Implementation Action Group Responsibilities and the Implementation Action Group welcome message

[richard.pendergast]

Without a clearly defined set of responsibilities it's going to be
really difficult for us to get the ball rolling, and even more
difficult to recognise significant acheivements as they happen, so
I've taken the liberty of putting something together.

I've edited the welcome message to include the responsibilities, as I
feel they are the key to the success of the group, describe the group
fairly aptly, and should therefore be promoted on the group landing
page. There is also a precedent for this in that the evangelism Action
Group are already doing the same thing.

There is some really good stuff happening, and I'm looking forward to
seeing the group promote and support it.

Richard


DataPortability Action Groups are groups that 'own' part of the
DataPortability story. These groups are the lifeblood of the
initiative. They make things happen.

The Implementation Action is 'in charge' of consulting with, and
promoting examples of, those actually implementing DataPortability
enabled code. This Action Group would include the participation of
those actively working toward adopting the DataPortabilty standards,
and it is encouraged that any code follow the Technical Blueprint for
maximum interoperability.

Implementation Action Group Responsibilities

Identify projects already underway and working toward adopting the
DataPortabilty standards
This means: we actively seek out projects already underway, and record
the existence of each project together with a summary of the project,
any contact details, and any significant achievements.

Communicate with projects already working toward adopting the
DataPortabilty standards
This means: we regularly communicate with the developers of projects
already underway, both within and outside of, the Implementation
Action Group, in order to discuss progress, hurdles, concerns and
achievements.

Support other members of the Implementation Action Group
This means: we try to help each other where we can, through both
answering questions posted within the Implementation Action Group
Discussions and through helping to mentor developers looking to get
started with DataPortability.

Encourage the uptake of DataPortability standards, specifically that
any code follow the Technical Blueprint for maximum interoperability.
This means: we encourage developers to code with DataPortability in
mind from the start, and we promote where we can the benefits of
opening up existing work via the adoption of DataPortabilty standards.

The group is open to anyone interested in contributing, and joining is
as simple as clicking the "Join this group" link to the right. Joining
currently requires a Google account, which can be obtained here if you
do not already have one. nb. If this isn't a perfectly relevent
example of why we need DataPortability then I don't know what is :)

[Jon]

Richard,
Great work getting the ball rolling here. As you mentioned, the
movement is fully dependent on the members keeping focused and
involved. The are indeed the lifeblood.

The responsibilities which you have outlined, are solid. I would also
add to it; management of the DP Toolbelt (code listing) - keeping the
listing not only up to date but also limited to the best technologies
and services available per each segment a well as identifying the
areas which lack or are lacking for certain languages or bits of the
stack.

Also, what were you thoughts on the medium for the implementation
group? That is, should discussion be limited to this Google group (GG)
or is it beneficial to bring some of the discussion onto our own blogs
and circles to evangelize DP implementation.

Jon

[richard.pendergast]

Jon,

Sorry it took me a while to respond. Things have been a little hectic.
We've been a bit pre-occupied counting down the hours til the
ultrasound that would tell us if our baby-to-be is going to be a boy
or a girl. We had the ultrasound today, and I now know we are going to
have a boy! Very cool :)

Anyway. Back to the topic at hand... I've been thinking about the DP
toolbelt. I think it is without doubt something we should be
maintaining. However, I'm not sure that selection of the best
technologies is something that falls within this group. While I agree
it is a very important consideration for DP, it is probably something
more appropriate for discussion within the Technical Blueprint group.
I wasn't 100% on this until Elias mentioned the same thing within the
group chat (Skype). As far as I understand it, Blueprint is about
selection, best practice, etc, and Implementation is about supporting
projects working through the implementation of DP, peer learning etc.

In terms of the evangelisation of the group, I know I am personally
going to ho the hell out of it (not necessarily the best language, but
the sentiment is there). The group is a great initiative, something
that could very beneficial to existing projects, and has the potential
to become a very influential and at the same time supportive
community. There are already some great minds on board, and I'm
already enjoying the discussions coming up. I do not blog with
influence, but I do have 2 or 3 blogs within which I fully intend to
promote what we are doing here. Promotion within our own circles may
prove a little harder, but I guess if I can convince friends and
colleagues that what we are doing is worthwhile, then I'll be well on
the way to building the skillset required to help sell it to the big
boys.

I'm putting together a page within the public group at the moment
where I'll begin to flesh this out the group responsibilities a bit.
I'll attach a link once the page is placed. Hopefully, as other have
suggested, a starting point (good or bad), will invite the easier task
of commenting on something already started, rather than requiring the
harder task of creating something from scratch. Thanks for the
feedback. If nothing else it's nice to know that somebody else is
actually reading what I am writing and putting time into. I really
appreciate it.

I'm also putting together an Implementation Projects Directory (an
idea taken from the Evangelism group), and looking to discuss the
creation of a couple of new projects. Again, I'll attach links once
the pages are placed.

Richard

[Jon]

Sounds great Richard.