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Open Source projects are normally developer-driven and tend to lack ways for non-developers to make meaningful contributions. GetPaid, an ecommerce framework for Plone, was organized with a collaborative design process known as "social sourcing". This talk provides an update on the community organizing, fundraising, and development of GetPaid.
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Social Sourcing Free Software: The story of GetPaid and creating
new opportunities for Plone
Christopher JohnsonifPeople | www.ifpeople.net
Plone Conference 2007Napoli, Italy
October 9, 2007
Outline
● What is Social Sourcing?● Why is it important for Free Software?● The Story of GetPaid & Social Sourcing● Lessons for Plone
What is Social Sourcing?
Def 1: Open Source Software for Civil Society Organizations (ie NGO/non-
profit)
What is Social Sourcing?
Def. 2: An organizing approach that gets diverse stakeholders to
participate to the software making process.
Similar Process: Charrette
● Charrettes bring together people from multiple perspectives at the design stage for an intense collaboration. – Root: French for “cart”
– More than just “crunch time”, it is also core to an Integrated Design Process
Charrette
● Frequently used for: innovative building design, community planning, product design.– Key: collaborative decision making in design
Data Center Charrette
● People from hardware, software, security, energy, real estate and more– Resulting design:
● 89% energy use reduction ● Equivalent computing power● Increased reliability
– See rmi.org
Why is this relevant?
● Open Source Software projects are driven by developers
==> Developers, like architects, often reticent to get “human” input
==> Difficult for non-developers to participate in shaping outcome
Why is this relevant?
● Diverse perspectives enrich the product
==> Expectations from client clarified upfront
==> Opportunities and constraints explored fully
Why is this relevant?
● The quality of the process determines the quality of the outcome
==> How you get it done determines what you get done
==> Position product to have a strong community
● Plone:– Flexible + very useful out of the box
● Internationally... – Wide use in NGOs, though still dependent on
third-party systems for donations
● 2006 PloneConf BOF– Conclusion: Need state of the art payment
processing framework
● To action! But...– /me was new to community, not a developer, and
with no ecommerce software experience.
– “Social sourcing” helped to be transparent, inclusive, and improve the product.
● <DOCTYPE FREESOFTWARE PUBLIC...><div id=”entrepreneur”> ...don't be afraid!
● Step 1: Get oriented– What is already out there?
– What do we know about those things?
– Why do we need something else?
● Result: – Reference on Plone Commerce:
http://plonegetpaid.com/why/plone-commerce-background
– Need for the product: http://plonegetpaid.com/why/need-for-this-product
● Step 2: Make a plan– What should we do?
– How can we do it?
– Who does it benefit and how?
– Make it pretty to look at...
● Results: – Goal for GetPaid M1: Donation handling
– Sponsorship plan: www.plonegetpaid.com/sponsor
● Step 3: Recruit leaders and participants– The project needs a qualified “sheperd”
– Variety of expertise are needed
● Result: – Lead architect: Kapil Thangavelu
– Organizer: Christopher Johnson
– NGO Liason: Jon Stahl
– Developers and UI: various (see Credits)
● Step 4: Refine the requirements (participative)– Get input of users, developers, user interface
experts, consultants/supporters
● Results: – Architecture outline
– User stories
● Step 5: Ask for money!– If you don't ask, you won't get it...
– Tips for asking: ● Connect needs with value● Be transparent● Be patient and persistent
● Result: – Raised over US$12,000 to date
– Contributions page
● Step 5: Don't forget...– Be accountable and transparent
● Step 6: Celebrate successes!– Reward and recognize people and their
contributions
– Communication is important!
● Results:– Blog, mailing list
– Celebrations...
● Ongoing: – Make it fun!
– Keep it organized!
– Keep people motivated!
● Results: – 3 Sprints (UNC, Google, Argentina)
– Google Code (wiki, issues)
– Blog, mailing lists, channel (#getpaid)
Social Source v1.0 Alpha●
– Study the market (benchmark)
– Put together a compelling plan
– Recruit the right people
– Engage a wide base in refining requirements
– Ask for money
– Celebrate successes
– Sustain it: fun, organization, motivation
– Regroup, review, and restart...
What does this mean for Plone?
● Plone is great!● Lots of work heading into the future...but
towards what?– Perhaps Plone could benefit from process
improvements that would: ● Clarify direction and identity● Provide more inclusive design process● Improve the overall product ● Strengthen Plone community
Plone Creation Process
● Overall vision:– Open process associated with vision?
● How can users be more involved?
– Place to document it?
● Features: – PLIPs process determines features...but you
have to be a “core developer” to make a PLIP● Something before PLIPs but more specific than vision?● Way to involve non-developers?
Reminder
● Check out GetPaid at Naples Sprint!– Sprint for the Red Ocher Release Candidate
– October 13-15, 2007
Thank you!
● Contact info: – Christopher Johnson
– cjj (at) ifpeople.net
– www.ifpeople.net
● Links: – www.plonegetpaid.com
– plone.org
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