Date

Nov 20, 2024

 Participants

• @Stefania Trabucchi - Moderator

• Vineet Manuja – Moderator

Agenda for Open edX Biz Dev Working Group Meeting

• Date: November 20, 2024

• Objective: In our last meeting, the conversation extended into the Product Proposal Process at length, offering valuable insights and feedback on this area.

  Building on that, the next session will steer us back to our core Biz Dev objectives: gathering actionable market intelligence from our community’s direct market connections. By focusing on customer needs and industry trends, we can shape product strategy, boost platform adoption, and expand our partner network. These priorities remain aligned with the community goals set at the Stellenbosch Conference.

Call-out: Participation of Sales-Facing Members: @Cecilia Liu highlighted the benefit of involving more sales-facing members to capture direct customer insights. This is a great opportunity to invite your organization’s Business Development members to join the workgroup and contribute their on-the-ground perspectives.

Agenda:

1. Focus Group Presentations

• Each focus group will present:

  • Their objectives and goals

  • Key activities planned to achieve these objectives

2. Guest Speaker: @Cassie Zamparini

• Topic: Enhancing the Core Contributor Experience

• Objective: Cassie will share insights and key takeaways to support Biz Dev’s role in building a robust contributor community.

3. Actions and Follow-Ups from Previous Sessions

1. Feedback Document Shared by Eden: @Eden Huthmacher provided a document for feedback on the Product Proposal Process, accessible here: Product Proposal - Process Improvement Recommendations

   1. Existing Product Proposal Process: For reference, here is the existing documentation on the Product Proposal Process: Product Proposal Process Document

2. Cecilia’s Survey on Unified Proposal Tool: @Cecilia Liu introduced a survey to gauge whether a unified proposal tool is needed and to gather insights for streamlining the proposal process. Survey Link (Open Nov 5 - Dec 5).

3. Request from Ed - High-Level Architecture Summary: @Edward Zarecor requested feedback on the high-level architecture summary. Members are encouraged to provide comments and indicate interest in attending an additional Q&A session. Slack Link for Comments & Vote

   1. Direct Link to the Document: Architecture Presentation

Meeting Notes:

Led by: @Stefania Trabucchi and @Vineet Manuja
Number of Participants: 16

Meeting Highlights

Focus Group: Focus Area: Product-Market Alignment Notes

@Marco Morales ’s Insights:
Discussed focus group outcomes and OKR alignment with Esteban.
Proposed the idea of building a network of EdTech influencers and using sponsored videos to shift OpenEdX’s perception as an open-source solution.

marketing working group board view

Focus Group: Focus Group: Member Success and Revenue Growth

@Esteban Etcheverry ’s Suggestions:
Compared OpenEdX pricing with Canvas, highlighting affordability as a competitive edge.
Noted region-specific LMS preferences (e.g., Moodle in the U.S.).
Suggested revenue-generation strategies through partnerships and extending OpenEdX’s market reach.

@Vineet Manuja ’s Suggestions:
Emphasized multilingual video communications and local ads.
Proposed newsletter campaigns and mini-campaigns targeting specific markets.

@Eden Huthmacher ’s Input:
Recommended involving more marketing professionals in BizDev to boost collaboration.

Revenue Stream Discussion

@Natalia Vynogradenko raised the question of revising revenue models or revenue streams
Vineet clarified BizDev’s focus on aligning revenue generation strategies for partners and the OpenEdX community.

@Stefania Trabucchi Clarifications:

Differentiated between marketing (outreach) and BizDev (product strategy focus).
Highlighted member success and the importance of robust product materials. Shared examples of Edunext’s partnership development process.

Guest Presentation: @Cassie Zamparini (OpenCraft)

Topic: Enhancing Core Contributor Experience. (Presentation Link)
Eden’s Suggestion: Proposed professional onboarding videos, inspired by a volunteer-driven UDS project, to streamline the onboarding process.

@Cassie Zamparini is also preparing a Open edX Handbook with a aim to aim to significantly enhance the onboarding experience for new Core Contributors, streamline their integration into the community, and boost the overall effectiveness and satisfaction of our current contributors. (Handbook)

Mapping: product review statuses and labels

Actions and Next StepsFeedback Required:
Review product proposals and submit feedback by December 31, 2024.
Cecilia’s Survey: Complete the unified proposal tool survey.

Links Shared During the Meeting
Open edX Community Training Courses
Core Contributor Onboarding course

Conclusion:

The meeting successfully addressed BizDev objectives with a focus on aligning community goals with market demands. Key takeaways included leveraging influencer partnerships, improving multilingual communications, and enhancing onboarding processes for contributors. Participants were tasked with providing feedback on product proposals and completing surveys to streamline BizDev strategies.

NEXT MEETING:

December 11, 2024

Agenda: End-of-year progress review and planning for 2025.