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Re: [ProgSoc] ProgSoc software development project



Chris Laughton wrote:
Can we step back for a second and look at Progsoc's history (Viking,
Eidelon, Wireless to date). Now out of those projects which ones have
succeeded and which ones have not.
I donated the proceeds of my swear jar to one of those projects, I 
think. And I recall buying some hardware off the club after they 
purchased the wrong equipment.
But... *I* wasn't really involved in any of those projects. What you 
guys need is more uni drop-outs. We know how to get things done. ;)
What I think is more important at the moment is getting people into the Club
that have a genuine interest in programming as opposed to get the
overstretched and under resourced team at Progsoc to go on any more wild and
wonderful projects.
So... we should actually do some programming! :P

But... if you want people to be motivated, you need a few things:

 1. An open collaborative environment (the list and the wiki work)
 2. A few computers and stuff (we've got 'em, and we can get more)
 3. A good cause (FOSS, education, competition, SME productivity)
 4. A real problem (i.e. an actual customer with a business need)
 5. A moral obligation (someone relying on you -- not too much)
 6. Access to skills and knowledge (we have that)
 7. Free soft drink and pizza (I've asked dubz, I'll ask Jay too)

And... if you want people to cut code, you need a few things:

 1. Documentation on how to set up a development environment
 2. Infrastructure for bug tracking and feature requests
 3. Infrastructure for managing source code and documentation
 4. Infrastructure for running builds
 5. Infrastructure for testing builds
 6. Infrastructure for deploying builds

I think we can make that happen. Everything turns on finding a real problem to solve. It's important the the problem isn't "too complex", and it's important that the solution doesn't rely on ProgSoc infrastructure or services. Think "small", and you won't fail. Take care of the activities, and the results take care of themselves.
I think we could do some web programming, that would definitely be 
achievable, and we could get straight into programming that way. The 
trouble then would be the logistics and politics of managing hosting, 
because I'm not sure we could use our network for that.
I'd prefer to lean towards a "give 'em a workstation" kind of project, 
with a view to finding FOSS projects that solve business problems; 
collaborating with their existing developers for fixes and features; and 
integrating with their infrastructure. Maybe foster a relationship with 
the Debian guys.









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