Organize and stimulate promotion of UBports Ubuntu Touch
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@einstein212 You need it, its a requirement on the client side, which we did not remove. Also, it will likely stay anyways, as we do not want to have an anonymous push server that can be exploited by a zombie command control center for example, spambots or other activities. They could steal our bandwidth and resources, so I am very positive about at least having a U1 token so that we know who is behind that.
I can understand that fully anonymous would be fine, but unfortunately not everyone on this planet can behave himself.
BR
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I think we (meaning those who do the work
) are on a good way with the Audiocast and the regualar Youtube videos.
But e.g. for me who is less involved it is hard to grasp where we are.
I am not presented with an simple overview of what is missing. I know we have an issue tracker but to derive from this what is lackiing is tedious work.I'd like to have an MVP with a fixed scope in a more structured way. Similar what happend with OTA-3 after some point in time.
I'd kinda have a e.g. Scrumboard where we have our backlog and then can prioratize this for the next upcoming month, or two or three.And this we could provide as feedback to all people who are interested. Not only saying "FP2: phone works, GPS works..." but also having a status of what is still missing etc.
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@twinkybot We will try to use more boards like this in the future: https://github.com/ubports/ubuntu-touch/projects/3 - Its planned to have 3 teams (HAL, middleware, ui) and distribute workload for them. Still getting organized though
BR
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@flohack Nice. Yes this is a good step
Does GitHub also provide reports about done "sprints" like Jira does?At our company we are working only with Jira and BitBucket and I recently set up my own server with YouTrack and Co. (JetBrains stuff). So I have no experience with GitHub features except using it as Repository.
Why I am asking is, with Jira you can define releases and associate all tickets with a specific "fix version" and from this you can create either a text as release notes or HTML and Co. and naturally see it in Jira itself.
I can image that this also might be helpful. -
@twinkybot We also use Jira in my company. Github has a few of those features, but its not on the same level. There is no sprint start/end ect. Its not a fully agile SW dev tool
BR
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@flohack said in Organize and stimulate promotion of UBports Ubuntu Touch:
The question is, are we ready to serve?
Ready or not, it is already happening...the questions that are important to think about now is HOW do we plan on serving at a larger scale NOW, to be ready for later.
The age-old religious adage captures this idea:
"Noah didn't build the ark when it starting raining...."
You have to see, a too big demand for the project could turn into negative feelings, effectively having a negative impact on everything:
Not enough devices are enabled, especially you cannot buy new hardware ATM
Our release cycles are lagging and we need more hands as developers
Our server capacities might get overrun
16.04 is a must to offer it to a wider audienceI would agree with this sentiment if this theoretically happened in a vacuum and the issues you brought up were the only variables we were accounting the for...in fact, things change when we zoom out. We find that marketing and communications plays a role in this framing/messaging for the project.
I am afraid of a day when I wake up and suddenly we got 10k more users - We don't want to disappoint them. So, organic growth is important, it's slow and unpredictable, but once we reach a certain stage we will also ramp up marketing.
Marketing is the 1st mover effect of growth and scale. No marketing, no one knows you exist, and if no one knows you exist, how do they sign up for patreon (oops, librepay).
Essentially, marketing and communications SETS THE TABLE for expectations for those who come to know our project and decide to learn more. This already is done pretty well with the devices supported section. You know which devices you will have better luck with.
I think if you give people the chance to surprise you on what they are willing to support (even if it isn't ready for prime-time use), they will. It is the reason why the project has gone this far.
I respectfully would submit to anyone who feels remotely like this to consider rethinking this foundational aspect of organizational development and scaling for projects:
Your view about scaling is just one view, amongst many, and a view colored by your expertise. I think @Flohack is right in literally fearing the day when they have 10k more users...he helps with infrastructure, and that is supposed to be the way he should feel! We are lucky to have someone who is affected by this potential scenario. That is his domain!
