[Bf-docboard] Being involved In documentation

[Greg Zaal]

Hey Michael,

Thanks for putting that together! I'm glad there's someone with your
experience willing to help us :)

I think for now it is best to keep using our current system of review and
task management ('Phabricator', here's the doc project
<https://developer.blender.org/project/view/53/>) - the only thing it
doesn't currently do is keep track of the current status of the project -
though this can easily be added in the project description per-chapter.

At the moment, Campbell, Francesco and I are handling project management -
though Campbell and Francesco are also busy with all sorts of other Blender
projects, and I've technically been appointed as 'documentation
coordinator' which involves both writing documentation myself and
helping/finding others to write with us.

As for the intent/goal of this project - my impression is that it is "make
the manual less crappy" ;) We don't have the man power to rewrite the whole
thing, but the idea is to have at least one person responsible for each
chapter of the manual and let them do whatever they want in order to make
it better (be it fixing and updating it, or rewriting it entirely).
Personally I plan to fix and check the legacy parts of the Render chapter
(the old render engine), but rewrite the subsection for Cycles mostly from
scratch.

Any suggestions you have for how we/I can manage this project better would
be much appreciated!

And if you'd like to check our spelling and grammar, the quickest way would
be to watch the commit page
<https://developer.blender.org/diffusion/BM/history/trunk/blender_docs>,
click on the commit numbers on the left (e.g. rBM55
<https://developer.blender.org/rBM55>) and add a comment at the bottom of
the page. The author of the commit will get an email about your comment and
then fix the problem in a new commit.

Cheers,
Greg

On 17 January 2015 at 03:57, Michael Fink <bunnie0515 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi team,
>
> Sorry for jumping on my own email--after reading my message I fear it may
> have come off as "here is this tool you've never seen before that I think
> you should use but I don't want to be the one in charge of maintaining
> it."  Especially since my name has never appeared in a discussion reply
> before.
>
> If the review or a similar discussion-&-task-focusing-tool is implemented
> to help guide and facilitate project management, I'm more than happy to do
> the data entry and coordination with the task owners and project manager(s)
> for that tool.
>
> I'm happy to mentor and asist the person (or persons) placed in a project
> manager position if we go that route (which I think would be wise).  I just
> don't think I can do justice to you all 'the' project manager.
>
> Also, for being involved in the documentation--since I do not use Blender
> much I am not much help in drafting new content, but I volunteer my
> services for:
> 1. QC'ing (quality control for grammar, spelling, etc.)
> 2. Screenshots/video grabs of certain functions or elements.  (This could
> be useful for somebody who has written a good text article but needs
> somebody to take the time and do the associated screenshots or video grabs.
>
> Just let me know what tasks and pages I can help with, or if the review
> (or similar process) is adopted how I can help modify it to work best with
> the team flow.
>
> If you haven't had an opportunity to take a look at the review process
> proposal, the files can be accessed here:
>  PDF:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/lwu6dhdn9hmcw63/Blender%20Documentation%20Project%20Review%20%28proposal%29.pdf?dl=0
>  PPTX:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/pcorrecirwi9dos/Blender%20Documentation%20Project%20Review%20%28proposal%29.pptx?dl=0
>
>
> Thank you,
> Michael Fink
> BnBGobo99
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------
> On Thu, 1/15/15, Michael Fink <bunnie0515 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>  Subject: Re: Being involved In documentation
>  To: "Blender Documentation Project" <bf-docboard at blender.org>
>  Date: Thursday, January 15, 2015, 7:26 PM
>
>  Hello team,
>
>  I know there has been a flurry of email traffic lately, so
>  I'll try to keep this one brief.
>
>  I was surprised that nobody stepped up during a call for
>  assistance that was made recently (I believe Campbell noted
>  this in one of the emails, but I'm afraid I lost track of
>  the conversations).  It made me wonder how many folks
>  are on the mailing list vs how many folks participate?
>  This is a curiosity question, not a shaming one.  I've
>  only made a single contribution to the wiki and it was just
>  a minor correction to another person's much more involved
>  effort, so I myself can't say I have been active either.
>
>
>  The point of this email:  it was mentioned that we
>  needed a Project Manager to lead this effort.  I am not
>  volunteering myself as I will not be able to devote the
>  attention the Bf-docboard team deserves, but I am very
>  earnest when I say that I am more than happy to help mentor
>  the process.  (My credentials: I have been a Flight
>  Chief for the US Air Force leading teams of 100+ individuals
>  from all services and a wide range of ranks.  I have
>  been a Superintendent of a Wing-level directorate
>  responsible for planning and programming for 4,000 Airmen
>  and directly managing a $19,000 annual budget and $20K in IT
>  assets (not large, but sizable enough).  My job is
>  Project Management, but not software project management or
>  software development.  However, I am familiar with
>  Agile methodology, Six Sigma, AFSO 21 as well as the more
>  common "waterfall" way of doing things.)
>
>  I have built a template "Review" process.  The .pdf
>  link is below as well as the .pptx--you are free to use this
>  document if the team choses (use the slide master to remove
>  my name and add the name of the person building the
>  deck).  We have successfully used this process for
>  several years to guide multi-million dollar projects
>  impacting thousands of people across the globe.
>
>  PDF:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/lwu6dhdn9hmcw63/Blender%20Documentation%20Project%20Review%20%28proposal%29.pdf?dl=0
>  PPTX:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/pcorrecirwi9dos/Blender%20Documentation%20Project%20Review%20%28proposal%29.pptx?dl=0
>
>  It is useful for:
>  (1) Spurring discussion and ideas,
>  (2) Solidifying those ideas and discussion points into
>  actionable tasks,
>  (3) Providing clear direction for those that are responsible
>  for performing (or delegating) those tasks,
>  (4) Providing a method for updates and recommendations on
>  existing tasks,
>  (5) Focusing a discussion onto a single vision and effort,
>  (6) and documenting progress, identifying trends, and
>  adjusting effort quickly.
>
>  The "Review" does take time to update and build, but by
>  consolidating tasks and inputs into a single document, it
>  does help create a helpful overview and guiding document to
>  manage the project--not just for the project leaders, but
>  for all participants.  When we do these reviews, we
>  consolidate inputs from as many as 30 offices and hold
>  meetings to discuss the inputs and adjust focus or
>  re-allocate assets (manpower, money, etc).  This is
>  much more efficient than holding 30 different discussions,
>  each with a meeting and side tasks--resulting in duplication
>  of effort, starving some offices while overfeeding others,
>  etc.  I think this is the best way to guide and lead a
>  project of this undertaking.
>
>  Once the Project's goal is met (or solidly on track), the
>  review process can end.  This is not meant to be a
>  permanent fixture, but a simpler "metric" or "stoplight"
>  document can take its place if desired.
>
>  Please let me know if you have questions on how this might
>  help the project.  I am not knowledgeable on software
>  (although I do play with HTML/PHP/SQL/etc), and I don't use
>  Blender as much any more, but I am passionate about the
>  community and what Blender represents, and I hope this is
>  somewhat useful.
>
>  Thank you for reading, and sorry for the long-windedness.
>
>  v/r,
>  Michael Fink
>  BnBGobo99
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Bf-docboard at blender.org
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>
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