Before you create spaces, decide what you want to achieve. This page lists the decisions and the work, in order. Each step links to the method or the instructions you need.

Decide

1. Why and for whom

Write down the problem you want to solve, in one or two sentences. Then list the people it affects, and what each group needs to find.

For example: "Advisors lose time looking for procedures, and they do not always use the current version."

Our method: The vision.

2. Choose your first use case

Start with one team and one need that people have every day, such as customer service procedures. You will learn from it before you add other teams.

Choose a team with someone who can own the content. See the areas where companies use Elium.

Build

3. Design your spaces

When you create a space, you decide two things: who has access, and where people look. Most platforms have spaces for teams, sites, subjects or projects.

Then create your spaces and set up their tabs. Our method: The spaces.

4. Create your categories and tags

Start from what people search for, not from your folders. Keep the list short at first. See Create categories and tags and Define useful tags.

5. Prepare your content

Never open an empty platform. Import what people already use, add what exists nowhere else, and give each important article an owner.

6. Add your users

Add members yourself, or let your single sign-on (SSO) or your identity provider create the accounts. See Adding users and User roles and rights.

Launch

7. Open the platform

Write a welcome message that says what the platform is for and who to contact. Then tell people what changes for them. Our method: Launch and communication.

Maintain

8. Keep it correct and useful

Set verification dates on the articles that must stay current.
When someone leaves, transfer their articles to a successor.
Answer article requests, and look at what people ask.
Check your analytics, and review your spaces when your needs change.