Luis,
I have a suggestion for your consideration regarding the OCI project.
I think the idea could accelerate delivery of the OCI, enable people to more
easily contribute to the project, and offload a sizeable portion of the work
you''re doing, enabling you to focus on the most critical issues while
still providing guidance to others helping out with the other important tasks.
In a nutshell, the suggestion is simply for you to maintain a prioritized
"Project TODO" list at http://wiki.github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller.
The format and content will obviously change over time, but it contains a list
of key tasks that you feel need to be completed to keep things moving forward.
Tasks that others can coordinate with you in order to close.
I would have already started the wiki page if I''d been sure it could be
deleted if you didn''t see value in the suggestion. If you see value in
this, I''ll start the page with the initial content described below.
Once the list looks to be in good shape, I''d suggest you do an ANN
first to this ML, and then about a week later, an ANN to the ruby-talk ML.
Something to the effect of summarizing the current status of OCI, keeping
visibility for OCI, and asking for help with the remaining key issues.
Perhaps I''m being too optimistic on what a simple TODO list can do for
resourcing, but why not give it a try and see if it helps?
Jon
*** The Sales Pitch (or Why Should You Consider The Idea) ***
A few weeks ago when I had some spare time to contribute to the project, I was
unclear as to what really needed to be done to help move things along. While I
could have asked, I chose to jump in and start on some basic documentation.
While this was a modest contribution that helps in the longer term, it added
*no* value in helping accelerate delivery of the next OCI version.
Don''t get me wrong here (and I''m not being purposefully humble
either), I strongly believe in GREAT documentation and that a GREAT looking,
usable website are both key to a projects success, but let''s face it,
there''s a lot of other things that need to be done to push out the next
version of the OCI.
Part of the problem is that it''s not clear to a newly interested person
what work needs to be done.
And quite frankly, it should be easy for people looking to contribute to quickly
discover where they can help. Sure, they can fire off an email and ask, and
sure, you can take the time over and over again to reply to those emails.
But wouldn''t it be much easier and a much more efficient use of your
time if you maintained a project TODO list that people could review and then
contact you if they''re interested in contributing?
A Project TODO list would be very valuable for many other reasons. In addition
to helping focus people''s limited time to the most productive tasks,
the list also allows people to "own" the subtasks as well as be a
primary contact for others wanting to help out on those subtasks. Community
building.
Another HUGE benefit is that the list helps people who only have a little bit of
time once and awhile to also contribute.
For example, imagine Joe Awesome Techwriter wants to own the documentation
installer. Joe could be listed as the main contact for this subtask and, while
coordinating with you, work with others to finish the task.
And finally, the Project TODO list is not merely another thing to add to your
already very full plate. It will require you to initially review and prioritize
the tasks. Maintenance of the list would be infrequent and can be made very
manageable if we don''t "over engineer" the list by including
too many low priority tasks.
With that in mind, here''s my first pass at the start of a prioritized
list. I think it''s important to not make the list too long and
overwhelming, so you may want to cut this down a bit:
One-Click Installer Project TODOs
================================
"Phoenix Rising" Final Release...you should pick a catchy name for
this :)
------------------------------
* 1.9.1 Installer and 7z archive - Luis Lavena
* 1.8.6 Installer and 7z archive - ??
* DevKit Gem - ??
* 1.9.1 Documentation Installer - ??
* 1.8.6 Documentation Installer - ??
* OCI-branding graphic for Installer - ??
Updated rubyinstaller.org Website
---------------------------------
* Web Development Lead - ??
Installer Testing
-----------------
* Windows 7 1.9 Test Herder - ??
* Windows 7 1.8 Test Herder - ??
* Vista 1.9 Test Herder - ??
* Vista 1.8 Test Herder - ??
* WinXP 1.9 Test Herder - ??
* WinXP 1.8 Test Herder - ??
* Win2K 1.9 Test Herder - ??
* Win2K 1.8 Test Herder - ??