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Guide Program: Interest Meeting & Guidelines

September 13th Community Meeting

Summary​

  • Guide program planned to help onboard new Wanderers, reducing the complexity of joining an in-progress project of this scale and allowing for quicker integration.
  • maloki, KiaraJcyln, rachaelrose, and Galactic all taking guide roles. WarrenGore as Project Leader (PL).
  • Guide onboarding questions outlined.
  • New Guides will be approved/assigned by Navigator for relevant team(s) or PL.
  • How to Guide - Procedure outlined.
  • Additional documentation for guidance needed, as well as feedback form/process for post-onboarding.

Overview​

  • There's a struggle to come into the in-progress project as a new contributor and know what's going on, how things should work, and what they can be doing.
  • Can we shore up any of the gaps that we have?
  • Can we make sure that we are better explaining what people can be doing?
  • Guides can be a person to help be a source of information and direction for new contributors, particularly things that aren't well-defined or well documented.
  • In the process we can improve the written instructions etc.

Introductions​

Which Teams do you want to be a guide for, and why do you want to be a guide?

  • maloki - Teams: Build, possibly Lore.

    • Wants to be a guide as it is important to get new people integrated to the project and make them feel welcome.
    • Discord can be overwhelming, and want to build a personal connection with the team.

  • KiaraJcyln410 - Teams: Lore.

    • Wants to get more involved in the project and take on more responsibility that can keep her involved.

  • rachaelrose1212 - Teams: Build.

    • Help need help.

  • Galactic_15 - Teams: Lore.

    • I've done it before, might as well make it official.

  • WarrenGore - Catch all as Project Leader (PL).

    • See Overview paragraph.

Agenda​

Channel or Forum Setup, for Info and Guidelines​

How do we want this setup? What would people prefer?

  • Do we want a designated channel/forum/etc.?
    • Right now we only have the forum post.
  • Suggestion to start a new forum under Internal Projects with a post for each new contributor.
  • Current plan involves adding the guide to the onboarding ticket.
    • A space is needed outside of the ticket (which closes soon after guide assignment).
  • Discussed both process info (guide guidelines repository) and individual contributors assignments.
  • Forum with How To Be a Guide, and posts for all contributors who asked for a guide.

Want be a guide? Questions - for Feedback​

Submit a ticket, and answer these questions.

  • Which team(s) do you want to help guide new members for?
  • What timezone are you in, and what’s your general availability?
  • Do you feel you have a generally good grasp of what’s going on in the project, and how to navigate our processes and our discord/forum?
  • Why do you want to be a guide?
  • Do you have any experiences onboarding people previously?
    • Not required, but tell us about anything that you think might be relevant about welcoming people to other spaces both irl and online.
  • Navigator for the team(s) and PLs approve new guides and assign role.
    • Another guide introduces them to the guiding process.
  • Ask the guides (perhaps the new wanderers as well) what kind of support they want/want to provide.
    • Updates in text, voice, etc., how in depth.
    • Offer meetings, tutorials, just links?

These questions are to get a grasp of individual's interests, not a restriction on approval.

Role Description​

  • Draft: Helps new contributors get their bearings in the project, getting them acquainted with the Discord server, GitHub, project processes, and so on.

Assigning Guides to New Wanderers​

  • New Wanderers can opt out of getting a guide.
  • Match up new contributors with the timezone and team roles as best we can.
  • Rotate between different guides over time, so not only a few people are always guiding.
    • Limit to 1-2 assigned at one time, unless we're getting a particularly big rush of people joining the project.
  • Check that they, in the onboarding forum for now (under active projects), are available before assigning.
    • If no guides are available, then Navigator and then PLs act as backups.
  • Ask the wanderer what kind of support they want, text, or voice etc.
    • How in depth (if they know)?

How to Guide?​

Goal: Help new members feel welcomed through their first few weeks so they can get adjusted and integrated into the project, allowing them to get to know someone and build relationships quickly.

  • Guide gets added to onboarding ticket, introduce the new member to the project, and introduce the project to them.
  • Preferably keep the conversations with them the ticket/forum or in public chats or our voice channels.
    • The ticket is secluded, but if they are extra shy, DMs are allowed.
  • Goal is to onboard within one week, but should be completed within two weeks unless there are other circumstances that have been communicated.
  • Help the new contributor learn about common practices, meetings, and the ticketing system.
    • The common practices are both for the general project and the teams they have signed up for.
  • Walk through discord layout.
  • Show documentation and previous Meeting Notes.
  • Help make sure that they know what they can work on and how to get started in the areas they want to work in.
    • Getting set up with IntelliJ.
    • Added to the GitHub.
    • Added to the Build server.
    • Understand standards within art bulletin, etc.
  • Explain these processes:
    • Art asset request process.
    • Lore task process.
    • Pitch to feature process.
    • GitHub ticketing, including motr and submit-feedback.
    • The Build Spreadsheet.
  • Ask how can we best help the new contributor?

Long-term Objectives​

  • Feedback form after onboarding completes for both the Guide and Guided.
    • Want specific detail on what works, how it goes, figure out if any adjustments need to be made to the process.
    • Continue evolving and improve as we go.
  • Documentation on FAQs and processes should be built up alongside the Guide system to smooth out the onboarding process moving forward.
    • Eventually move away from direct answering of questions and more to directing to a FAQ/document where possible.
  • Onboarding Playbook.
  • Additional documentation for guidance, etc. long term.

Additional Notes​

  • How can people help documentation?
  • Accessibility ideas.
  • We can practice on existing wanderers.

Attendance​

  • @WarrenGore
  • @maloki
  • @Sp3cialK
  • @KiaraJcyln410
  • @Galactic_15
  • @jyu
  • @rachaelrose1212
  • @MooMarMouse