Confluence as an organization-wide Information Platform

As in many companies, it was not possible for employees at Mainzer Stadtwerke to access key knowledge, such as information about processes, systems, and responsibilities, centrally. Many users were unsure which system to use to find an answer to a particular question.

The existing documentation was not structured in a uniform way either. Instead, it was created in different ways depending on the problem, process or project and stored decentrally in different media and locations, such as in Lotus Notes, network folders, or on paper.

In addition to limiting day-to-day work, this situation was particularly problematic for onboarding new employees, who had no way of quickly acquiring knowledge on their own, for example about how to handle daily processes or use the applications operated. Instead, they relied on contacting their colleagues and proactively seeking information from a variety of sources.

Furthermore, the opportunities for self-directed learning in terms of location, time, and content were very limited, since training on new processes or systems was usually offered only as face-to-face training.

Mainzer Stadtwerke has partnered with codecentric AG to launch a project that aims to provide employees with faster access to uniformly structured information in a central location. The project's goal was to design and implement a central knowledge platform based on Atlassian Confluence.

The initial phase of the project began with a systematic analysis of the requirements of all the stakeholders involved. The codecentric team then conducted semi-structured interviews with a wide range of departments to better understand their individual information needs and their current information structure.

Based on this analysis, attention turned to the design of the central knowledge platform. In a series of workshops, the team developed a clear structure for the knowledge platform to make it easier to find content and avoid redundancies. A governance and a model of roles and rights were developed in response to these findings to ensure the long-term quality of the content.

Another important related task was to develop clear criteria for differentiating the new platform from existing tools such as SharePoint and the social intranet that was being introduced at the same time. Typical content types were identified and mapped to the relevant tools. The results were presented in graphical form to provide users with a quick overview.

The aspects that had been identified were then implemented, for example by rolling out the roles and permissions model. Evaluating useful apps from the Atlassian Marketplace was also an important part of the process, in order to add the required features in a systematic manner.

A pilot phase was subsequently launched with a small group of users in order to validate the current status and collect feedback at an early stage, to better understand individual user needs, and to create a group of multipliers and future wiki experts.

The launch of Atlassian Confluence, along with the associated organizational measures, has resulted in a central, internal information portal.

Over 50% of the company's existing sources of knowledge were centralized in the wiki within a few weeks of the project's conclusion. As a result, internal experts are reporting a noticeable reduction in workload, as answers to frequently asked questions are now maintained centrally and can be referred to by those seeking information.

The platform is generally well received by employees thanks to the communication measures developed and the fact that information can be found quickly. New employees are ready for work more quickly.

The knowledge platform also enables cross-company collaboration, as external service providers and customers can also use parts of the knowledge portal.