Since the Confluence training in March, we have had a lot of groups develop their team space with a lot more activity and interest in Confluence in general (Hooray!). As we transition from having documentation and policies spread in different systems (one drive, Sharepoint, etc), Confluence has made it easy for us to create, maintain and connect internal content throughout our organization. However, as JMP continues to grow and document policies, processes, etc, we also want to make sure Confluence stays clean, organized and allows users to find the right content easily. Here are some quick reminders and best practices:
Thinking about creating new content?
- STOP & SEARCH FIRST. Most of the time, there is something out there that already exists. The search in Confluence is robust so finding what you need should be a breeze.
- If you aren’t in charge of maintaining that documentation, don’t create it. If you want to document the process or something that actually falls into another group’s role, search for that info in that group’s space or request the information from that group. Not sure what group? Use the request form.
- If you really need to have content that was created and exists in another space to also be available in your space, do not copy and paste. The two options are:
- Link to it.
- Excerpt. This macro allows for content to live in multiple places, but only is maintained in one.
Creating spaces
- What is a space anyway and who needs one? Best practices for using Confluence at JMP | What is a space vs a page?
- Want to create a team space? Ping Audrey Shull and she will get you set up once you provide these three simple answers.
- What spaces are already available? Currently the directory that Atlassian provides out of the box is a little heavy for where JMP is today. With that, we have developed a simplified Confluence Space Directory organized by department. We are testing this concept out and would love feedback (add comments on the page) as we try and capture this more holistic view of what spaces have been created and what content is already available.
Want to learn more?
- Review the best practices. Lots of good nuggets on how to create and maintain a healthy space.
- Ask questions. Comments at the bottom of the pages or ping Sara Doudt, Sarah Sylvestre, or Audrey Shull.
- Play around. It's easy to learn.
This growth and progress of getting our documentation is a great sign of our maturity and alignment as an organization. It is great to see Confluence play a critical role in this transition and continuing to talk about and share best practices is key in maintaining that approach. We hope to have another Confluence training either late 2023 or early 2024.
