Difference between revisions of "Collab mockup"

Latest revision as of 22:16, 7 February 2012

NOTICE: This page is a draft in active flux...
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Preamble

This mockup describes how a collab.sugarlabs.org site could behave, and does not correlate with possible implementations. Particular implementations could be varied, reusing existing infrastructure like wiki/trac/launchpad, using existing groupware web-based software, or creating project from scratch. The site could also be lightweight, and only contain groupware components and links to other resources like the wiki or trac.

All purposes mentioned below could be implemented fully or partially on collab.sugarlabs.org.

Purposes

Let any casual user request a feature using convenient and friendly tool
existing model still works but either is not so friendly to non-technical users (like trac) or too common (like wiki and mailing lists), e.g., collab.sl.o would provide a simple method to track the progress of a request implementation, let other users vote for this request, and thus, stimulate contributors to participate.

Mix in a groupware component with the Sugar development model, keeping in mind its casual and decentralized nature
- Sugar still has a lack of critical mass of participants who contribute on a regular bases, thus coordination of development efforts is a critical point, and we need to track and schedule such efforts in a more formal (than posting emails to sugar-devel@, for example) manner,
  e.g., every core team member will always know what other members are working on and the progress or stasis of current tasks
- groupware brings benefits for other developers as well
  if some developer doesn't have enough time to implement a request he was working on, he can just expose it via the collab UI (as opposed to sending email to sugar-devel@, which may not always be fair), and coordinator/requester/other-developers can track such events
- from requesters mode, people who initiated a request can track development status
- tracking what contributors do also has a social aspect - any Sugar user can see the magnitude of a member's contribution to the Sugar community. This can encourage people to do more (of course this information is accessible via git repositories or bug tracker, but in the case of collab.sl.o, it will be available in several clicks for any casual user), e.g., we can have a Hall of Fame on the main page.

We can have two major entry points for any Sugar user:
- (wiki.)sugarlabs.org, to get initial information about Sugar
- collab.sugarlabs.org, if people want to contribute or request a future contribution
  since we have several modes, we could share the same place for non-tech users, experienced doers, and developers. But that doesn't mean we should have only collab.sugarlabs.org.

It might also be the right place to have some sustainability features like donate buttons linked to contributors.

Implementation ideas

The major idea of this proposal is having several modes of operation. Each mode will provide only the useful components for a particular audience. For example, requesters mode should be friendly, as much as possible, for newcomers, and especially for non-technical newcomers, and incorporate full groupware features for experienced contributors.

The Idea of only having a collab.sugarlabs.org site, would not be useful for Sugar Labs. In that case, we would need enterprise-level products that would be overkill. Instead, we can have callab.sl.o as a lightweight component, and reuse existing infrastructure like the wiki and bug trackers as much as possible.

Workflows

Observer/Interested party

Any anonymous user can brose requests using criteria like tags, component, user etc.
find information about where a particular implemented request could be found (in what Sugar release, activity version, etc.)
after authorization, anyone logged-in can (de)promote any active request by giving his vote and leaving comments (comment could be in place or on an external resources like the wiki, depending on implementation).

Requester

The major workflow for collab.sugarlabs.org.

login to requester mode
check user groups to participate in, e.g., group of users for particular region, school, etc.
check if the desired request has already been created
if yes, just add yourself to the requesters list of that entry to increase its weight
if no, create a new request
- short description
- full description (could be in place or on an external resources like the wiki, depends on implementation)
- properties like component, 'desired' (could be changed later by coordinator) priority, tags, contribution-types(could be set by experienced coordinators)
- desired deadlines/schedules (could be changed later by the coordinator)
- status of a newly-created request will be new and the request will not be visible by default but becomes visible for contributors when the coordinator accepts it.
wait for replies from the coordinator or interested contributors, the site should provide:
- a list of your requests,
- a convenient notification method of incoming replies.

Coordinator

Coordinators are appointed to filter all incoming requests to:

identify duplicates,
tweak request properties, e.g., if requester is not experienced in certain areas,
set priority, deadlines, and schedules,
could appoint/invite contributors.

Each group of users should have one or several coordinators. Every subgroup inherits coordinators from their parent group, e.g., a group of school users will inherit area and global coordinators.

Possible workflows:

login to coordinator mode,
check incoming queue of newly-created requests,
accept/retain/deny/tweak new requests,
inspect deadlines/schedules of ongoing requests.

Contributor

Every request has one or several means of participation:

coding,
artwork: icons, images, etc.,
media files: audio and video,
creating documentation,
translation.

Contributors workflows could be:

login to contributor mode,
since it's a separate mode, it could have all the features that powerful groupware software has, depending on the particular implementation.

Data Model

Possible implementations

Sugar Network
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/
adapt ASLO
special activity
...

