Description
This session will be the opportunity to
Related conversation
Format: 1h round table discussion and Q&A
Etherpad for the session: Etherpad
clean up notes from the pad
Participants discussed how feature requests could be better defined before being included in community surveys or roadmap discussions.
Developers benefit when requests include a clear explanation of the expected user behavior. One possible role for contributors is acting as requirements providers or verifiers, working with technical contributors to clarify the need and define an acceptable solution.
For first-time users who want to get involved, the main entry points are:
However, participants noted that the community currently lacks a page explaining how people can contribute without being developers or designers, which could help newcomers find ways to participate.
Participants discussed how a product management or analyst role could support the project.
Jan described a role similar to an analyst, who gathers and documents user needs and helps translate them into clearer requirements for technical contributors. Someone with technical knowledge could then help determine what solutions are feasible.
Tom noted that naming and describing such roles could help people understand how they can contribute. Another possible role would be shepherding feature requests and discussions, helping guide them toward clear requirements.
Participants emphasized that feature requests should focus on describing requirements rather than proposing solutions. One suggestion was to reconsider the “proposed solution” section in the GitHub feature request template. Jan also mentioned that Wikimedia projects often include acceptance criteria to clarify when a feature is considered complete.
Martin later opened #7701 to update the feature request template.
The group discussed the need for people to help triage issues, which does not necessarily require being a developer. This role could help categorize issues, clarify requests, and direct discussions to the appropriate place.
Participants discussed how often the roadmap should be updated.
Suggestions included:
Questions raised included:
Participants discussed the importance of scoping features before including them in surveys, so that voters have a clear understanding of what each proposal entails.
Providing more detailed descriptions of proposed features would give voters better context when deciding what to prioritize. There was also interest in doing a sizing exercise for goal posts to better estimate the scope of roadmap items.