---
title: Grow Your Own Teamwork Tools BEFORE Installing a CMS
author: Tris
date: 2004-07-02
url: https://www.trishussey.com/grow-your-own-teamwork-tools-before-installing-a-cms/
---

Amy is right on the mark here!  And the article on CMS watch is a must-read for anyone working or starting to work in this space.  I think one of the real barriers to collaboration and KM is ease of use and flexibility.  In one former company I worked in Lotus Notes was the collaboration tool of choice.  I never figured it out.  I never liked it.  Unfortunately many large companies hear "open source" and just shut down.  Buggy, unreliable, etc.  Jeez if they have a website there is a really good chance that their site is run by an open source piece of software or the commercial child of one. In any case, I have been experimenting more with the idea of biz-blogs and blikis.  I think these are good stepping stones to collaboration and KM.  You do have to make it easy or people will, as the [CMSWatch article](http://www.cmswatch.com/Features/OpinionWatch/FeaturedOpinion/?feature_id=109) points out, go for Yahoo groups and other public tools.  Public tools can be great, but there is a risk for data loss, your competitors getting their hands on your data, amongst many other risks.  Message to IT: Help people experiment, you'll look like heroes if it is really successful.  Increasingly, content – whether a book, database, report, or the amassed knowledge of an organization – is the result of teamwork. A team could be a few people in scattered offices working on a common project; or a network of editors, designers, and authors producing publications.