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Creating Project Wikis in GitScrum
Project wikis centralize institutional knowledge that would otherwise live in scattered documents, Slack threads, and people's heads. GitScrum's NoteVault provides a structured documentation system integrated directly with your project management, keeping documentation close to the work it describes.
Documentation Problems Wikis Solve
| Problem | Impact | Wiki Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge in peoples' heads | Single point of failure | Written documentation |
| Scattered docs | Can't find anything | Centralized location |
| Outdated information | Wrong decisions | Review processes |
| Onboarding takes weeks | Slow productivity | Self-serve guides |
| Same questions asked | Time waste | Searchable FAQ |
Wiki Structure Template
PROJECT WIKI ORGANIZATION
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ 📁 Getting Started │
│ ├── Project Overview │
│ ├── Team & Contacts │
│ ├── Quick Start Guide │
│ └── Development Setup │
│ │
│ 📁 Architecture │
│ ├── System Overview │
│ ├── Tech Stack │
│ ├── Data Flow │
│ └── Infrastructure │
│ │
│ 📁 Development │
│ ├── Coding Standards │
│ ├── Git Workflow │
│ ├── Code Review Process │
│ └── Testing Guidelines │
│ │
│ 📁 Operations │
│ ├── Deployment Process │
│ ├── Environment Config │
│ ├── Monitoring & Alerts │
│ └── Incident Response │
│ │
│ 📁 Processes │
│ ├── Sprint Ceremonies │
│ ├── Release Process │
│ ├── On-Call Rotation │
│ └── Communication Guide │
│ │
│ 📁 Decisions │
│ ├── ADR-001: Database Choice │
│ ├── ADR-002: API Architecture │
│ └── ADR-003: Auth Strategy │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Essential Page Templates
ONBOARDING GUIDE TEMPLATE
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ # New Developer Onboarding │
│ │
│ ## Day 1 │
│ □ Get access to [systems] │
│ □ Clone repositories │
│ □ Run local environment │
│ │
│ ## Week 1 │
│ □ Complete first bug fix │
│ □ Review architecture docs │
│ □ Meet with team members │
│ │
│ ## Month 1 │
│ □ Ship first feature │
│ □ Participate in on-call │
│ □ Contribute to documentation │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
RUNBOOK TEMPLATE
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ # [Service] Runbook │
│ │
│ ## Overview │
│ Purpose, dependencies, owners │
│ │
│ ## Common Issues │
│ | Symptom | Cause | Resolution | │
│ │
│ ## Deployment │
│ Step-by-step commands │
│ │
│ ## Rollback │
│ Emergency rollback procedure │
│ │
│ ## Contacts │
│ Escalation path │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
DECISION RECORD TEMPLATE
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ # ADR-XXX: [Title] │
│ │
│ **Status:** Proposed/Accepted/Superseded │
│ **Date:** YYYY-MM-DD │
│ │
│ ## Context │
│ What problem are we solving? │
│ │
│ ## Decision │
│ What did we decide? │
│ │
│ ## Consequences │
│ What are the trade-offs? │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Best Practices
- Start with onboarding docs (highest ROI)
- Keep structure shallow (max 3 levels deep)
- Use templates for consistency
- Assign owners to each section
- Date all pages with last-updated
- Link from code to relevant docs
- Review quarterly for accuracy
- Make it searchable with good titles
Anti-Patterns
✗ Creating wiki but never updating
✗ Duplicating information in multiple places
✗ No ownership = no accountability
✗ Deep nested structure nobody can navigate
✗ Generic titles that don't describe content
✗ Wiki as write-only medium