[Ktechlab-devel] KTechLab - The Apprentice.

[Mauricio Giovagnini]

Lawrence Shafer escribió:
> I have been thinking about this, and have some concerns. In one way it's 
> a great idea, you will get someone that knows their stuff and will be a 
> good technical match for KTechLab, and it would work great for a 
> commercial project. But the reality is that this is a dead open-source 
> project. While technical skills are important, the project manager needs 
> to be enthusiastic, -and have the time 1, 2, 5 years down the road.These 
> traits don't often come with someone who has the most technical ability 
> and "punch" at the time of the competition, and there is no better way 
> to tell than look at their past. Find someone who has been posting on 
> the list for at least a year, someone who is steady and won't abandon 
> the project just because there seems to be no activity, and this is just 
> my opinion, but I think web ability comes over C++ ability. We need a 
> catchy web site, good forums, and a good wiki. Let the admin do the 
> admin stuff (including recruiting coders and rewarding them with a 
> personal bio on the website or such), and let the coder be coders. Get 
> three or four willing people together off of this list that have been 
> here to answer questions through thick and thin, let the community hear 
> what they have to say, and vote for them. And this needs to happen 
> sooner than later, because sitting stalemate in your hands until august 
> will not help the project. This will also have another side benefit, 
> instead of the admin feeling like he owns the project because of his 
> abilities, he will feel more a part of the community and possibly have 
> an easier time giving the position away if he does not have time for it 
> anymore.
> 
> This is just my 2c, please do not take offense,
> 
> Lawrence

I totally agree that the project manager has to be 
enthusiastic and not only a powerful technician, he could 
not be one, he could be a great leader with big ears to hear 
the technical experts and then took the right decision.
Being a good technician doesn't mean being a good PL and 
vice versa, although in some cases both skills live in a 
single person


I agree that the project needs a "publicity boost" and also 
a good web management but what about the technical intrinsic 
side of it?  If the PL is only enthusiastic and only knows 
about web management which will be the real future of the 
project?

If you read Alan grimes thread "the biggest technical issue" 
you'll find out that even having 100 coders we won't reach 
very far with such a heavy load on our backs.

A project boost will be possible only if the underlying 
design the app is powerful and enhanceable.  The 
"maintenance nightmare" Alan mentioned seems to be true to 
me and it will happen today, tomorrow or within 10 weeks, 
whatever.

In my opinion this will suggest a project redesign and a 
stop will be then desirable.  Talking with experienced 
people in the simulation field, Eda tools and such will be a 
big help.  With some management it could be a nice chance 
for some people involved or willing to get involved in such 
project (mathematicians, people with expertise in the 
simulation area, etc).  There's a big miss understanding of 
OS projects, most people think that they have to be 'coders' 
to participate.

So I think the decision is not such easy.  Its like when in 
a tech company they don't know if the CEO should come from 
the technical side or from the marketing/administrative 
side.  This sounds similar to me :) :)

Regards
Mauricio



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Mauricio Giovagnini (Maunix)
www.maunix.com.ar
Cordoba, Arg.
LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mgiovagnini