Implementations in progress

Activities/Activity_Library

Related resources

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-<noinclude>
+<noinclude>{{TOCright}}
-{{TOCright}}
 {{Draft}}
 </noinclude>
@@ Line 6: / Line 5: @@
 == Preamble ==
-This mockup describes how collab.sugarlabs.org site could behave and doesn't correlate with possible implementations. Particular implementations could be various, reusing existed infrastructure like wiki/track/launchpad, using existed groupware web based software or creating project from scratch. Site also could be lightweight and only contain groupware component and links to other resources like wiki or track.
+This mockup describes how a collab.sugarlabs.org site could behave, and does not correlate with possible implementations. Particular implementations could be varied, reusing existing infrastructure like wiki/trac/launchpad, using existing groupware web-based software, or creating project from scratch. The site could also be lightweight, and only contain groupware components and links to other resources like the wiki or trac.
-All mentioned below purposes could be implemented fully or partially on collab.sugarlabs.org.
+All purposes mentioned below could be implemented fully or partially on collab.sugarlabs.org.
 === Purposes ===
-* Let any casual user request a feature using convenient and friendly tool<br>existed model still works but either not so friendly to non-technical users(like track) or too common(like wiki and mailing lists) e.g. collab.sl.o will provide simple method to track progress of request implementation, let other users vote for this request thus stimulate contributors to participate
+* Let any casual user request a feature using convenient and friendly tool<br>existing model still works but either is not so friendly to non-technical users (like trac) or too common (like wiki and mailing lists), e.g., collab.sl.o would provide a simple method to track the progress of a request implementation, let other users vote for this request, and thus, stimulate contributors to participate.
-* Mix in groupware component to sugar development model keeping in mind its casual and decentralized nature
+* Mix in a groupware component with the Sugar development model, keeping in mind its casual and decentralized nature
-** sugar still has lack of critical mass of participants who contribute on regular bases thus coordination of development efforts is a critical point and we need to track and schedule such efforts in more formal(then posting emails to sugar-devel@ for example) manner<br>e.g. every core team member will all time know what other members are working on and what the progress of current tasks
+** Sugar still has a lack of critical mass of participants who contribute on a regular bases, thus coordination of development efforts is a critical point, and we need to track and schedule such efforts in a more formal (than posting emails to sugar-devel@, for example) manner,<br>e.g., every core team member will always know what other members are working on and the progress or stasis of current tasks
-** groupware brings benefits for other developers as well<br>if some developer doesn't have enough time to implement request he was working on, he can just expose it via UI(in comparing with sending email to sugar-delvel@ which could not be fair every time) and coordinator/requester/other-developers can track such events
+** groupware brings benefits for other developers as well<br>if some developer doesn't have enough time to implement a request he was working on, he can just expose it via the collab UI (as opposed to sending email to sugar-devel@, which may not always be fair), and coordinator/requester/other-developers can track such events
-** from requesters mode, people who initiated request can track development status
+** from requesters mode, people who initiated a request can track development status
-** tracking what contributors do has also social aspect - any sugar user can see how much particular contributor does for sugar community thus encourage people do more(of course this information is accessible via git repositories or bugs tracker but in case of collab.sl.o it will be given by several clicks for any casual user) e.g. we can have Hall of Fame on main page
+** tracking what contributors do also has a social aspect - any Sugar user can see the magnitude of a member's contribution to the Sugar community. This can encourage people to do more (of course this information is accessible via git repositories or bug tracker, but in the case of collab.sl.o, it will be available in several clicks for any casual user), e.g., we can have a Hall of Fame on the main page.
-* We can have two major start points for any sugar user:
+* We can have two major entry points for any Sugar user:
-** (wiki.)sugarlabs.org, to get initial information about sugar
+** (wiki.)sugarlabs.org, to get initial information about Sugar
-** collab.sugarlabs.org, if people want to contribute or request for contribution<br>due to having [[#Implementation_ideas|several modes]], we could have the same place for non-tech users, experienced doers and developers. [[#Implementation_ideas|But that doesn't mean]] we should have only collab.sugarlabs.org.
+** collab.sugarlabs.org, if people want to contribute or request a future contribution<br>since we have [[#Implementation_ideas|several modes]], we could share the same place for non-tech users, experienced doers, and developers. [[#Implementation_ideas|But that doesn't mean]] we should have only collab.sugarlabs.org.
-* It could be the right place to have sustainability features like donate buttons per contributor.
+* It might also be the right place to have some sustainability features like donate buttons linked to contributors.
 === Implementation ideas ===
-* The major idea of this proposal is having several modes. Every mode will provide only useful components for particular audience. For example requesters mode should be friendly as much as possible for newcomers and especially for non-technical newcomers and full featured groupware for experienced contributors.
+* The major idea of this proposal is having several modes of operation. Each mode will provide only the useful components for a particular audience. For example, requesters mode should be friendly, as much as possible, for newcomers, and especially for non-technical newcomers, and incorporate full groupware features for experienced contributors.
-* Idea of having only collab.sugarlabs.org site could not be useful for Sugar Labs, in that case we should use enterprise level products that could be overkill. Instead, we can have callab.sl.o as lightweight component and reuse existed infrastructure like wiki and bugs trackers as much as possible.
+* The Idea of only having a collab.sugarlabs.org site, would not be useful for Sugar Labs. In that case, we would need enterprise-level products that would be overkill. Instead, we can have callab.sl.o as a lightweight component, and reuse existing infrastructure like the wiki and bug trackers as much as possible.
 == Workflows ==
-=== Observer/Populator ===
+=== Observer/Interested party ===
-* every anonymous user can brose requests using criteria like ''tags'', ''component'', ''user'' etc.
+* Any anonymous user can brose requests using criteria like ''tags'', ''component'', ''user'' etc.
-* find out information where particular implemented request could be found(in what sugar release, activity version etc.)
+* find information about where a particular implemented request could be found (in what Sugar release, activity version, etc.)
-* after authorization, logged in user can (de)populate every active request by giving his vote and leaving comments(comment could be inplaced or on external resources like wiki, depends on implementation)
+* after authorization, anyone logged-in can (de)promote any active request by giving his vote and leaving comments (comment could be in place or on an external resources like the wiki, depending on implementation).
 === Requester ===
@@ Line 45: / Line 44: @@
 * login to requester mode
-* check user groups to participate in e.g. group of users for particular region, school etc.
+* check user groups to participate in, e.g., group of users for particular region, school, etc.
-* check if willing request was already created
+* check if the desired request has already been created
-* if yes, just add yourself to requesters list of found entry to increase its weight
+* if yes, just add yourself to the requesters list of that entry to increase its weight
-* if no, create new one
+* if no, create a new request
 ** short description
-** full description(could be inplaced or on external resources like wiki, depends on implementation)
+** full description (could be in place or on an external resources like the wiki, depends on implementation)
-** properties like ''component'', willing(could be changed later by coordinator) ''priority'', ''tags'', ''contribution-types''(could be set by experienced coordinator)
+** properties like ''component'', 'desired' (could be changed later by coordinator) ''priority'', ''tags'', ''contribution-types''(could be set by experienced coordinators)
-** willing deadlines/schedules(could be changed later by coordinator)
+** desired deadlines/schedules (could be changed later by the coordinator)
-** status of newly created request will be ''new'' and request will not be visible by default(but visible after explicit willing) for contributors until [[#Coordinator|coordinator]] accepts it
+** status of a newly-created request will be ''new'' and the request will not be visible by default but becomes visible for contributors when the [[#Coordinator|coordinator]] accepts it.
-* wait for replies from coordinator or interested contributors, site should provide:
+* wait for replies from the coordinator or interested contributors, the site should provide:
-** list of your requests
+** a list of your requests,
-** convenient notification method of incoming replies
+** a convenient notification method of incoming replies.
 === Coordinator ===
 Coordinators are appointed to filter all incoming requests to:
-* find out duplicates
+* identify duplicates,
-* tweak request properties e.g. if requester is not experienced in some cases
+* tweak request properties, e.g., if requester is not experienced in certain areas,
-* set priority, deadlines and schedules
+* set priority, deadlines, and schedules,
-* could appoint/invite contributors
+* could appoint/invite contributors.
-Each group of users should have one or several coordinators. Every subgroup inherits coordinators from parent group e.g. group of school users will inherit area and global coordinators.
+Each group of users should have one or several coordinators. Every subgroup inherits coordinators from their parent group, e.g., a group of school users will inherit area and global coordinators.
 Possible workflows:
-* login to coordinator mode
+* login to coordinator mode,
-* check incoming queue of newly created requests
+* check incoming queue of newly-created requests,
-* accept/retain/deny/tweak new requests
+* accept/retain/deny/tweak new requests,
-* inspect deadlines/schedules of ongoing requests
+* inspect deadlines/schedules of ongoing requests.
 === Contributor ===
-Every request has one or several types of participation:
+Every request has one or several means of participation:
-* coding
+* coding,
-* artwork: icons, images etc
+* artwork: icons, images, etc.,
-* media files: audio and video
+* media files: audio and video,
-* creating documentation
+* creating documentation,
-* translation
+* translation.
-Contributors workflowas could be:
+Contributors workflows could be:
-* login to contributor mode
+* login to contributor mode,
-* ''since it's a separate mode, it could have all features that powerful groupware software has, depends on particular implementation''
+* ''since it's a separate mode, it could have all the features that powerful groupware software has, depending on the particular implementation''.
 == Data Model ==
@@ Line 96: / Line 95: @@
 == Possible implementations ==
+* [[Sugar Network]]
 * http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/
 * adapt ASLO
 * special activity
 * ...
+=== Implementations in progress ===
+* [[Activities/Activity_Library]]
 == Related resources ==
@@ Line 107: / Line 111: @@
 * http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Feature_requests
 * http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Feature_roadmap
+* [[Marketing Team/Project Visualization]]