Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard – Jive Documents

Purpose

This blog is a continuation of a series of blogs under the heading of Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard. In The blog discusses Jive Documents, which is one of the many tools available to us for sharing knowledge.

Overview

Jive Documents can be created directly in any SAP SCN Space. Jive Document can be thought of as a ‘How To’ guide.

How to Jive Document

A good definition of a Jive Document is provided by Jason Lax in the Jive Document; The Difference Between a Discussion, Blog Post, Document and Wiki:

Documents are to share your articles and procedures.  These are informal, impersonal ‘How-To’ style guides or concise overviews of a topic or product. Other uses include links lists or related assets for a give topic or product, sort of like a resource guide.

There is no formal template, though I myself try to follow the template as designed for wikis by Brendan O’Brian. Unfortunately the guide is only published on an internal SAP wiki. However the wiki Deploying Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2010 runtimeis a good, live example of the preferred structure. Following a consistent format makes the document look more professional and trustworthy.

Why to Create Jive Documents

• No template to follow.
• Jive Documents live in their SCN Space.
• Anyone registered with SAP SCN can create a Jive Document.
• Jive Documents can be a collaborative effort.
• Jive Documents are published as soon they are done – No Moderator approval required.
• The author can choose who can modify the document.
• Count of views is available at the end of every Document.
• Comments by readers are allowed.
• Can be viewed in PDF format.
• Can have email notifications when commented on.
• Jive Documents can be highlighted on their SCN space under the Featured Content.

Why not to Create Jive Documents

• No template to follow
• Anyone registered with SAP SCN can create a Jive Document
• Jive Documents are published as soon they are done – No Moderator approval required

My Experiences

Jive Documents have become my preferred way of authoring longish technical content. And because it is a technical content, I pattern the look and feel of my Jive Documents on the wiki Creation Guide (see How to Jive Document section above)

I like the fact that a Jive Document can be highlighted on each SCN Space, thus increasing it’s visibility and thus it’s impact. As with blogs, Moderators of each SCN Space can add the Document to “Featured Content” and “Related Resources. My only irritating experience is that a reader of the Document is able to post comments, which often turn out to be questions better posed to the SCN Space as a Discussion. However, the neat thing about Jive Documents is that there is the ability to not allow comments. Also, collaborators can be chosen individually.

Related Content

Related Documents

Share Your Knowledge in SCN Topic Spaces

Everything I know about… SCN Tips and Tricks

Understanding the Different Types of Documents on SCN

Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard

Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard – Basic Tips

Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard – Blogs

Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard – Wikis

Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard – SCN Discussions

Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard – Knowledge Base Articles

Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard – Articles

Sharing Knowledge Is Not That Hard – SAP Idea Place