[OSM-talk] [OSM-dev] OSM front page design concept

[Jochen Plumeyer]

Hi folks,

On Dom 21 Feb 2010, SteveC wrote:
> 1) click 'feedback' or 'problem'
> 2) enter problem
> 3) click ok

I think an easy feedback system is great. And I like the idea of "exposing 
bugs".

For this I think it would be essential to coordinate a bit and prepare in an 
explicit manner workflows (and make them fun, light and non-bureaucratic).

I know, these workflows exist already, but they are not "mapped" (not 
documented) I think, as usual in an OpenSource project or other common team 
structures, where workflows establish themselves over time, and mostly 
perform quite well.

Basically I think of creating a tree of bug categories, and in the end of that 
tree should be supporters who feel it their job to fix the incoming bugs.

This bug tree should be easy and fun to use. For me, i.e. bugzilla is an 
example of a highly functional but difficult bug tracking system.

The first supporters we need are the ones who decide the category of a bug, to 
assign bugs to the right category/ supporting people.

Oviously, bug categories correlate with skill profile, interest and free time 
of supporters (and for mapping fixes, geographic activity).
I think it would be helpful as well to make a survey about skill profiles of 
the supporters (us), to find in some emergency perhaps another supporter who 
could help out, without depending always on optimal communications.
So this would "expose" as well the skill and power of human resources (or the 
lack of it) of an important part of the OSM project.

So your kind of provocative post could have a very good impact on OSM I think, 
in establishing better-organized workflows.
Of course the whole process should be fun, and no boring bug-fixing slavery.

Even more challenging than that kind of system to organize collaborative work 
would be establishing an organized system of decision-making (but I think 
this is perhaps just fully utopic democratic geekery).
Chances are that an external feedback system will not fit our needs.

Cheers!

Jochen