[DISCUSS] #2 Organization around Capacity/Accountability

["Dennis E. Hamilton" <de...@acm.org>]

Since resolving Priority #1, we have not returned to Andrea's list of priorities.

The #2 from the list seems critical to everything else.

   2) Internal reorganization: people say what they are going to 
      do to drive the project forward (so an "active" approach 
      rather than the "I don't have time, but someone should..." 
      approach which is not working).

I started looking at this for myself and have to face what my capacities are and where I can commit myself.  I am still looking at what I have to say for myself. I know that I have far more interests than capacity and I must see what I can do to provide a realistic statement.

It is different to separate out areas of concern.  We all have many concerns and desires concerning Apache OpenOffice.  Rather, we want to look at where each of us, can act directly and influence the course of the project by direct contributions that are in our power to make.

 - Dennis

LONGER LITTLE ESSAY

I think each of us, particularly but not only the Apache OpenOffice committers, need to look at where we are already equipped (have the capability at hand) to take action.  It would be useful to somehow have a roster that allows us all to see what that those capabilities are in understanding work in progress and helping to be realistic in what our combined efforts can produce.

And each of us can identify how much capacity we have for carrying out work and report what that is too.  This is not like promising to do something or create schedules.  It is so we are clear what the capacity for the project is as a volunteer activity.  And as capacity or interest changes, that can be kept visible and the project community can adjust however it is able.

We have skills far beyond those of working on the code (and are probably limited in that important area), and all of those capacities are important to understand.

I put Capacity/Commitment in the subject and realized that we are not collecting commitments (although they are welcome when offered).  I think Accountability is the correct term.  I mean that we provide an account for ourselves and our what we are working on, and do not go invisible.  It is only in providing an account, so others know the state of affairs.  There is no judgment being made.  It is all right to change personal plans, have life happen, and even choose to do something different, whether for the project or not.  It is all right to fail.  Some will simply proceed with time available and *any* contribution is valuable.  The account is for mutual visibility and some certainty, not for being assessed.

I think knowing what actions folks are considering and where effort is available is important to allow us to coordinate among our interests better.

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrea Pescetti [mailto:pescetti@apache.org] 
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2015 09:56
To: dev@openoffice.apache.org
Subject: Short-term priorities for OpenOffice

[ ... ]

2) Internal reorganization: people say what they are going to do to 
drive the project forward (so an "active" approach rather than the "I 
don't have time, but someone should..." approach which is not working).

3) Re-alignment between PMC and active community (the PMC, not the 
Chair, steers the project; so people who work must be in the PMC and 
people in the PMC should confirm they are still interested in being there).

4) External reorganization: decide how we see OpenOffice as part of a 
larger ecosystem, so what we can do in terms of collaboration with other 
projects that are from Apache or from outside Apache.

5) Release OpenOffice 4.1.2 (all of this must produce something for our 
users!). This has a number of significant subtasks and preliminary tasks 
(Release manager, digital signing...) but it would be pointless to 
address them now.

[ ... ]


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Re: [DISCUSS] #2 Organization around Capacity/Accountability

[Andrea Pescetti <pe...@apache.org>]

On 17/03/2015 Dennis E. Hamilton wrote:
> The #2 from the list seems critical to everything else.
>     2) Internal reorganization: people say what they are going to
>        do to drive the project forward (so an "active" approach
>        rather than the "I don't have time, but someone should..."
>        approach which is not working). ...
> I mean that we provide an account for ourselves and our what we are working on, and do not go invisible.

Sorry Dennis for keeping you waiting this long... Well, as that guy 
said, "I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to 
normal; I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the 
mission".

Seriously, I see myself helping with localization related tasks in the 
future, since we have a good and active community there but a need to 
streamline some processes. That said, I also recognize the importance of 
releasing a new version of OpenOffice as soon as possible, so my primary 
focus in the next weeks will be, as time allows, on helping with shaping 
OpenOffice 4.1.2.

Regards,
   Andrea.

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