[pydotorg-www] project plan

[Richard Leland]

Hi Stephan - definitely useful! I couldn't agree more that the presentation
is extremely important. The goals in the docs aren't in any specific order.
Right now they are all of equal weight. When we get to the implementation
stage I think we'll probably have to prioritize and break the project into
phases.

Keep the feedback coming!

- Rich

Richard Leland
rich at richleland.com
240-242-7424


On Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 10:28 AM, Stephan Deibel <sdeibel at wingware.com>wrote:

> Richard Leland wrote:
>
>> Hi all - as promised in the pydotorg list I've posted some documentation
>> for the project plan for python.org <http://python.org>. The current goal
>> is to generate a proposal for the PSF board for enhancements to the various
>> python.org <http://python.org> sites. In these docs I've outlined a plan
>> that includes goals and research needed. It's too early to think about
>> implementation at this point and the technical details would impede forward
>> progress.
>>
>> Throughout the project I'll need a combination of the guidance of the
>> current pydotorg volunteers, feedback from the community, and patience as I
>> familiarize myself with python.org <http://python.org> ecosystem.
>>
>>
>> A few guidelines I am personally going to try to adhere to:
>>
>> 1. Draw from the experience, history and hard work of the pydotorg
>> admins/team
>> 2. Don't make anything more difficult to use/update
>> 3. Don't try to do everything all at once, start small, take steps
>> 4. Keep the process as open as possible
>> 5. Don't get caught up in details that keep the project from moving
>> forward
>> 6. Remember that we are all volunteers
>>
>> I'd like to think of this as a fluid project but I need to tie down some
>> dates for getting the various aspects of the research phase done. I'll be
>> outlining that timeline in the docs in the next week or so.
>>
>> In the meantime please take a look at the docs. I'll be updating them as
>> the project moves along.
>> http://richleland.bitbucket.org/pydotorg-pm/
>>
>
> Thanks for working on this!  Some comments:
>
> Perhaps move "Presentation" to first in the list of priorities?  The other
> stuff is important too
> but the hard work of rethinking and reorganizing content, making the site
> better at drawing
> in new users, and updating the look of the site shouldn't be last on the
> list.
>
> A good example of the problem is http://python.org/community/ where there
> are two
> huge lists, one as sub-menu and another in the body.
> http://python.org/psf/ is another
> example.
>
> It's possible some of the clutter should have its own distinct site (like
> psf.python.org
> really could stand on its own, with a Donate link from every other
> python.org site). When you think about user intent/goal, they are likely
> either looking for downloads,
> or docs, or info on getting involved ("community") or  maybe about the PSF
> but
> they don't really need all of those at once and they don't need to see all
> the random
> stuff in these long lists when the most common actions are downloading,
> looking
> up docs, or perhaps entering the site as a prospective new user (which the
> site
> currently does not support well).  The more detailed random stuff in those
> lists could
> be moved down a level somehow so it's there but not immediately in the face
> of
> someone going to a top-level page, or at least have the top of the page
> have boxes
> with the commonly sought-after actions/content.
>
> Then there is wiki.python.org, which in spite of (or perhaps because of)
> low barrier to
> entry for making changes is a mess also and it's confusing having some
> content on
> python.org and other on wiki.python.org.  That shouldn't be forgotten in
> trying to
> reorganize content.  Perhaps wiki.python.org is the place to push all the
> random
> stuff in the long lists.  Or perhaps the goal is to largely replace it, if
> the new system
> allows an easier way to make edits to the main site(s).  In that case, it
> might just
> contain the more esoteric stuff where the wiki approach makes sense and
> wiki mess
> isn't a big deal.
>
> Anyway, I hope this is useful.  Good luck with it!
>
> - Stephan
>
>
>
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