Here is the catch: growing an organization in a HEALTHY way is not and should not be stifled or at the mercy of server load, or the number of developers on hand. Just like marketing strategy should not be at the mercy of what bugs are being reported; If that is the lens we used and the only thing focused on, then, of course, I would be fearful too; the fear of a project becoming so big it becomes unmanageable and we are crushed under the weight of its own success is very real....unless we grow with scale in mind.
Thankfully, we don't HAVE to think that way.
When looking at the big picture, it is important to take into account other "arms" of the project that are designed to address these matters...yes, like Marketing and Communications. Not saying it happens here, but there is a level of disrespect for Marketing and Communication in many FOSS projects, and we are paying the price for it.
Marketing and Communications would be the ones listening to developers and blasting out info to people to help shape how they SHOULD be thinking about the project (e.g. Like mentioning all the important bullet points shared by @Flohack) on the website, mailing lists, telegram/irc, ubuntu users, etc.) so we proactively scale, but in a way that is throttled for sustainability.
I think we are at a special time in history right now where non-techy people are becoming more and more concious of the issues they face for mobile OS choices...
For example, I don't own a UBport supported device.
I NEVER flashed my phone to run an alternative OS like lineage etc.
I support UBports for its potential and excited about the progress...as well as others.
For this reason, I think that MORE people are out there like me, and more ideas to penetrate that demographic should be shared and backed concrete support....it should be considered more seriously and carefully; and even pitched to experts in this domain. I rather @Flohack focus on server bandwidth and developer management, as suppose to marketing pitches.
I believe scaling up is not a matter of if but when...and we need those systems to be ready for it. 
-Profetik777
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@profetik777 Hmm there is a marketing team already, and it has a bunch of people in it, maybe you should join them? Also, we have marketing campaign upcoming, so there is happening a lot behind the scenes
Contact @wayneoutthere for an application for the marketing team.
BR
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Hey @Flohack , it is understandable that you don't recall, but I was on the original marketing team for UBports...remember the time it took to get email opt-in page on the home page? I had to push for that, along with others. Once there was a shift in who decided the creative direction of marketing I had to step down...I didn't really agree with the way it was handled (a little shady to be honest, not enough open or consistent communication at the time in my opinion), let alone how that information was delivered to me, so it became obvious it wasn't a good fit to continue, hence me stepping down.
While I am happy to support where I can, I think providing my two cents here and there is the only thing I can do for now...and bring them to the open before the community, so if it is something marketing wants to pick up on, great...if not, no biggie. Thanks for the suggestion!
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@profetik777 I am sorry I did not follow the evolution of marketing team and so I cannot comment on these things. But it would have been better you would have tried to stay in, accept the change of direction as in such project you have to accept compromise or detrimental directions. As soon if you feel personal frustration you are doing it wrong. I am also not happy with a lot of things, but I accept them.
BR
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Reading this and throwing in my experience with dis-located teams.
I strongly urge for regular meetings. I mean live meetings. Where the community comes together and talks face-to-face about topics.
Additionally I'd say a roadmap is due or a process on getting the todos for the next step.
I also felt now and then ignored or misunderstood or irrelevant. Still do as I am if at all percieved only as consumer.
But for example having the workshop at locations (see another topic) will help. Especially when really active community members joinI do understand that most active people do this in their spare time therefore the perception of what is important differs quite a bit.
I do believe that the step to create a foundation will help and is a good one. But it needs a more transparancy as what is going to happen and when
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@flohack - yeah I respectfully disagree but see where you are coming from. For the sake of the community, I think this is a great conversation to be had since it would be helpful for others to examine (or re-examine) their own unique circumstances and tolerance levels that impact commitments to projects.
As a general rule of thumb, progress > perfection....and 100% agree with you. Compromise will always be needed to move forward in projects like this. Of course, just like with anything, there are always exceptions. For me, when over a course of a period you ask for basic things (like embed codes / unique tracking links to measure our efforts for financial sustainability campaign that never happened) and they go ignored, it becomes pretty challenging to tell yourself "Well, it is a compromise, you can't have it all!". The trust and belief of those making decisions begins to diminish when thinking about compromise. After all, you could only get ignored on telegram for so long. And when you do get a word, it is completely out of left field and mishandled with no room for discussion.
