I fielded a question last week about what factors are the most important in launching a wiki to support a small working group, such as a committee, task force or team. I’ve decided to address it a bit more broadly by looking those factors for online collaboration in general.

In my experience designing and facilitating collaborative spaces online for large and small association, volunteer groups, alumni and others, you need the following to maximize successful outcomes:

• Have a very clear and focused goal for using the space that all participants understand and support. The narrower the better;
• Provide ample handholding and individual training for those who need it;
• Leadership of the group MUST be avid champions for using the technology;
• Start with one group that is excited to use the tool as a pilot test and early exemplars. Their success will draw others to adopt the tool;
• Make sure the technology you use is very user friendly and provides the functionality your group will need to achieve their desired outcomes. Bad tech is the kiss of death.

Tools like a wiki can be greatly valuable for group collaboration but people who are new to it must have the value for THEM explained and heavily emphasized. A really strong WIIFM value proposition will get late adopters over the hump.