Submissions/Quality matters - How to support learning and improvement in Wikimedia organizations

This is an accepted submission for Wikimania 2015.

Submission no.
2032
Title of the submission
Quality matters - How to support learning and improvement in Wikimedia organizations
Type of submission (discussion, hot seat, panel, presentation, tutorial, workshop)
Discussion tables
Author of the submission
E-mail address
  • claudia.garad@wikimedia.at
  • jean-frederic.berthelot@wikimedia.fr
  • sven-erik@wikimedia.ee
Country of origin
Austria, Estonia, France
Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)
Wikimedia Österreich, Wikimedia Eesti, Wikimédia France
Abstract (at least 300 words to describe your proposal)

Aristotle once said: “Quality is not act. It is a habit.” Or as Henry Ford put it a couple of years later: “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.”

How can we ensure quality becomes a habit in our organizations and that everyone has the same understanding of how these habits should look like? We try to address these questions in this session by presenting the quality management approaches of three movement entities that differ in size and context but share the belief that “quality matters”.

Wikimedia France
WMFR’s quality approach was developed as part of our strategic plan. It aims to evaluate all of our work and report on it, to eventually inform alterations made to the strategic plan. It is also a tool to get all stakeholders to internalise the concept of evaluation and apply it before, during, and after an activity ; as well as a key communication element to the exterior world.
Our quality approach includes evaluating our general proceedings, crafting internal procedures to ensure good governance. But its keystone is our quality framework: a common benchmark against which every endeavour is measured, along three dimensions − the impact on the online Wikimedia projects, the impact on the organisation itself, and the social impact. Our contribution will explore the ins and outs of our framework, what we have learned so far, and in the spirit of iterative improvement, how we plan to refine it in the future.
Wikimedia Österreich
The starting point for WMAT's quality approach was an assessment of our internal processes. In order to make "quality a habit" we adopted an approach of continuous improvement of our daily proceedings which is also known as Kaizen, Japanese for "change for the better". It is a comprehensive improvement process that includes all processes and stakeholders of an organization and focuses on small steps and changes. While various industries and classical organizations have been applying Kaizen for decades, it has rarely been utilized in the non-profit sector, let alone organizations which focus on online communities. Our presentation will explain our adoption of this approach and highlight the most important experiences and challenges so far.
Wikimedia Eesti
In WMEE striving for excellence is based on the knowledge about oneself (γνῶθι σεαυτόν) and fulfilment of available possibilities using one's strengths and opportunities, which is probably the only possible way to achieve quality for a small organization. Evidently this approach is closely related to strategical planning with related analysis of the chapter itself, as well as the environment it is working in. Since its creation in 2010, Estonian chapter has devoted extensive amount of time resources to discussions about strategy and future plans, which has changed original blurred vision into a detailed self-portrait and surrounding landscape. As of 2015 WMEE is profiting from the work done and is recognized in the movement for its quality management. In this presentation Wikimedia Eesti will share stories from its journey to quotidian quality.
Track
WikiCulture & Community
Length of session (if other than 30 minutes, specify how long)
30 minutes
Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?
yes
Slides or further information (optional)
Special requests


Interested attendees

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  1. PierreSelim (talk) 21:51, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Man77 (talk) 20:18, 3 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  3. --Stepro (talk) 16:16, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Ocaasi (talk) 23:50, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  5. Raimund Liebert (WMAT) (talk) 10:33, 6 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  6. --Atropine (talk) 23:28, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  7. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 06:48, 23 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Braveheart (talk) 14:21, 9 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  9. --アンタナナ 23:32, 22 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Marcio De Assis (talk) 15:43, 21 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  11. Poco a poco (talk) 08:55, 12 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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