On your point about not being happy with a lot of things....this may sound funny but, I would be happy to be unhappy if folks on the marketing team at the time knew our cases were heard, considered, and met halfway...and discussions were going on in a transparent manner...and not just with those who had more access to Marius than others...
So, to summarize, it is hard to ask and reach a compromise without conversations
And I think that is a healthy marker for deciding to step away from something, especially when you are doing it as a volunteer position.
@Flohack , your experience might be different given your position. I understand that in this early stage in the project, those touching core technical components probably have more "time at the table" to discuss things and have a healthier more robust back and forth...that was certainly not my experience (and also, based on the @twinkybot 's post, not his either).
So, for the community, it is important to:
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Know what are your own personal "deal breakers" are. For me, it was long periods of little to no communication and mishandled communication (which, by the way, caused mishandlings of my own).
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Voice all concerns appropriately, and know what personal timetables you have before moving on to another issue worth fighting for, or moving on altogether.
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Seek to find ways to support in more ways that are not "fixed point" (projects that are time-bound)...but can happen whenever and however (promotion on social media for example). Or even financially....or encouraging others to donate (which I think could happen more often).
Lastly, I just have to add this in there, this is a point that really made me scratch my head...
"As soon if you feel personal frustration you are doing it wrong."
Again, just my opinion, but I personally feel this is the completely wrong way to look at it...this might be your case, for you...which I am happy for you about....but I can't imagine this being the case for everyone...esp. those who are passionate about projects that are so important, like this one.
On a more macro level, I've seen some of this from some segments of the gnu/linux community....on one hand, they cry about not having enough options for free or open options for linux on mobile, the outcry for privacy and having control of our devices, etc etc....yet, so lax on discovering ways to improve our methods or models for scaling and sustainability...like, why would you NOT rush to discover industry best practices and not seek the best help in implementing them in a healthy way to speed track advancement? I am sure I am not alone when I say we are tired of projects being too little too late, meanwhile, proprietary solutions make the next leapfrog (e.g. Samsung - DEX). Even if it isn't the exact solution, it keeps people from looking elsewhere.
I don't know about you @Flohack , but when Canonical announced they dropped convergence, UT, and convergence overall, it crushed me, but then FIRED ME UP to do something about it. So yeah, I'm going to be a little frustrated if I find that those who are in the best position to do the greatest good in this area are fumbling a bit in certain areas...e.g. using becoming a foundation as a reason/excuse for not engaging in year-round funding initiatives or hiring more full time or part time devs.
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@twinkybot said in Organize and stimulate promotion of UBports Ubuntu Touch:
Reading this and throwing in my experience with dis-located teams.
I strongly urge for regular meetings. I mean live meetings. Where the community comes together and talks face-to-face about topics.Agreed, although very difficult to do given the global community...I think regular team meetings that have structure, agenda, minutes, and open to listen in on like Firefox can go a long way until more LoCo events can pop up.
Additionally I'd say a roadmap is due or a process on getting the todos for the next step.
I agree, even if it is just for 3 month stretches. I think everyone knows you can never hit goals 100%, bc it would then mean you are shooting to low and its too easy...it should stretch the team but still be attainable...and those roadmaps should be per team (e.g. Dev has one, Marketing has 1 etc.).
I also felt now and then ignored or misunderstood or irrelevant. Still do as I am if at all percieved only as consumer.
I feel the same way sometimes, thankfully, we have platforms like this in place that hopefully, could make some traction and positive influence.
But for example having the workshop at locations (see another topic) will help. Especially when really active community members join
I do understand that most active people do this in their spare time therefore the perception of what is important differs quite a bit.Agreed. That is why continuous discussion and negotiation of priorities are a MUST HAVE so all those involved can get on the same page.
I do believe that the step to create a foundation will help and is a good one. But it needs a more transparancy as what is going to happen and when
Agreed. Thanks for chiming in. I would like to know what exactly is it about a foundation that prevents UBports for wanting to seek MORE funding in the meantime?
