Confluence For Teams - Part 4 / 14
Introduction
This is a part 4 of a 14 part free cartoon-based course, Making Confluence Work, that I created for my Learn By Cartoon site back in 2017. The course is now entirely free, and runs for 1.5 hours, split into 14 parts of 5 - 10 minutes. Although there have been some cosmetic changes to Confluence since, this content is still relevant for teams.
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The Repeated Mistakes Organisations Make Using Confluence
I've worked with four organisations using Confluence, and incidentally each had a SharePoint instance. Each one of these organisations used Confluence the same way - the wrong way. If you use Confluence much the same way as many use SharePoint - you'll largely fail. There are different habits required to create success.
Imagine having a car with a manual transmission, and six available gears. When you don't take full advantage of the collaboration features of Confluence, you're never getting out of second gear. Unfortunately, because of a lack of re-training on 'work habits' - organisations often cannot get a full return on investment. Usually it's Confluence that's blamed, when in fact it is the method of implementation that was at fault.
A simple change of approach to how your organisation is using Confluence can radically change the results you get back.
When organisations switch to an Agile method of software development, often an Agile Coach is brought in, to build the team's 'habits of Agile'. Confluence is exactly the same - if your organisation uses Confluence - to get the most from the product - you must work on the 'habits of Confluence'. Once you do this, you'll take the product out of second gear, and into full range.
It's 'habits' that power successful Confluence implementations, not just technology.
- Learn how to build a Network - to see through the noise, and get to your immediate work-group, which will include colleagues from other teams.
- Use Comments correctly. They are there to cut down on Email chatter and keep discussion in one central area - attached to the object being discussed.
- Share content with @Mentions - exactly as you would using Facebook.
- Learn to create a Watch List - so that you never miss changes to content that's important to your work.
- Control your Notifications, and dial-in the email summaries that are available - so you build a picture of the Confluence information flow that works for you, and doesn't swamp you with too much information.