*** [cross-posting since this is a big topic, please direct feedback to meego-community list to keep traffic in one place] ***
I've a bit of a plan I'd like to outline, and call for comments on. (And volunteers, hopefully, otherwise I shall be rather busy!) This is mostly targetted at existing application developer-type people, especially those with Qt knowledge, although all are welcome to participate in some way or another. Some background: We have a lot of highly productive developers that are not sure how their skills will remain relevant in a MeeGo context. We can't afford to lose them through neglect. There are also even more developers not familiar with MeeGo. When they find us, we have to grab them and keep them. Basically, we can't afford to lose our developers, and we need to gain more. I need help. I've written tutorials and helped a lot of people in the past, but frankly, it is not enough. We need to do more. The hands of many lighten that load. What? ===== The success of a platform is usually directly linked to its support and nurturing of developer talent. Great platforms have often withered without developer attention, and bad platforms have survived technical flaws thanks to high developer engagement and retention. I think we need this around MeeGo, and our related platform - Qt. Specifically, we need to provide education, support (moral and technical), and a feedback cycle - for application developers. Or, in a word: Mentoring. - Helping new developers find their feet - Teaching developers new tricks - Exchanging knowledge throughout the community to ensure equal footing A simple summary would be that *no* application developer should feel alone, or be confused. ;) As an added benefit, rough edges and other nasties become more obvious, and can (hopefully) be addressed instead of falling to the wayside, and losing valuable developers as a consequence. How? ==== Tutorials - Wiki based - Forum threads for feedback and questions Classes - On IRC - Covering tutorial material and topics which don't quite fit into a tutorial, e.g. "how to write responsive UI" - Possibly split out into a tutorial *after* each class, if the topic is self-contained enough Mentoring - A 'buddy' type system. Skilled developers offer to take on an eager trainee or two (or three or four) and 'show them the ropes'. It might be as simple as asking them how their project is going, and where they're getting stuck - from time to time - or as difficult as actually pitching in and helping them hack. Not really a role I want to define in terms beyond something like a 'big geeky brother'. :) Where do I sign up? ================ I've set up a wiki page containing a copy of this material at: http://wiki.meego.com/DeveloperEngagement If you're interested in helping out as a mentor, or with classes or tutorials, please add yourself to the list. A sidenote: please let's not discuss the material now, because it's practically infinite :). I'm specifically after feedback on this proposal, and volunteers to step up to help get the ball rolling. Finally: I realise this sounds very Qt-centric, and well, it is - for two reasons. Firstly, that's my prime area of expertise, and secondly.. MeeGo is focusing on Qt as the toolset to use for application developers. If your skills aren't in the Qt arena, you can still be of help - providing other facets of developer knowledge (best practices, how to use version control, etc), or perhaps by being the guinea-pigs to run through early versions of tutorials. -- Robin Burchell http://rburchell.com _______________________________________________ MeeGo-dev mailing list [email protected] http://lists.meego.com/listinfo/meego-dev
