Wikispaces $5/mo for unlimited users/pages and 2 GB file storage PB Wiki Price negotiable;, depends on number of users typically 20% nonprofit discount Free For Nonprofits Google Sites (will go over in next segment) Free and Open Source MediaWiki 27

Wiki Security Open-source, self-hosted wikis can be made private, but may require more advanced technical knowledge Proprietary wikis typically provide sufficient security and privacy for your data; many will allow you to perform your own backups

Agenda Wikis Introduction Wikis and Their Uses in Poverty Law Options and Costs Project Management Software Introduction Project Management in Poverty Law Options and Costs Successful Implementation Strategies

The Many Faces of Project Management Tools… Broad umbrella of functionality Depends on types of features your program requires for its projects

Common PM Tool Functions Schedule Record milestones Construct to-do lists Assign tasks to staff Track time spent on tasks within a project Share working drafts of documents Message project members 31

Project Management Advantages Organizes all aspects of a project -- people, deadlines, drafts, documents, chats in one place Can integrate with other software and programs, including Sophisticated functionality easy to access 32

Agenda Wikis Introduction Wikis and Their Uses in Poverty Law Options and Costs Project Management Software Introduction Project Management in Poverty Law Options and Costs Successful Implementation Strategies

Project Management Tools Free for Nonprofits Google Sites (Google Apps component) Proprietary Microsoft SharePoint Central Desktop Basecamp

Google Sites Wiki-intranet Project management Traditional web content Demos:

Microsoft SharePoint Server Intranet generator Document sharing Can create wikis and other intranet sites Integrates with Microsoft Project and rest of Office Suite; MS Project handles time tracking and project supervision functions Software and licenses available on TechSoup 36

Central Desktop Montana Legal Services Association

How Does MLSA Use Central Desktop? Currently, MLSA tracks work and projects like: Administrative Tasks – Track due dates for all administrative tasks, including grant deadlines, invoicing, etc., develop joint agenda for administrative team meetings Management Team Agenda meeting and task lists, post confidential documents Board of Trustees Meetings – Track all tasks associated with organizing and setting up meetings

MLSA also uses to track…… MLSA Community Outreach Project – Coordinated outreach including mailings and materials regularly sent out to multiple lists – can keep the address lists, tasks, etc. all here Helpline Wiki – Wiki with information for Intake Workers, Advice Paralegals and Casehandlers handling Helpline calls.

And…….. Self-Help Law Unit – MLSA staff in multiple offices share spreadsheets and plan clinics (MLSA does not have a central WAN.) AmeriCorps*Vista Project – Set list of tasks and resources for AmeriCorps*Vista Project – do same thing every 6 months, making it perfect for Central Desktop

And …. Pro Se Forms Development Project – multiple employees creating, reviewing and automating multiple forms Indian Wills Project – track work of reservation based student externs, and provide for knowledge transfer between AmeriCorps Attorneys

The Dashboard First page a user sees when logging in to Central Desktop Lists all of the users workspaces, overdue tasks, tasks due in next 10 days and recent activity in all of users workspaces –either as a list of most recent activity or grouped by workspace

MLSA Administrative Workspace Used to track all administrative tasks, including: Grant Report Due Dates MLSA Annual Meeting Preparation Financial Tasks Technology Tasks Also used to post and edit documents, such as Agenda for Weekly Admin meeting

Central Desktop Digest and s User receives daily digest showing tasks and workspace activity User will also be ed discussions and comments on tasks and documents. Can reply to and will be posted in central desktop, or can go in and enter reply.

Technology Needs for Central Desktop Computer with High Speed Internet Connection Central Desktop Account (web-based, so no software to install)

Basecamp Web based Monthly subscriptions for multiple projects with file uploads Costs - ($12 - $50/mo and higher) 52

Basecamp Homepage

Project Pages

Project Milestones

Add To-Do List

File Sharing

Collaborate Outside Your Organization

TechSoup Project Management Stock SharePoint Server 2007 Standard Edition Project Professional 2007 Project Server 2007 Project Portfolio Server

Why would my program want a PM tool? Many poverty law staffers are involved with far more than casework: Courts on self-help initiatives Working with social service agencies on outreach projects Working with other offices on hotline development Sitting on various state task forces Working on staff or website committees Attending statewide or regional conferences Implementing some new procedure or technology...and more. 60

When To Use Each Wiki provides a quick collaboration space for updatable notes, status reporting, and documentation. PM tools provide centralized document management for documents that dont lend themselves to wikis. 61

Agenda Wikis Introduction Wikis and Their Uses in Poverty Law Options and Costs Project Management Software Introduction Project Management in Poverty Law Options and Costs Successful Implementation Strategies

Problems with Adoption Nobody uses it but me! The truth is…even I dont use it!

Tips for Success Do not deploy too hastily Development your content so that it can be useful from the start Train your users Assign responsibilities Content leaders Technical support team

Tips for Success Standardize use Start a policy to wean yourself off Meeting agenda and minutes Document sharing Organization-wide announcements

Questions or Comments? Thanks for attending! You will be getting a post-webinar survey; please use this as a way to help us improve our trainings to best serve the poverty law community. Contact information: Jeff Narabrook