matikin9 commented 6 years ago

Who's here?

What did we do?

Discuss a how-to guide for new projects just getting started:

Come up with a name and ask the hack night lead to create a Github repository in the Hack For LA org. All work created should be logged in the repo.
Take notes each week (designate a note taker).
- Create a separate Issue in the Github repo for each week's notes.
- Who was there? (include group members' names plus Github handles if they have them).
- What was done?
- What needs to be done?

Conduct research to answer the following questions and refine the Vision and Mission of this project:
- What is the problem being solved?
- Who is the solution for?
- What would a successful project look like for each team member? (Make sure everyone is working towards a unified goal)
- What do existing solutions look like? Have they been successful or not, and why?
Research can be done in the form of testing, like through surveys, to determine if the solution is relevant and viable.
Identify and reach out to potential Subject Matter Experts - people impacted by the problem, people who would use the solution, non-profit/government experts, etc. Meet with them or invite them to hack night.

Design and build a prototype.
Do it as quickly and as cheaply as possible.
Create a Value-Effort Matrix to prioritize features and identify those with high value/low effort.
Don't spend too long selecting a framework. Use whatever is easiest for the group: Photoshop, Sketch, Marvel, Invision, HTML/CSS, Jekyll, or even pen/paper.

Create a functional solution with the essential features.
Create a deadline for the group to get something published - ideally within 2 weeks. Don't worry about it being perfect.
Use free and open source tools/libraries as much as possible.
Once the product is up, present it to the whole group at Hack Night.
Potential resources:
- Icons - Font Awesome, The Noun Project
- Hosting - Github Pages, Netlify
- Fonts - Google Fonts
- http://playbook.cio.gov

Continually test functionality, test with users and solicit feedback, and improve the solution.
Identify and reach out to potential partnership organizations (non-profits/government).
Build up social media presence and follow a marketing plan.
Focus on community outreach to the users of the solution.
Potentially network and present at local community events.
Cycle through the phases: Research/Testing -> Prototype/Design -> Develop, and repeat.
Present the project at Hack for LA Demo Nights.

Not sure yet how to define when a project is ready for adoption.
Adoption involves having the solution be adopted by a partnership organization. This should be done through the relationships built up through the course of the project's development.
Discuss with Hack for LA leadership

[Jim] - Look up issue templates.
[Nina] - Bring materials to make a UI Library out of felt.
Define what the project path to Adoption looks like.
Define categories for the phase a project is in, which will be useful for the project being listed on the website.
Define when a project qualifies for resources, like being posted on the website, being listed in the newsletter, or when HFLA pays for a domain/hosting/marketing/etc.?

matikin9 commented 6 years ago

@joshuazrobins, @wesrowe, @tamurafatherree, @thekaveman, @AnthonyRollins !

Last night, Jim and I discussed a basic framework for starting project groups. What do you guys think?

matikin9 commented 6 years ago

Additional thoughts:

matikin9 commented 6 years ago

An ongoing discussion in CFA's slack about this exact need for a project framework led to this list of resources: https://github.com/hackforla/governance/issues/3