[SeasonOfDocs] Proposed: Start a project decision log

Wed Aug 21 15:24:35 PDT 2019

FYI: I've done a bit of excel hackery to semi-automate copying Felicity's
list of decisions into our wiki decision register. It is still missing
links back to the source email thread for a number of the rows.
https://github.com/thegooddocsproject/governance/wiki/Decision-Log-2019

On Thu, 15 Aug 2019 at 07:52, Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I've inserted an alternative table format at the bottom of:
>
> https://github.com/thegooddocsproject/governance/wiki/Decision-Log-2019
>
> Proposed changes:
>
> * Table format, one row per decision.
>
> * Links to email archive
>
> * YYYY-MM-DD date digit format (which sorts easily if we need to sort
> later)
>
> * Dropped reference to "Proposer" for two reasons:
>
> 1. It adds extra work, and we should try for simplicity.
>
> 2. Recognising the one proposer is usually not indicative of how good
> decisions are made. The best decisions are typically made after input from
> multiple people.
>
> 3. When we create something that can be measured (like who proposes the
> most ideas), us humans have a tendency to "chase the points" which is often
> at odds with the benefit of the community. (This is subtle dynamics I've
> observed in open source communities, and also reflected in the literature).
>
> 4. We can find out who raised motions in email threads if we really need
> to look.
> On 14/8/19 7:45 am, Jared Morgan wrote:
>
> I like the level of detail, Erin. I think the only thing missing is the
> link it to the related mailing list thread tying the two together.
>
> On Wed., 14 Aug. 2019, 07:19 Erin McKean, <emckean at google.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi folks!
>>
>> The decision log wiki page is here:
>> https://github.com/thegooddocsproject/governance/wiki/Decision-Log-2019
>>
>> I figured we'd have to version it eventually so I thought yearly version
>> is probably the right level of granularity. Please let me know if not!
>>
>> I'd love feedback on this. Is it readable? Does it capture what we need?
>>
>> If the consensus is yes, use the wiki pages, then I will move the rest of
>> the stuff from the spreadsheet (
>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fhYL7VqUAzL9_K22G6GS9leK-Yd-XRQdWh9IU1LLF9U/edit?pli=1#gid=0)
>> to the log.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Erin
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 6, 2019 at 12:48 PM Cameron Shorter <
>> cameron.shorter at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks Felicity,
>>>
>>> I reckon the success of a decision log in a volunteer project depends
>>> upon its ease of use. As such, I suggest simply to only include:
>>>
>>> * Date Decided (or "Pending")
>>>
>>> * Motion
>>>
>>> * Discussion (which links to email discussion, and optionally includes
>>> summary)
>>>
>>> In row 2 of your spreadsheet, I've provided more detailed suggestions:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fhYL7VqUAzL9_K22G6GS9leK-Yd-XRQdWh9IU1LLF9U/edit#gid=0
>>>
>>> We can remove row after discussion.
>>>
>>> Cameron
>>> On 4/8/19 1:26 pm, Felicity Brand wrote:
>>>
>>> Turns out making a decision log is really BORING - who knew?!
>>>
>>> I have made a start. Here is a Google Sheet:
>>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fhYL7VqUAzL9_K22G6GS9leK-Yd-XRQdWh9IU1LLF9U/edit?usp=sharing
>>>
>>>
>>> It's got a lot of gaps. I will try and fill it in a bit more when I get
>>> more motivation. If anyone feels like adding stuff in, please be my guest.
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>> Felicity
>>>
>>> On Sun, Aug 4, 2019 at 1:05 AM Clarence Cromwell <
>>> clarencewcromwell at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> A decision log would be a much better history of the project than
>>>> searching through email. The email archive is going to become large, and
>>>> searching it for history that you don’t already know about might seem like
>>>> a forbidding task.
>>>>
>>>>  And the lack of historical info could discourage newcomers by
>>>> depriving them of any context.
>>>>
>>>> It would be better for future contributors if we could explain the
>>>> decision history in a log, and this is important because the project is
>>>> about better user experience through better documentation.
>>>>
>>>> At the very least the decisions voted on over the previous week should
>>>> be summarized in the meeting minutes.
>>>>
>>>> It would be better to accumulate all the decisions in one place, either
>>>> by compiling the minutes or by having a consistently formatted decision log.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>> On Aug 2, 2019, at 5:01 PM, Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> +0 from me.
>>>>
>>>> I think it is a good idea, although I haven't seen it used in Open
>>>> Source projects I've been involved in, which makes me question how
>>>> important it is if open communities haven't picked it up.
>>>>
>>>> I'd be inclined to make it super light, to encourage use. Probably:
>>>>
>>>> Date, Motion, Pass/Fail result, a link to the final email in thread
>>>> which calls the vote. (If interested, historians can dig through the email
>>>> archive.
>>>> On 3/8/19 7:52 am, Erin McKean wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Thanks to a great suggestion from Ríona MacNamara, I'd like to propose
>>>> we start a decision log for the Good Docs project.
>>>>
>>>> We are sending a lot of email and it might be hard for people to find
>>>> decisions there or in the meeting notes.
>>>>
>>>> General format is description, date, deciders, rationale, alternatives
>>>> considered, followup needed.
>>>>
>>>> Thoughts?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> Erin
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Erin McKean | Developer Relations Program Manager, Open Source
>>>> Strategy | emckean at google.com | she/her
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> SeasonOfDocs mailing listSeasonOfDocs at lists.osgeo.orghttps://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/seasonofdocs
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Cameron Shorter
>>>> Technology Demystifier
>>>> Open Technologies and Geospatial Consultant
>>>>
>>>> M +61 (0) 419 142 254
>>>>
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>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> SeasonOfDocs mailing listSeasonOfDocs at lists.osgeo.orghttps://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/seasonofdocs
>>>
>>> --
>>> Cameron Shorter
>>> Technology Demystifier
>>> Open Technologies and Geospatial Consultant
>>>
>>> M +61 (0) 419 142 254
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> SeasonOfDocs mailing list
>>> SeasonOfDocs at lists.osgeo.org
>>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/seasonofdocs
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Erin McKean | Developer Relations Program Manager, Open Source Strategy |
>>  emckean at google.com | she/her
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> SeasonOfDocs mailing list
>> SeasonOfDocs at lists.osgeo.org
>> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/seasonofdocs
>>
> --
> Cameron Shorter
> Technology Demystifier
> Open Technologies and Geospatial Consultant
>
> M +61 (0) 419 142 254
>
>

-- 
Cameron Shorter
Technology Demystifier
Open Technologies and Geospatial Consultant

M +61 (0) 419 142 254
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