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To add a bit more concerns. I see @Flohack contributing in the forums and answering questions. But I am missing the rest of the core. @mariogrip (which is somewhat understandable), @UniSuperBox, @wayneoutthere etc. to give their opinion or participate in these kind of discussions as well.
For example I am missing the discussion about the foundation and the todos. It is a mistery for me.
What is the status, what is the blocker. The first time the topic of the foundation came up in one community update, but @Flohack didn't want to go into details and since then it got pretty silent. Or did I miss the update? Quite possibleOne big problem I see is this telegram group. For one it is not a proper tool to have discussions of this kind. Furthermore it is way to crowded. On the other hand I do not like telegram for the same reasons I do search for alternatives apart from Google.
Which brought me to matrix. But the channel there is well let's say an unloved child
Which brings me back to the forum and to above mentioned problem of the absence of the core members.
Which in itself leads to the question how can I involve myself now?A good example, and which is not meant as an insult to @UniSuperBox, who joined Matrix after telling him that I do not use telegram. But after asking how to join e.g. as a Supporters in the Foundation. I got an simple reply: "We will contact you when it is ready."
This left me with open questions. What is happening? Where are we stuck? What are the real criterias to be able to join the Foundation? etc.
On other parts of the foundation (dev, translate or some others) new members pop up but how and why is left in the dark.
The only discussion I found tackling this topic is: https://forums.ubports.com/topic/190/did-you-ever-consider-becoming-a-cooperative/5
which is dormant.Another example is the topic I opend about t-shirts (https://forums.ubports.com/post/5930) which in my opinion would help us but I never got any reply if this is going to be tackled or not.
Again this is only one symptom of misdirected communication and therfore the feeling of not being able to steer or help steering.
EDIT: I am also aware that this confusion or lack of information might be due to my half assed participation and therfore I might have missed quite a lot or do not know where to look this up.
EDIT 2: Looking at the page https://ubports.com/page/foundation-boardmembers
I know some but of some I never heard of. But first and foremost I miss the introduction. Where did they participate, did I miss it again?EDIT 3: 404 for https://ubports.com/page/fs-foundation-statutes
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I am missing the rest of the core. @mariogrip (which is somewhat understandable), @UniSuperBox, @wayneoutthere etc. to give their opinion or participate in these kind of discussions as well. [...] One big problem I see is this telegram group. For one it is not a proper tool to have discussions of this kind. Furthermore it is way to crowded.
I look over almost every topic on the forum, though I don't respond very often. I use most of my time on the forum to answer support topics. I've been encouraging others to get involved here and on GitHub rather than having discussions in the Supergroup. The more we talk here, the easier it is to find topics. Both you and @Profetik777 have been pulling people into this thread to have this high-level discussion, which I appreciate more than you might believe.
The first time the topic of the foundation came up in one community update, but @Flohack didn't want to go into details and since then it got pretty silent. Or did I miss the update?
We've had fairly regular updates on the foundation in the community updates. In the latest one, we mentioned that all of our paperwork has been accepted for review by the German government. It's going to take a while. We don't know how long. They don't know how long.
I think that's a good point to speak to. We aren't a foundation yet. That legal structure isn't in place, so we're treading carefully in matters related to money and exchange of goods. After we are a foundation, we'll still need to do so to avoid heavy tax surprises similar to The Krita Foundation. That's why your T-shirt topic seemed to go ignored.
after asking how to join e.g. as a Supporters in the Foundation. I got an simple reply: "We will contact you when it is ready." [...] What is happening? Where are we stuck?
We opened up a survey to take applications for members to the UBports Foundation in July. In the ~6-8 weeks it was open, we quickly realized that the survey was not going to allow us to use the data in the way we saw fit. Its placement was also sending the wrong message, people who had never contributed to Ubuntu Touch were filling it out. This was terrible, the Membership Committee is the gatekeeper of the Foundation and not the Community. I told the team working on our website that it needed to change and closed the survey.
