Summit to Enhance the Core Contributor Experience: Call for Proposals

Owned by Cassie Zamparini
Last updated: Sept 19, 2024
6 min read

About the Summit

This summit aims to gather innovative ideas and actionable proposals to address the key challenges identified in our Improving the Core Contributor Experience report. We’re looking for solutions that will help us improve the overall experience of our Open edX Core Contributor Program, making involvement more efficient and impactful. Our Core Contributor Program is designed to foster genuine participation and support the growth of the platform. It provides community members with special access and associated responsibilities to help develop and promote the Open edX platform.

Call for Proposals

We invite all Core Contributors to submit proposals on one or more of the topics below. Each proposal should address the specific challenges associated with each topic:

1. Enhance Core Contributor Onboarding

We are looking for proposals to improve the Core Contributor (CC) onboarding experience. The aim is to address current gaps and refine the process to create a more comprehensive, clear, and user-friendly onboarding experience.

  1. Documentation Accessibility: New Core Contributors struggle to locate information pertinent to their role.

  2. Content Quality: Users would like the format and quality of onboarding content to improved so it better engages and informs new members.

  3. Information Clarification: Core Contributors need more in-depth explanations on several topics, including:

    • Role definitions

    • Effective use of communication channels

    • Links to relevant documents and working groups

    • Operation of Core Contributor Sprints

  4. Call to Action: There’s a need for clearer guidance on the steps to take after onboarding, helping new Core Contributors understand how to actively participate and integrate into the community.

  5. Information Overload: New Core Contributors feel overwhelmed by the multiple locations that information is stored (e.g. forum, wiki) making it challenging to discover necessary documentation.

  6. Community Reliance: New Core Contributors often rely on the community for answers instead of utilizing the existing materials, indicating a need for more effective and accessible resources.

  • Overview: Provide a short summary of your proposal.

  • Solution: Provide a clear solution for the challenges listed in this topic. Outline implementation strategies and expected outcomes.

  • Impact: Explain how you’ll measure the effectiveness of the changes proposed.

  • Timeline: Provide an estimated timeline for implementation and any key milestones.

Refer to the survey results for Improving the Core Contributor Experience for supporting data and information.

  1. Duplicate the proposal template.

  2. Add the duplicated page below the Proposals: Improve the Core Contributor Experience section of the wiki

  3. When your proposal is complete publish it and add a link to it here.

  4. Please ping @Cassie Zamparini in Slack once it’s completed.

1. Enhance Core Contributor Onboarding

We are looking for proposals to improve the Core Contributor (CC) onboarding experience. The aim is to address current gaps and refine the process to create a more comprehensive, clear, and user-friendly onboarding experience.

  1. Documentation Accessibility: New Core Contributors struggle to locate information pertinent to their role.

  2. Content Quality: Users would like the format and quality of onboarding content to improved so it better engages and informs new members.

  3. Information Clarification: Core Contributors need more in-depth explanations on several topics, including:

    • Role definitions

    • Effective use of communication channels

    • Links to relevant documents and working groups

    • Operation of Core Contributor Sprints

  4. Call to Action: There’s a need for clearer guidance on the steps to take after onboarding, helping new Core Contributors understand how to actively participate and integrate into the community.

  5. Information Overload: New Core Contributors feel overwhelmed by the multiple locations that information is stored (e.g. forum, wiki) making it challenging to discover necessary documentation.

  6. Community Reliance: New Core Contributors often rely on the community for answers instead of utilizing the existing materials, indicating a need for more effective and accessible resources.

  • Overview: Provide a short summary of your proposal.

  • Solution: Provide a clear solution for the challenges listed in this topic. Outline implementation strategies and expected outcomes.

  • Impact: Explain how you’ll measure the effectiveness of the changes proposed.

  • Timeline: Provide an estimated timeline for implementation and any key milestones.

Refer to the survey results for Improving the Core Contributor Experience for supporting data and information.

2. Improve Collaboration, Communication & Reporting

Our Core Contributors have emphasized a need for better collaboration, communication, and reporting practices. We’re looking for proposals to help us create this more dynamic and collaborative environment.

2. Improve Collaboration, Communication & Reporting

Our Core Contributors have emphasized a need for better collaboration, communication, and reporting practices. We’re looking for proposals to help us create this more dynamic and collaborative environment.

3. Improve Fulfilling Commitments and Planning Processes

We’re seeking proposals to improve the effectiveness and productivity of our Core Contributor program. As our community continues to grow and evolve, it is essential that we enhance our planning tools and commitment tracking methods to better meet the needs of our contributors.

3. Improve Fulfilling Commitments and Planning Processes

We’re seeking proposals to improve the effectiveness and productivity of our Core Contributor program. As our community continues to grow and evolve, it is essential that we enhance our planning tools and commitment tracking methods to better meet the needs of our contributors.

4. Improve Review Processes

68.5% of participants have reported difficulties in obtaining timely reviews or approvals in our current review processes. These challenges are primarily due to issues in finding suitable reviewers and managing the pace of reviews. To address these bottlenecks and streamline our workflow, we are seeking proposals to improve our review processes and further emphasise the importance of the maintainer program.

4. Improve Review Processes

68.5% of participants have reported difficulties in obtaining timely reviews or approvals in our current review processes. These challenges are primarily due to issues in finding suitable reviewers and managing the pace of reviews. To address these bottlenecks and streamline our workflow, we are seeking proposals to improve our review processes and further emphasise the importance of the maintainer program.

Proposal Submission Guidelines

  • Deadline: Oct 6, 2024 at 18:00 UTC (timezone converter)

  • Submit: Add your proposal to the wiki as described in the sections above.

  • Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated based on:

    • Relevance to the report’s findings

    • Feasibility and practicality of implementation

    • Quality and clarity of the proposed solutions

    • Potential impact on improving the Core Contributor experience

The Core Contributor Coordination Working Group will review proposals ahead of the Summit. Only proposals submitted by the deadline will be considered.

Summit Guidelines

Let’s discuss your proposals!

All proposal submitters will have the opportunity to present their topic at the Summit. Please mark this date on your calendar.

  • Date: Oct 21, 2024, from 13:00 to 15:00 UTC (timezone converter)

  • Location: Meeting Link

  • Agenda:

    • Welcome

    • Solution Presentations

      • Allocate equal time for each proposal

      • Present and discuss each proposal

    • Thank you

Review Guidelines

  1. Once the summit concludes, we will post the video of the presentations.

  2. The community will have two weeks to provide asynchronous comments.

  3. Afterward, we will proceed with the voting process as follows:

    1. Core Contributors will vote Yes or No on each proposal.

    2. A proposal passes if it receives 50% or more Yes votes.

    3. Broader topics may be reviewed by the TOC (Technical Oversight Committee).

Funding

Participation in this summit is welcomed, but no funding will be allocated. We’ll need to rely on the commitment hours of Core Contributors to find solutions.

Thank you!

We look forward to discussing these topics with the broader community. Your contributions will help us enhance the Core Contributor experience by focusing on the critical areas identified through survey feedback. Our goal is to address concerns related to transparency, coordination, and guidance for new contributors. Together, we aim to make a significant impact on our core contributor community.

For any questions, please feel free to reach out to @Cassie Zamparini