fama-mentors May 2013

fama-mentors@lists.fedoraproject.org

9 participants
3 discussions

Improving Ambassador Mentoring process
by Clint Savage 07 May '13

07 May '13

Hi all, Welcome to the new fama-mentors mailing list. I've created this list to help us communicate as Fedora Ambassador mentors. I hope this list can be used to help improve processes, communications and anything else that might make it easier to do ambassador mentoring. I'd like to start this mailing list off with a bit of a conversation started. In last week's FAmSCo meeting, I brought up a few changes to the process in the open floor. Most of the changes were well received. I'd like to reiterate them here and get input / opinion / consensus on the changes. First off, the current process needs to be defined. It's clear from an ambassador candidate what the process should be. It's pretty well defined at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Ambassadors_Join_start. However, the process for the Fedora Ambassador Administration (FAmA) administrator (me) is not as well known. I got a lot of this information from Joerg Simon in an email when he passed me the torch to take over FAmA. So here's that process, with the ambassador candidate steps. An ambassador candidate gets a Fedora Account from FAS The candidate is then invited to create their personal wiki page and explore Fedora The candidate is then directed to apply for membership in the ambassadors group At this point, the FAmA administrator (me) will be notified by email, along with any other sponsors, that a new candidate needs sponsorship. The candidate is then invited to contact a mentor to get started. If the candidate is aggressive, this could be fairly quick. On each Sunday, I go through the list of new candidates as compared to those in trac, and create tickets for all of the new tickets for the candidate. Once created, the mentoring process can be commented on, deadlines set for mentoring, etc. Upon approval from the mentor, the candidate will receive a 'mentor thumbs up' in the mentor status field of the trac ticket. On the following Sunday from the mentor's approval, I go through and find tickets with 'mentor thumbs up' statuses. I then approve them as an ambassador in FAS, update the ticket with congratulations, and close it with a 'SPONSORED' status. If the candidate fails to meet the mentor's requirements, or does not contact a mentor after 4 weeks, I will clean up these requests in trac and remove their request for sponsorship in FAS. ------------------ There are other things that get done by the FAmA Administrator (me), that happen in the middle of the process, but don't affect the process above. The most common one is processing the mailing list requests. I again perform these tasks on Sundays. Most of the requests are spam. If the candidate has requested membership, I approve the mailing list requests. If I can't find a trac ticket, I reject them with a friendly message to apply. ------------------- Okay, so now that I've long-windedly explained the current process as it sits, I'd like to explain the changes I'm suggesting. They are rather simple. I will also give good reasons for making the changes and ask for any input from you. This idea, as I have stated previously, has been vetted a little from FAmSCo and others before I proposed it here. The changes I'd like to make effective June 1, 2013, are the following: Change #1: Instead of having the FAmA administrator file the ticket in trac, I'd like to have the mentor file the ticket. This will allow the interaction between the mentor and the candidate to happen as early as possible. It's also useful to have the mentor file the ticket which provides the mentor the ability to control the process a little more, pretty much right from the beginning. One idea was suggested was to have the candidate file the ticket in trac, but this will cause more problems. There is a specific process and format when filing tickets. Having several mentors follow instructions will be useful. Having to train hundreds of candidates, who may not have interacted much with Fedora or its processes, will likely cause much more pain. Much of the goal here is to simplify the process and remove the FAmA administrator as a bottleneck from the process where possible. Allowing mentors to take over the ticket creation process allows candidates to contact mentors and have tickets to track their progress more quickly, rather than waiting for the next Sunday. Change #2: Provide the mailing list moderation password to the mentors, to approve their candidates when they give them the 'mentor thumbs up' status in trac. As above, removing the FAmA administrator from this process will improve the ability of candidates to more quickly get involved with Ambassadors. Even if the candidate is not approved for Ambassadors yet, they can still participate in mailing list discussions once the mentor feels they have met the appropriate requirements. A couple things to note. Sponsoring / Rejecting candidates will still happen on Sundays due to constraints in FAS. I'd like to start small with trac tickets before granting sponsorship rights to all mentors in FAS. FAmA reserves the right / privilege to modify any ticket or reject any candidate with good reason. I don't see this happening very often, but if a mentor isn't properly performing their duties, there should be corrective action. It's probably even a good idea to define a process for helping mentors if any issues arise. I don't see this ever really being an issue, but I just want to put it out there so everyone is prepared for such possibilities. Thanks for reading my long introduction email, and especially for feedback. I expect the discussions to be lively, friendly and in the goal of bettering the mentoring process. Cheers, Clint Savage (herlo) FAmA Administrator

