On 17 December 2013 14:17, Gabriela Gibson <gabriela.gib...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > as you probably are aware, I had an idea fail to win an Apache Lab spot > recently.
Did it fail? I did not notice a failed vote. > Being the incurable optimistic realist that I am, I counted no -1's, one +1 > vote, one committer who joined my project immediately, and the fact that > the idea wrote itself in about 16 hours flat. > > So on balance, I think as ideas go, this is a pretty good one, and whilst > Apache Lab technically failed for me, it is still a big fat profit in my > book :-) > > It was also recently suggested that Apache Labs could do with some ideas. > So, having some experience of the Apache Lab process, here is my personal > frank take and lemonade recipe, in no particular order and without > guarantee of validity. > > Enjoy the lemonade! :) > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > * People who are eligible to vote and the process > > Problem: Most of the Apache PMC's are busy, successful people and may not > have much spare time and there are only 72 hours for them to find out, > think about and approve an idea, and then X-mas weekend shopping + real > life happens. That is a misunderstanding. The 72 hours is a MINIMUM period. > Solution: Scrap the vote, the mechanics are too failure prone. I see no problem here (yet). > An Apache Committer usually already has passed the community quality test > as person who can partake constructively in the community, so, they can be > trusted to use the Lab space productively if given a spot. If not, well, > this can be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. > > Open up the Apache Lab committee and appoint some Lab Guardians from the > wider community whose job it will be to facilitate the success of ideas > gifted to us. > Surely that is what the Lab PMC are already. > * What is a 'quality' idea? > > One that survives the ensuing fight. It might start small and ugly, but it > needs opinions to grow and find shape. A good idea can awe people into > silence (what could I possible add? Will my critique look mean?). In that > case, send praise! > > Even a bad idea can fire people up into joining the melee and at the end, > the idea often has morphed into something totally different, and shines > because it's been roughed up to a high polish. > > So, we can at best say 'I like', but, until the concept has been thoroughly > worked on by the community, 'quality' is relative. Maybe we can define it > best as 'quality ideas inspire people to participate in their formation > process'. > > But, the process makes or breaks the idea, not the other way round. > > > * Purpose of Apache Labs > > I see Apache Labs as a prelude to Incubator -- it should be the nest where > the egg is laid before it can be placed for hatching. > > Problem: This currently isn't happening, the mailing list is very quiet, > and part of the reason may be that Apache Labs can look like a 'tough gig' > and people who are looking for a space to play, might be intimidated by > seeing stuff get turned down. The initial stepping out and presentation is > quite a fragile and worrying process and takes a lot of guts on part of the > designer. > > Solution: Open up the playground. Invite & recruit --- the more the > merrier. Apache Labs should be a noisy, lively place that is easy to > enter, and could do with some guidance as to how the community should work > ideas. > > I do not see it as problem that non Apache members may not commit, this is > what the mailing list and patches are for, and if Lab does it's job > correctly it also functions as an entry process for potential new > committers who make friends in this informal place and hopefully get roped > into existing Apache projects. > > Additional thought: Some ideas are spanning several projects and the > originating project space may sometimes not be the right forum to test an > idea because the audience may be not be diverse enough. > > Apache Labs should be that space where projects can share ideas of this > kind with the rest of the community before deciding to take it into their > space or perhaps homing it elsewhere. Also, if projects bring ideas to Lab > and invite their members to go take a look, it will promote Lab in their > communities and we'll get more visitors. > > > * A culture for nurturing ideas > > An idea is always just a little bit of raw material. It can be smashed into > pieces and new ideas can be built from the fragments. It can grow into > something wonderful, or be a good demonstration of why we do not do things > that way. It's a teacher. And, good teachers are always ready to deliver > proof of what they claim when challenged. > > Of course this should and can be done politely, but in essence, the process > of working an idea into shape is always contentious to some degree. It's > like making sausages, the result is great, but the process is somewhat > mucky and needs some rules because it's etiquette lies somewhat out of the > normal social space, it's a melee by definition, but even melees have (and > need) engagement rules. > > Hence, Apache Labs needs a statement how ideas should be