oST_Projects » Travel Support and merchandising mgmt

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openSUSE Travel Support program management tool

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The openSUSE team at SUSE is developing a new web tool for managing the [openSUSE Travel Suport Program](http://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Travel_Support_Program) The goal is to write a generic application that can be extended and adapted to fulfill the needs of the travel help programs from any free software organization like the GNOME's Conference Travel Subsidy Program or the KDE e.V. Travel Cost Reimbursement initiative.

Just as every other development from openSUSE team at SUSE, the project is developed in a open way, so anyone interested in tracking the development or contributing can find the public repository on https://github.com/openSUSE/travel-support-program

Goal

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For a more verbose definition of the project goals, check the [[about TSP application]] page and the [[TSP application user guide]].

Development progress

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Information about deadlines and meetings

* Minutes from the first requirements capture meeting: [[Meeting 2013-03-26]].

* The application was already deployed on May 3rd and is currently available for openSUSE TSP at https://connect.opensuse.org/travel-support/

* A report from a project management point of view: [[ProjectReport]].

Merchandising management

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The current way in which SUSE manages the shipment of merchandising material to support community members in their promotion activities needs to be improved, since it do not scale. The following contents describes a new approach to this topic.

Goal

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The goal of the new Program is to support openSUSE Community in events by:

* Empowering openSUSE community to decide about how the promotion activities in events, specially booths, are going to be supported.

* Reduce the administrative and coordination work derived from the selection, production and shipping of merchandising to events.

* Centralize the decision process and collect the information needed to improve the process every year.

Description

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Until 2013, SUSE has been heavily involved in the design, creation and shipment of merchandising to community events where community members promote openSUSE through booths. In order to increase the efficiency of the current process, openSUSE Team proposes to delegate part of the process to the community in a sustainable way.

To accomplish the above goals, increasing the planning and putting additional effort in the management side is required, along with developing a request, decision shipping and reporting process shared between SUSE and the group of community members responsible for the program.

General set up

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* Every year, an amount of money for this Program will be allocated. This amount will be included in the general openSUSE budget. 

* Twice a year the Ambassador Team will work with community members to define the community events to be supported and who is going to coordinate the booth and the merchandising

* They will decide on support for the events. The events will be divided in three categories:

 * Event type A: major events, supported by openSUSE and SUSE

 * Event type B: community events, supported by openSUSE 

 * Event type C: Local events, small events and other kind of activities that cannot be supported by shipping material. Supported by local ambassadors. These events can be supported globally by our reimbursement process.

* Once the events are decided, a specific package of merchandising will be shipped to those people that coordinate our presence in the event and organize the booth.

* SUSE will initially define the packages and ship them. Once the committee get feedback from the community members running the booth, changes in the material shipped can be introduced.

* SUSE will define initially the minimum and maximum amount to be reimbursed for Events Type C as part of the initial budget for the Program. These threshold will be included in the openSUSE budget.

* Initially in 2013, SUSE will propose the procedures to request and report about the event to the Board. This task will be part of the delegation process to the Board.

Decision process

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A committee will be designated by the Board to decide and manage the program. An openSUSE Team member from SUSE will participate in the committee as Advisor the first edition of the project. 

The committee will be in charge of making the Call for events to Support, creating a process in which the information from the event is provided by requesters from the Community, including openSUSE previous involvement in the event and why openSUSE should have present there again.

Once the events are approved, they will be published and a process must be open that ensures that openSUSE request the booth/space/presence in the event. Dates for call for booths or Call for Program should be included in the proposal, along with basic information to execute the shipment/reimbursement.

Report/blog post/article should be requested as report from the event, in order to communicate and justify to other community members the effort done in the event.

openSUSE Team will work on extending the current Travel Support Program application to be able to cover this process helping the committee to reduce the workload and improve the coordination with SUSE.

Execution

* [[Initial set up]] of the Program. 

Boothbox

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* See here for the contents of the [[Booth box]] in development.

Comments welcome.

Events

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See "here":https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/29347181/Event-list.pdf the list of events and their clasification.

Support levels (all levels can apply for Travel Support!):

A = SUSE will have people there

B = will get a big or small box (depending on size of event)

C = will get support for creating materials locally ($200 or Eur 200)

D = No support beyond basic TSP (travel reimbursement)

The categories like 'business' 'developers' are about the type of audience of the event. 1 is low on that metric ('business people') and 5 is high.

Comments welcome.