Right now we're waiting for a better solution that will work for how the Membership Committee wants to handle memberships. I know that this sounds like a bad excuse. I feel the same way, this should not take so long.
the feeling of not being able to steer or help steering
I'm glad you said something. This is absolutely not how anyone in the community should feel. If you do, there are probably more who feel the same.
https://ubports.com/page/foundation-boardmembers
I know some but of some I never heard of. But first and foremost I miss the introduction. Where did they participate, did I miss it again?We do have a couple of members who aren't very public in the community, but they certainly do considerable work on the project. Ricardo did most of the work on enabling the new FP2 camera module for OTA-3, for example. Ewald is a project manager who oversees the manpower that we are given by Smoose. Ewald has been with us for over a year and Ricardo for over 10 months (going off of the join messages to the old UBports group).
Whoops, where did you find that link? It should point to https://ubports.com/page/foundation-statutes. I can fix that.
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Easy things first
Whoops, where did you find that link? It should point to https://ubports.com/page/foundation-statutes. I can fix that.
See screen shot from https://ubports.com/page/foundation-boardmembers (6. Boar Members on the Foundation page):
Ricardo [...] for example. Ewald [...]
Thanks for the insight. But you see this is what I meant. I think it is very hard to grasp how some people are involved. For you it seems easy as I think you are working on the code but for me as I am not contributing to the code (my bad
Java guy here) I did not know. Frankly I do understand also the point of being a silent participant and doing my kind of work
Sooo, hmm how to solve this? Maybe a bit more explanation on the Board page other thanDeputy Chairman of the Board
@ricmm
Next:
to avoid heavy tax surprises similar to The Krita Foundation. That's why your T-shirt topic seemed to go ignored.
An answer would have done the trick. Explaining the problem even with copy paste as "you" (not you in person) seem to have to explain this on multiple topics.
But I do not think that your explanation in this case is valid. Apt-Get Shirt does a donation from each sold T-Shirt. I think 5% of the price. So I do not know if this is valid as they have VLC, XFCE, diaspora and others (shop is down so this is from memory) which would put them in jeopardy (evil plan in progress ? :D) Maybe a missing piece of information on my side.Side note: nasty stuff with the Krita foundation. Yes surley, we do not want to go there!
We've had fairly regular updates on the foundation in the community updates. I
like I said missed this. Yeah well... blushNow enough of complains
Let's rather figure out how to circumvent this kind of problems.
Like I mentioned in some other topic, wouldn't it be good to have a story board where we as stakeholders can contribute in the sense of what we think we need or want. Then there should be "one person" / role who comes to a decision about which one of the stories will be tackled next (so basically a Product Owner role from Scrum) and presents it to us. Maybe with a feedback loop?
This is for features of UT but could also be applied to other tasks?The other task well...
I actually do not know right now how to e.g. incorporate @Profetik777's ideas or mine. I think there has to be a bit more open communication going on and making sure that everyone understands the arguments but not necessarily agrees. But open for all nevertheless. So that @Profetik777 cannot say I did this and this and it worked out like that without anyone being able to verify this to either concur or disagree. I am not saying that @Profetik777 lied or some such (I hate writing and not being able to talk, this kind of affirmation would not be necessary otherwise. Therefore also my incapability to write this properly )Moreover I think the community updates are missing clear channels where to put the questions. Youtube? Telegram? The Forum? Wiki? Matrix? Are all taken into consideration, if not why? Or when then.
Maybe also a suggestion box in the forum. Where at least an answer is due after a certain period of time.
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One thing I can remember from the Ubuntu touch days was a feeling that their communication with users was very clouded, and appeared to lack a clear sense of direction for users to follow. Lots of technical terms banded about and future targets moving ever further back or so it seemed to me. Even when rumours of the plug been pulled grew denials poured out and then bang gone.
That's not how it might have been for those in the industry, but as an everyday user and supporter that's how I felt.
If that can be avoided by setting clear targets, goals etc that are easy to find and read by everybody who is even vaguely interested, then so much the better. A little more time invested now will be well spent in providing a clear future and hopefully a very successful one for Ubports and avoid feelings of disillusionment and a abandonment by users and supports.
