Introduction ============ During and after DebConf14, the DebConf Chairs worked with many members of the DebConf organisation team on how to improve its structure and decision-making processes. Face-to-face working group meetings took place in Portland, followed by numerous private conversations and messages in public mailing lists. We have tried to gather a balance on different (and sometimes conflicting) opinions, so to move forward it is important that people are open to accept others' views. This is a gradual process and we know there are many rough edges. But we also know that time is pressing, and that stalling this process even further, in the search for a perfect structure is only going to worsen the problems we are currently facing. We are nine months ahead of DebConf15, that means we need teams to be in working condition as soon as possible, but it also means that we have time to detect problems and improve before the next conference happens. That said, let's please push things forward as soon as we can and make improvements along the way. The proposed structure has been drafted with the following goals in mind: * Clearer decision-making processes * Better-defined team membership * Better-defined team responsibilities * Team membership that continues from year to year * Clearer time-line for the DebConf year * Clearer documentation on agreed processes * Low number of top-level teams (as opposed to 22 teams) Teams Definition ================ The DebConf organization responsibilities are distributed among 5 main teams, each of which has their own tasks and work-flows, that can be performed mostly independently from the other teams; and a special coordination team, which requires a broader view of the conference organization, and is instrumental on the other teams healthy functioning. As of today, the teams are defined as follows: *Content team*: schedule scheme, CFP, talk/session selection and scheduling, inviting guest speakers, and anything related to the content of the conference. *Facilities team*: accommodation, food, venue negotiations and venue arrangements, including social events: cheese and wine, formal dinner, day trip, and any other semi-formal gathering. *Infrastructure team*: sysadmin (within DSA as well as debconf.org services, website and summit included), on-site network and videoteam. *Fundraising team*: intersecting with wider Debian fundraising team, obtaining the necessary funds to run the conference. *Participant assistance team*: frontdesk, registration, room assignment, visa, on-site volunteer recruitment, feedback management, define bursaries rules, recruit and coordinate the bursaries committee. Separate from these, a smaller, multiple-purpose *DebConf coordination team*: keeping track of the DebConf calendar and time-line (though each subteam should also be doing this), "poker" role, treasurer role (budget agreement and accounting), gather and organise the DebConf committee, define bid selection rules, recruit and assign bid mentors, watch for problems in teams, request processes be documented, call for meetings, etc. This team will work closely with the chairs. The *DebConf committee* is gathered every year by the DebConf coordination team for choosing the next DebConf location. They are expected to study, question and interact with the bids, producing a conclusion by a specified date, avoiding a public decision-making meeting. It will be composed by the DebConf Chairs, representatives from the teams (not necessarily the lead) and representatives of the wider Debian community. For this year cycle, these will be initially gathered from the current committee. The *DebConf chairs* remain a consulting/overseeing body, trying to oversee all processes to detect problems, while interfering as little as possible with the normal functioning of the organisation. Membership ========== In this new structure, every orga team member (including locals) should belong to one of the teams listed above. Ideally, people would remain part of a team for at least a couple of DebConf editions. In addition to the regular team members, each team will need a few formally defined positions: *Team lead*: provides guidance to the team, and makes sure the team delivers on its responsibilities in time. The lead needs to keep track of ongoing tasks, to realise when things are getting behind schedule, but also to provide effective communication with the rest of the organisation: it needs to be the team's first point of contact. *Team lead shadow*: works closely with the lead -- it can be seen as a preparatory or backup position, since the shadow would be the natural substitute in case of lead absence. *Team advisor(s)*: experienced member(s) who may not be active every day, but can have an important role in giving advice and dealing with complex issues. *Team local liason*: a local member whose responsibility is to ensure communication between the team and other locals, to remind the team of local particularities, etc. Other locals are welcomed to join, but one person shall represent them in each team. The coordination team does not need to have all those positions occupied, there is the flexibility to have a more organic composition. Notes ----- Teams will be able to choose other names which better describe their tasks and responsibilities, these are initial names. Teams may organise internally as they wish, people working on some task inside a bigger team are not necessarily interested in other tasks. It's expected that people that are local to one conference will participate actively in the organization. There is no specific team for this, as they should distribute themselves across the teams, while having their own internal organization. Try not to over commit. Active participation in 2 teams is the recommended maximum to avoid burnout. Sometimes proposals from a team that will have an impact on other teams' work get stalled because of lack of interest. To avoid this situation, these proposals should include a default action, a deadline for decision and should be acknowledged by the coordination team, so they can ensure an action is taken. Team leads do not need to be working in every task for which the team is responsible. They are only in charge of the team's internal coordination, keeping up with deadlines, and communication with other teams. As said, this is a gradual process. With time and experience, some tasks might be moved from one team to another. Nothing is set in stone. The bursaries committee needs continuity and clearly defined rules. The attendee assistance team will have the task of defining and documenting its rules, and finding the committee members (possibly external from Debconf orga) that will allocate funds every year. The DebConf committee is formed, and its rules defined, by the coordination team in a similar fashion to the Bursaries. Next step: canvassing ===================== Teams compositions and nominations will occur by canvassing, similarly to the formalization of the Fundraising team. Each self-nominated team member is asked to nominate leads and shadows for the team(s) they choose to join. All feedbacks will be compiled and people who had the most nominations will be invited to take on the role. Submissions will be accepted *until Thursday, November the 13th*, unless in cases where we were not able to find a clear leader for the team. With that defined, we expect each team to start work independently: formalizing membership, internal structures, team incumbencies, etc. Hopefully, by November the 24th, we will have all teams ready, with clear memberships and responsibilities, for the debconf-team meeting. Feedback form ============= Please select which teams you would like to be part of, we recommend that you select a maximum of two in which you intend to be an active participant. In addition to that, add the names of people you believe would do a good job as either lead or shadow, in order of preference. Please, only do this for teams or tasks with which you are or were somehow involved in the past. Feel free to nominate yourself or to propose more than one person, but please try to limit it to at most 3 people. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choice of team(s) and nominations(s) ------------------------------------ Facilities team: Want to be a member: [ ] Candidate(s) for lead/shadow: Rationale (optional): Content team: Want to be a member: [ ] Candidate(s) for lead/shadow: Rationale (optional): Infrastructure team: Want to be a member: [ ] Candidate(s) for lead/shadow: Rationale (optional): Attendee assistance team: Want to be a member: [ ] Candidate(s) for lead/shadow: Rationale (optional): DebConf coordination team: Want to be a member: [ ] Candidate(s) for lead/shadow: Rationale (optional): General comments: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tincho, on behalf of the chairs.
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature