Sorry this is getting so long. :-) On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 01:13:07PM -0300, Igor Pires Soares wrote: > Em Qui, 2011-06-23 às 14:08 -0400, Paul W. Frields escreveu: > > On Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 12:23:39PM -0300, Igor Pires Soares wrote: > > > Em Qua, 2011-06-22 às 16:40 -0400, Paul W. Frields escreveu: > > > > On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 10:26:11PM -0300, Igor Pires Soares wrote: [...snip...] > > > > > I just realized that the upcoming FAD at FISL will be the first FAD in > > > > > LATAM, although we have had really nice Fedora activities at FISL > > > > > before. I'm not going to attend this year but I'm working on the > > > > > budget > > > > > side along with FAmSCo, and I would like to provide proper guidance > > > > > for > > > > > LATAM folks and improve the process for the upcoming FAD and next > > > > > ones. > > > > > > > > I think it's fantastic that you're willing to do that, Igor! I still > > > > think setting up a bunch more process for FADs, or raising the level > > > > of organizational work required, is not the right direction to go. > > > > But perhaps you could start by helping us identify where the current > > > > FAD setup pages are missing, or unclear, so we can fix them? > > > > > > > > Again, just my $0.02 and I thank you for being very thoughtful about > > > > the discussion! > > > > > > Thanks for engaging in this thread, Paul!. At first I was just > > > brainstorming here, but I see that this conversation already provided > > > some good concrete ideas we can work on. :) > > > > One of the things I continue to be concerned about is the amount of > > process built up around doing good things for Fedora. Obviously we > > all need to communicate well with each other to be efficient and > > effective. It seems like in the past we haven't needed a lot of > > ticket tracking to do that. But at the same time, the size of the > > community working together has increased -- and maybe that requires > > this type of level of organization for big events like a FISL or a > > FOSDEM. > > > > At the same time, we need to separate how we do organizational > > tracking of big events from what we require at a minimum for small > > gatherings like FADs. And underlying all of that, we need to ensure > > that we aren't making people block on a difficult process to get > > things done. And we need to communicate that to all parts of the > > Fedora community, in all parts of the world, so that people are moving > > ahead with events, and not always waiting for permission from someone. > > > > The process for most FADs should be very simple, and anyone in ANY > > region of the world should be able to follow it. For instance, if I > > want to put on a FAD, I should be able to go through the following > > steps very easily. > > > > * Start at the FAD page on the wiki, to understand what's an > > appropriate reason to put one together. I should be able to also > > easily see what an allowable budget is for a FAD, say $1K-2.5K. > > I think that the allowable budget is not that clear at first, but it > will become clearer if FAD organizers get used to describe the costs in > the wiki.
Yes -- not all the FADs have done this. But we do need to have a small limit for FADs, because that allows us to balance toward more FADs as opposed to fewer, more expensive ones. Having more FADs is a goal. Also, it allows us to keep setting aside enough for regional FUDCon event spending in each quarter. > > * I should consult with the people who want to get together for the > > event, to make sure we agree on the time and location. The people > > and location should be tailored so the event fits into the budget, > > and can meet the goals we've set up. > > The current documentation covers properly this point, once the budget > becomes clear. So we are good here. > > > * I should be able to see how much in each Red Hat fiscal quarter is > > available for all FADs, and I should be able to see who has already > > committed money for a FAD. For example, I should be able to see > > that we have $20K to put on FADs for the quarter, and that there are > > five (5) FADs already scheduled that commit an estimated total of, > > say, $10K. That means if I want to put mine on, I know there's > > money available for it. I shouldn't have to wait for anyone to tell > > me so, I simply sign up for it. (Notice how this encourages > > documentation -- if I'm not signed up, I can't expect any money or > > reimbursement!) > > I'm not quite sure if this one is clear on the current FAD > documentation. For instance, I can't see how much money we have > available for this and next quarters specifically for FADs. We have > general budget availability on the Community Architecture expenses wiki > page, but nothing specifically for FADs. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Community_Architecture_expenses FADs are a premier Fedora event, just like FUDCons. So the total of FUDCon and FAD budget for a specific quarter are shown here, as well as what money's been obligated or spent already. The money shown in the "FY12 summary" table is for the entire year, so $90K / 4 quarters is about $22.5K per quarter. That needs to cover FUDCon activities and FAD activities. Now you can see why it's so important that FUDCon planners have a budget made up, and that they stick to it. Because at the same time, there are people who want to run FADs and need to depend on having their budget covered too. > > * I should be able to gather people and make plans, based on that > > budget. I can use that budget to book hotel rooms, plan to cover > > some reasonable food expenses for the small number of people > > attending, and so forth. If train or air fare is required, I can > > handle that too (always sticking to the budget). > > That is also well explained on the current documentation. > > > * As I make these plans, I should announce what I'm doing on the > > appropriate lists, and post a blog on the Fedora Planet. I should > > have a wiki page that shows what's being planned in detail, as with > > other FADs like this: > > http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Etherpad_FAD > > http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FAD_Fedora_Talk_2009 > > +1 > Blog posts, an announcement on the appropriated lists, and a proper wiki > page should be enough to communicate it well. > > > As you're working up more ideas, I would offer that we want to keep > > pursuing something close to the above. We all want easy access for > > all contributors to put on FAD events that get real work done in > > Fedora on a "sprint" basis. That makes FADs special and different > > from other important gatherings such as an event booth, a FUDCon, or > > an end-user focused teaching session. > > I see that a ticketing system for larger events might help, whether or > not we a have a FAD attached to them. For FADs, specifically, I think > that you covered it all here. It seems to me that the most important > issues are the budget availability information and the proper > communication that should be more documented on the FAD wiki. This has been a really worthwhile conversation! Please keep your ideas and progress coming, Igor -- it's very much appreciated. -- Paul W. Frields http://paul.frields.org/ gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233 5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717 http://redhat.com/ - - - - http://pfrields.fedorapeople.org/ The open source story continues to grow: http://opensource.com _______________________________________________ fudcon-planning mailing list [email protected] https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fudcon-planning