There is a lesson to be learnt from Ubuntu touch and its not a good one from what I remember. -
A short note from my side, the more administration and structure we put on top of this, the less time will be available to actually work on things and get stuff done. We are all limited on time, if this would be my day job, I would love to give amplified attention to scrum processes, multi-layered decision makings and lengthy articles where we explain every step.
Heck, we are not that big. Here is a bunch of people (roughly 10 in the core team) trying to get this thing set up, and in the same time catch up with the bare minimum goals we set ourselves. We are up and running for 8 months now, give us a break and grow things naturally. During this time excuse the dust.
You are demanding pro management approach, where other communities took years and burnt a lot of money to get there. We are not Mozilla or smth like this. Our funds are ok at the moment, but I am fully against spending it on thinking on how the homepage looks like (and by the way we are also working on this) while we miss the deadline on important work like 16.04 transition that needs to be done.
This first year is cleanup and consolidation, and getting the shattered pieces together. Next year is careful development and getting the structure right. Then we will see. In contrast to other communities we did not grow that big, we just became it overnight.
BR
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@flohack your short note just makes my point even more. It really does show that you aren't really paying attention to exactly what I am saying, and probably assuming some marketing guy wants marketing to be the main thing over everything...that couldn't be further
From the truth...I think we all want the same thing more than you realize but hear me out.A short note from my side, the more administration and structure we put on top of this, the less time will be available to actually work on things and get stuff done.
Again, if you inherently assume that the same people developing are the same people "administering" anything I'm talking about [outbound marketing, dev and other forms of recruitment, increased funding]. That is not what we are describing here.
We are all limited on time, if this would be my day job, I would love to give amplified attention to scrum processes, multi-layered decision makings and lengthy articles where we explain every step.
Heck, we are not that big. Here is a bunch of people (roughly 10 in the core team) trying to get this thing set up, and in the same time catch up with the bare minimum goals we set ourselves.
Here is our main point of contention. In one hand you cite the reason for the current pacing of the project as "We are not that big" yet when a swell of folks are eager to assist with growing the capacity of the project, its met w resistance (see your earlier response to the original post that we wouldn't be ready) or excuse or worst...silence! Let me share an example:
Thats like using a new axe to chop a tree down. At first you see instant progress but after some time things slow down when the blade gets dull. But when someone is asking to sharpen the axe for you or give you a bigger ax and you say "hey, I cant be bothered right now with your ax, cant you see I'm trying to cut this tree down?"
Can you see how people would find that line of "we are just 10 people" would start getting old over time?. No one is forcing ubports to remain 10 strong only
We are up and running for 8 months now, give us a break and grow things naturally.
See previous point about streamlining advancement. Grow things naturally? This is not a hobby is it? Is this an organization forming into a foundation or a passion project? It sometimes feels like ubports wants all the benefits of becoming a legit organization with none of the responsibilities of organizational structure or accountibility that comes with it.
During this time excuse the dust.
We dont mind the dust. We want to help clean it up wherever possible.You are demanding pro management approach, where other communities took years and burnt a lot of money to get there. We are not Mozilla or smth like this.
1st. No one is demanding anything. I am speaking for myself and pointing out something that has potentially been a pattern and emphatically asking for some alternative perspectives be explored. Everyone is aware of the fact that this isn't a large operation. I'm not of the belief that it requires that environment for it to succeed. I personally think it's not crazy to believe there is middle ground between where things are now and canonical or mozilla, wouldn't you say? Or is it your engineering background has you thinking in only binary terms of 0, 1... "Organic growth" or super corporate Mozilla Money? My position lies somewhere in between. Perhaps closer to the organic scale than you would realize.
Our funds are ok at the moment, but I am fully against spending it on thinking on how the homepage looks like (and by the way we are also working on this) while we miss the deadline on important work like 16.04 transition that needs to be done.
I agree w you! But I have to ask Who is the We exactly ? You are giving the impression its the same individuals. Which would be a problem. A big one in fact. Are you touching the website? And who would petition spending money on a homepage?