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Re: [fama-mentors] quality vs quantity (was Improving Ambassador Mentoring process)
by Clint Savage 06 May '13

06 May '13

Just moving this to the same thread so the discussion may be appropriately represented. On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 6:26 AM, María Leandro <tatadbb(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hello all. > > Truth is, Gerold hit the target. As mentor, I usually spend more than just 4 > weeks for more than 80% of applicants, however, for them this is "too long". > Actual process lets new contributors (who has no idea about the project) to > apply and makes mentors willing to spend quality time explaining this people > how the project works; when at the end they drop off because they "asked to > be ambassadors -to help- the project". > > I would like to think that Ambassadors program is still meant to be for > those contributors that have earn the position by meritocracy, and I guess > that I have bring up this subject more than once in the past; however, and > re-taking Gerold's words "we are too worried about the number and not the > quality" > > I think we have a more human problem with this and not just an issue of when > should the ticket be closed or how should it be closed. > > Bye > > > 2013/5/6 Gerold <gerold(a)lugd.org> >> >> Hi, >> >> imho one of the most important bullet point hasn't raised up so far: >> "What do we want: Quality or quantity as Ambassadors" >> >> Makes it sense to have a large group of Ambassadors, where just 10% do >> "the Ambassador Job", or do we want to have less Ambassadors but 95% doing >> "the Ambassador Job"? >> Yeaaah, in answering that question there comes the question "what about >> with that people who just wanna show that they "like" Fedora" or are >> sympathizers? This is also I issue I have ideas since years without a >> solution which I have presentated so far (just talked about with Max, with >> Paul and also with Jared) ... >> >> Just my five cents >> >> Gerold >> >> >> >> > Is there any chance a ticket could be automatically assigned to the >> > nearest >> > mentor in the region (similar to famna-requests tickets) and reassigned >> > manually as necessary. My mentor requests lately have been from people >> > rather far (the latest from Montreal, for example). This way we can >> > also >> > hopefully better sure some contact is made with a mentor. >> > >> > Scott >> > >> > Scott >> > On May 5, 2013 9:09 PM, "Karsten 'quaid' Wade" <kwade(a)redhat.com> wrote: >> > >> >> On 05/05/2013 12:28 AM, Mark Terranova wrote: >> >> >> >> > >> >> > As much as possible we need to be open, for a process that needs to >> >> be >> >> > partially secretive. Closing the loop by having Mentors makes me a >> >> > bit >> >> > worried - having seen how bottlenecks have happened in India. If we >> >> don't >> >> > have a certain amount of Mentors, problems can occur. I KNOW this is >> >> not >> >> an >> >> > issue at moment, we need to look at this in the long run. I know >> >> Fedora >> >> > will be around in 5+ years let's give it the growing room >> >> >> >> So the concern would be this: >> >> >> >> 1. Applying Ambassador-to-be puts in a request to join the FAS group >> >> and >> >> starts looking for a mentor; >> >> 2. Applicant fails to find mentor in four weeks because there are not >> >> enough mentors; >> >> 3. Because applicant has no mentor at the end of four weeks, the FAmA >> >> admin vaporizes their request and the applicant goes away with a sad >> >> face. >> >> >> >> As an addition (I think) to what Clint proposes, how about if the FAmA >> >> admin notes stalled requests at the 2 week mark and reaches out to the >> >> applicant with a generic message to i) find a mentor, or ii) reply back >> >> with the problem they are having so the FAmA admin can help. >> >> >> >> This makes sure anyone who is trying to find a mentor but cannot >> >> doesn't >> >> get dropped between the cracks. >> >> >> >> - Karsten >> >> -- >> >> Karsten 'quaid' Wade >> >> http://TheOpenSourceWay.org .^\ http://community.redhat.com >> >> @quaid (identi.ca/twitter/IRC) \v' gpg: AD0E0C41 >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> fama-mentors mailing list >> >> fama-mentors(a)lists.fedoraproject.org >> >> https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fama-mentors >> >> >> >> >> > _______________________________________________ >> > fama-mentors mailing list >> > fama-mentors(a)lists.fedoraproject.org >> > https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fama-mentors >> > >> >> _______________________________________________ >> fama-mentors mailing list >> fama-mentors(a)lists.fedoraproject.org >> https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fama-mentors > > > > > -- > tatica > Maria Gracia Leandro > Blog: http://tatica.org > Portfolio: http://tap.tatica.org > LinuxUser= 440285 GPG Public Key: E1CDCC56 > > _______________________________________________ > fama-mentors mailing list > fama-mentors(a)lists.fedoraproject.org > https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fama-mentors >

