[okfn-discuss] software clubs

Thu Feb 5 16:51:19 UTC 2009

Hi Jonathan,

Nice to bump into you today!

Thanks for reminding me about Cofundos, I've made a note on the above 
Clubs page:
http://appropriatesoftware.net/foundation/Clubs.html

I would be very interested to learn more about the Cofundos process. 
Maybe some of the Cofundos people are on this list? :-) In particular, I 
would be interested to hear how well it works for variable scope 
proposals. It appears to be designed for fixed scope work. It starts 
with a list of missing features, and pays out at the end only when they 
are successfully realised (apparently). It doesn't appear directly to 
coalesce different actors working across identical domains. Therefore, 
it appears to reflect a market based approach, where vendors make 
offers, customers make bids, and payments are made when procured goods 
are delivered.

The software club process we've arrived at seems to be slightly 
differently constituted. There are two levels: domain and proposal. 
Central to the software club process is connecting with a definite 
domain of work. Actors working within the domain are invited to become 
members of the club. Members simply consent to the proposal for the 
club, which defines the scope of objectives and the general strategy of 
the club. The strategy is normally to share analysis and software 
development on an incremental and indefinite basis. Then within these 
indefinite iterations, the club host relentlessly builds consensus 
around variable scope proposals to build capacity within the domain.

There's a much better description in the Operational Guide for Software 
Clubs:
http://appropriatesoftware.net/foundation/docs/OperationalGuideforSoftwareClubs.pdf

At the moment, our best example is Scan Club (for medical imaging work):
http://appropriatesoftware.net/scanbooker/Community.html

There seems to be a number of similar (but valuably different) 
approaches emerging. We're trying to make a list on the Clubs page, but 
we would prefer to circulate analysis and software between these 
different initiatives, and think that a software club might be a good 
way to go. We've named a club called Club of Clubs for this purpose, but 
would like to hear about how others are thinking about these concerns 
before pushing ahead too fast.

Similarly, I thought we might propose this approach to the international 
development groups, perhaps before the meeting in the Summer.

Best wishes,

John.

-- 
Appropriate Software Foundation
http://appropriatesoftware.net
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