The only thing that would be worth spending money on is anything that increases developer hours or greater capacity for patreon donations. Which would feed into greater potential for both. Which would then be used to mitigate said challenges. If done right [hence the importance of strategy and execution and caring enough about nuance and details] this has exponetial potential.
This first year is cleanup and consolidation, and getting the shattered pieces together. Next year is careful development and getting the structure right.
Then we will see.
That is a disappointing way to look at things. See what? People are putting hard earned money and you have had big donations In the past...I don't think We Will See is the type of stewardship model people are expecting from the project. You make it seem asking for some milestones is asking for sophisticated multi-year projections.
In contrast to other communities we did not grow that big, we just became it overnight.
**Agreed. And I empathize. I really do. And in a way its a good problem to have when folks are eager to pester you guys about growth and direction in a weird way. But I do feel there has to be some serious reflection on those who have the ultimate decision making power to consider the very real possibility that solutions to these concerns might be outside of your domain or strengths but not necessarily out of reach.
There is a reason why they call these things community. Because we need each other and play off one anothers skill sets. And Ubports are not the only organization to face these challenges. Others have. And have overcome them.** I hope UBports overcomes them soon enough.
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@lakota 100% agree.
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@twinkybot and @Profetik777,
Maybe also a suggestion box in the forum.
For the software? I'm going to say no to that one. Canonical hosted a dedicated website where users could suggest and upvote features several years ago. Where you think this would lead to consensus and good feelings, it actually led to "Ooooh, Canonical isn't listening to us, they haven't implemented (feature with more than 5 upvotes)". This was before any Unity drama, so you can't cite that as the reason.
If nothing else, people can add a "+1" reaction to a bug report or enhancement request on their given project, likely ubuntu-touch. That doesn't guarantee someone will have time to work on it.
Apt-Get Shirt does a donation from each sold T-Shirt. I think 5% of the price.
Since the foundation doesn't exist, we don't qualify for anyone donating to non-profits. Yet.
so basically a Product Owner role from Scrum
This assumes that we have a full-time hand available, they are experienced with Agile, and we have the volume of work that this would be required. Right now, that isn't the case.
This is a meritocracy. The people who do the most work get the most control over the project.
I personally feel that a 3-month, only lightly detailed roadmap sounds more doable than the airy "have a roadmap" that most people have said for the past months. I feel that we could have teams prepare quarterly goals. Even if the development team's map right now is just "make 16.04 happen".
But we have that. It's on GitHub. https://github.com/ubports/ubuntu-touch/milestones
These milestones show what we plan on fixing. They also show that the work that someone wants to do actually gets done. @nfsprodriver wanted an alpha slider for the background dim, so he made it happen.
Milestones get made by the people who will be doing the work to complete them. That's Marius and a handful of others. Would it be more "open" to some if the meetings to make them were broadcast to the world? Yes, but it would also mean that everyone watching would put in their opinion even though they won't be putting in any work to make the milestone better. People who can't fully appreciate or estimate the work can't reliably make a roadmap for the work, and we shouldn't expect them to. Plus, when we tell them "no, we can't make your feature", we get the same situation as above.
That doesn't mean that developers aren't listening, just that there's a certain amount of time that each of them has to dedicate to Ubuntu Touch so some priorities come up and some get dropped.
It also doesn't meant that people outside of the current team will never be able to join. Those that do the most work, and by that token will have the most impact on the project, get to make their own goals to drive the project.
Talking about the other, non-core development teams, though, having more roadmaps might make sense. I'm thinking the documentation team, marketing, design maybe. We'd track these in much the same way on GitHub. Let people know what we want to work on.
If you want to see how we track all this information, there are some process documents in Processes. Commenting directly on how we make these would be helpful so we can improve how we make them in the future.
I guess I don't see what is being called for that we don't already have. I don't disagree that the current processes need improvement. We're always thinking about that, and the processes are always improving. We're also constantly adding new ones, so please propose what you want us to do. However, I can't get behind the idea of bringing in every Agile and project management tactic straight from the book at this scale.
