Transition Technologist meeting notes 17 April 2014
By Ed Mitchell 24th April 2014
Ttech meet 17/04/14
Bristol
13:00 – 17:00
Ben
Chris
Ed
Sam
Actions
~~~~~~
Ed: edit procurement principles google doc
ALL create invoices for meeting to cover 4 hours meeting and travel cost (Ben include mileage, Chris train ticket) and send to Ed with TNv3 budget reference
Ed: create new TRAC milestone TNv3
Ed: create new TRAC ticket: ‘meetings’ in milestone TNv3
Ed: follow up use case project management tool
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~
Check in
Set agenda and times
Updates for 2014/15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TN
– TN strategy
– Web strategy
– TNv3
– Budgets – maintenance, hosting, IT, development
– People
Web Architects
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris: Sole full time worker in co-op
Alan – deeper tech 1 day per week and evenings
Jonathan and Adam: 1 day per week each
Sheffield data centre powered by Good Energy
Partnership with Iceland Organisation 1984.is
WA got big earlier – then hiatus with some management issues
Been a co-op for 3 years
Turnover low – paying selves on UK living wage
Jan/Feb very bad – no payments
March onwards – now paying selves
Want to be able to invest in own infrastructure
Lot of shared hosting: VS loses money
Hourly sys admin: makes money
Plan for next six months:
– merged with eco-host – been quite expensive – lots more clients but not much more work
– Chris needs more hourly paid sys ad work – happier at SSH and command line
– Child rights: 40 hours of setting up web hosting
Also host lots of activist and radical sites
AGM in a month or so – consider the business model (hosting vs services)
Ben
~~~
Fixtheweb: big migration D6-7
Smaller clients
Likes bigger clients
General – since working on TN –
– much more comfortable using github and version control repository
is using features, drush, running up quick sites
– better more systematic workflows
– holding three separate sites on github
– 1 code,
– 1 migration, design, playing with ideas
– 1 content
Home educating dad – flexibility is a priority – 2-3 days a week working max
Sam
~~~~
SPAN: Drupal6 site support and maintain
TN: support 2 days per week
Really want to start a tree nursery – ideal
3 days per week computer work
2 days per week non-computer work
Discussions
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
Procurement principles
– discussed and google doc annotated
– All really like the open nature of working (TRAC particularly)
ACTION: Ed to edit procurement principles google doc
Lead Developer
– process discussed and agreed
– group happy for Ed to decide on shortlist, and take part in one group interview
Lead Developer process
– w/c 21/4: shortlist
– w/c 28/4: contact suitable devs to proceed
– w/c 5/5: code sample, favourite piece of own documentation, website example for other tech to look at
– w/c 12/5 and 19/5: Skype interview Dev with Ed + programmer + staff member (?)
– w/c 26/5: Group Skype with Ttechs
– 29/5: Decision
Group Skype conversation rough agenda
– introduction
– things they’ve done
– code management topic
– what’s their best bit of documentation
– direction of drupal and fashions – what are the next big steps for drupal (e.g. using views and rules, or CRM?)
TNv3
– big picture drawn up with mind map
– lots of sucking of teeth
– big question around CRM: can we do this with Drupal or do we need CRM?
– Group happy to contract to a CRM consultant to assist with decision (with question: do we *need* it?)
– other conversations
– all Agreed the lead developer needs to be part of the discussions
– All Agreed: two more meetings: 1 introductory – 1 hackathon group f2f meet for TNv3 devs
Hosting Software and processes
– BOA unpopular! Suitable for businesses with many many small VS, whereas Tn is one big one (albeit with some IIRS installations)
– Maintenance has been very expensive – been a lot of work to de-mystify it, and each update
– Very likely to give BOA up; conversations to proceed with lead developer
Code management software and processes
– Aegir is unpopular!
– All would prefer to use drush and git alone without Aegir
– All happy to re-consider process – discussions also ongoing with Paul on emails
– Code management process and tools to be discussed with lead developer
– Very likely to give Aegir up
Next steps
~~~~~~~~
Choose a developer using the process we’ve agreed
Discuss web hosting software and code management with lead developer
BOA (and aegir) hasn’t been efficacious in our context – has actually over-complicated our lives without any obvious benefits
Next Ttech meets:
1. management
2. hackathon
receipts: Chris. email statement with mileage from Ben.
4 hours for all
New milestone TRAC: TNv3
ALL add time for meeting to new TRAC ticket: meetings (TNv3)
Ed follow up use case based project management tool – something that is openly available
Ed tidy up procurement document