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Re: [fama-mentors] quality vs quantity (was Improving Ambassador Mentoring process)
by Clint Savage 06 May '13

06 May '13

On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 12:16 AM, Gerold <gerold(a)lugd.org> wrote: > Hi, > > imho one of the most important bullet point hasn't raised up so far: > "What do we want: Quality or quantity as Ambassadors" > > Makes it sense to have a large group of Ambassadors, where just 10% do > "the Ambassador Job", or do we want to have less Ambassadors but 95% doing > "the Ambassador Job"? > Yeaaah, in answering that question there comes the question "what about > with that people who just wanna show that they "like" Fedora" or are > sympathizers? This is also I issue I have ideas since years without a > solution which I have presentated so far (just talked about with Max, with > Paul and also with Jared) ... > > Just my five cents > > Gerold Gerold, I appreciate your interest in improving things in Ambassadors. However, I don't see how this conversation is relevant to improving the current process. I've moved this discussion to another thread because I do feel it's very important and agree that we should be discussed. I know for a fact that this discussion has come up several times in IRC and mailing lists. It's not a new conversation. My opinion is that the current mentoring process is the closest we have come to providing a good balance between quantity and quality. Cheers, herlo > > > >> Is there any chance a ticket could be automatically assigned to the >> nearest >> mentor in the region (similar to famna-requests tickets) and reassigned >> manually as necessary. My mentor requests lately have been from people >> rather far (the latest from Montreal, for example). This way we can also >> hopefully better sure some contact is made with a mentor. >> >> Scott >> >> Scott >> On May 5, 2013 9:09 PM, "Karsten 'quaid' Wade" <kwade(a)redhat.com> wrote: >> >>> On 05/05/2013 12:28 AM, Mark Terranova wrote: >>> >>> > >>> > As much as possible we need to be open, for a process that needs to >>> be >>> > partially secretive. Closing the loop by having Mentors makes me a bit >>> > worried - having seen how bottlenecks have happened in India. If we >>> don't >>> > have a certain amount of Mentors, problems can occur. I KNOW this is >>> not >>> an >>> > issue at moment, we need to look at this in the long run. I know >>> Fedora >>> > will be around in 5+ years let's give it the growing room >>> >>> So the concern would be this: >>> >>> 1. Applying Ambassador-to-be puts in a request to join the FAS group and >>> starts looking for a mentor; >>> 2. Applicant fails to find mentor in four weeks because there are not >>> enough mentors; >>> 3. Because applicant has no mentor at the end of four weeks, the FAmA >>> admin vaporizes their request and the applicant goes away with a sad >>> face. >>> >>> As an addition (I think) to what Clint proposes, how about if the FAmA >>> admin notes stalled requests at the 2 week mark and reaches out to the >>> applicant with a generic message to i) find a mentor, or ii) reply back >>> with the problem they are having so the FAmA admin can help. >>> >>> This makes sure anyone who is trying to find a mentor but cannot doesn't >>> get dropped between the cracks. >>> >>> - Karsten >>> -- >>> Karsten 'quaid' Wade >>> http://TheOpenSourceWay.org .^\ http://community.redhat.com >>> @quaid (identi.ca/twitter/IRC) \v' gpg: AD0E0C41 >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> fama-mentors mailing list >>> fama-mentors(a)lists.fedoraproject.org >>> https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fama-mentors >>> >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> fama-mentors mailing list >> fama-mentors(a)lists.fedoraproject.org >> https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fama-mentors >> > > _______________________________________________ > fama-mentors mailing list > fama-mentors(a)lists.fedoraproject.org > https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fama-mentors

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fama-mentors May 2013