treated by the > community and we should have guidelines that help people make great > omelettes whilst being careful to compost the shells to make new fertile > compost to grow new stuff in. > > Apache Labs also needs a more cleared defined pathway of how to reach the > goal of entering the Incubator. > > > * People who design ideas > > Some designers only have one idea they've carefully worked a lot on, > others are literally plagued by a torrent of them and just make nice > sketches they want to show and share. > > Some want to keep control of their ideas, others are just happy to give > them away. > > However, all those creative people all have one thing in common: every > designer always defends their creation like a mother hen, because it's > usually their heartfelt opinion and best effort of creating the shape that > things should be. If it were not so, we would not have ideas! > > Some designers can fall into the trap of viewing their idea as a public > litmus for their capability, and some people may feel they have a > professional reputation to protect, and public failure feels > uncomfortable. This dread is more pronounced in designers who are new to > publishing their ideas, and it's totally natural and part of the growth > process of a designer. A good culture will go a long way of making that > daunting first step easy and comfortable to take. > > Apache Labs needs to be explicit about stating that an idea fail is not a > personal failure, and that it's better to have an idea fail than not be > presented, and that stepping out with the idea is a 'great job > done' as is --- if an idea that is gifted to Apache Labs fails or succeeds, > we all learn something valuable, but the community is the actual body that > is collectively responsible for the outcome, and, win or lose, we all have > part of the honour. > > Ideas command our respect, and part of this is creative destruction. > > > * How to fail an Apache Lab idea gracefully and productively > > I view Apache Labs as an entry point to Incubator. It's where the egg is > conceived, and formed --- it arrives as a tiny bit of DNA instruction > (inspiration), grows into a big yolk(idea), the albumen (community) that > will feed the embryo (project) is established , and a pretty shell is > formed(shape) and finally the egg is laid, ready to be put into Incubator > for hatching. > > The more eggs we produce, more successful the Incubator will be, and the > more ASF will grow. Every idea we can win for our world is an addition to > our treasure hoard and a valuable chance for us. > > We cannot and should not control the creative process too much, it has it's > own momentum and at best we can facilitate the magic that happens, when it > does. There are of course techniques for conjuring up this happy event, > and using them enhances the chances =) > > Let ideas fail naturally in the ensuing melee, a Lab is just a space where > things go *boom*, or serendipity turns mere mould into the saviour of > humanity. > > It's a place where we discover things, not where already complete things > are delivered, and it's impossible to evaluate an idea properly before it's > been tested by the community. > > An idea has failed when it's not growing or not rebuilt into a new idea. > This is a longish process and a community effort, after all, if the > designer could go solo they would, but they come to Apache Lab to gather a > community that turns their dream into reality. > > So, give every idea a year to be tested to destruction by all-comers, and > if it hasn't made it to Incubator by then, we have our answer and it's time > to run a script that vaults the idea's repository and stashes it into a > zip file complete with all the mails it attracted, ready to be delivered > back safely to it's designer. Automate that process -- a retired project > can always be resurrected, but hard deadlines tend to motivate people to > make pace because there is no 'manana' option. > > A failed idea also deserves an 'exit interview' in order to help the > designer to grow their creation-fu, and perhaps to point them into a more > productive direction, Apache Lab may just not be the right place for this > particular creation, despite everyone giving it their very best shot. > > So, the exit process is where all Apache Lab guardians should give a frank > assessment to the instigator, and this feedback should be the designers' > document and he gets to decide which > parts to publish on the Apache Lab mailing list. Some designers may > publish the entire thing, others may want to keep it private. It's their > personal reward for daring to step out into the lime light and > gifting the Apache Community a toy to play with, and a pretty good > consolation prize in it's own right. > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Anyway, that's all the lemonade I got for now, I hope you liked my recipe, > if you did, go find some lemons and try it out :) :) :) > > All the best, > > Gabriela > > -- > Visit my Coding Diary: http://gabriela-gibson.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: labs-unsubscr...@labs.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: labs-h...@labs.apache.org
