ubuntu-developer-manual team mailing list archive

[Belinda Lopez <belinda.lopez@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here are my meeting notes for anyone who couldn't make it today.  HUGE 
thanks to all who did!!  Please add any comments - should I post these 
to Planet?

Ubuntu Developer Manual, aka The Ubuntu Opportunistic Developer Guide

Friday, 3 December 2010, 17:00 UTC

In Attendance:
Rick Spencer
Belinda Lopez
Ryan MacNish
Jono Bacon
Alan Pope
Kyle Nietsche
Mike Terry
Alan Bell
Chris Wollford

Agenda:
   1.  Quick review of where everything stands in the project:

Belinda Lopez(BaL) opened the meeting by reviewing where the project 
stands & goals.  Project has been around for a few cycles and now has a 
very dedicated and enthusiastic team working toward version 1.0.  The 
project history and UDS notes can be found at:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/10.10/DeveloperManual and an updated 
list of topics and assignments can be found at: 
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/10.10/DeveloperManual  (Note: this 
will be merged with the blueprint work tasks).
         1. Final Topic selection - Final topics were narrowed down and 
it was suggested that a FAQ, Putting it all together, final chapter be 
added.  Each topic should not be more than 10 pages in total length with 
an ideal length being 4 - 6, not including screenshots.  BaL will update 
the topics and assignments list on the wiki and send to mailing list.
         2. Application selection - Discussion centered around whether 
it was best to build successively on one application being developed 
throughout the book or to do several small apps with a final "putting it 
all together" application build.  Rick said he would like to see the 
content written first and not concentrate on the apps yet.  Most likely 
it will be a series of short example apps being built with each topic 
and then at the end they can build another, larger app with the goal to 
get it into the Ubuntu Software Center.
         3. Authors - It looks as though each topic has at least one 
author identified.  Ryan will follow up with Owaise Lone to check 
availability.  Technical proofreaders will continue to be identified 
(Torsten Spindler/Mike Carifio), as well as LaTeX help and toolchain 
assistance.
         4. Resources & Tools (Style Guide Update, Tex version, build 
tools, screenshots) - Ryan gave a quick overview of the authoring 
process: Writing in your favorite editor, Latex markup (Tex tool), 
Bzr/LP, "make" command to compile the PDF.  Belinda offered for those 
authors who do not want to worry about Latex to simply write in plain 
text and either she will do the markup or find someone to do that step.  
Authors need to focus on writing content, not markup at this point.  
KyleN will take a look at the project to see if it is set up correctly 
for doing translations in LP.  Ryan offered to help update the Style 
Guide with any missing elements and additional authoring help. Kevin 
Godby and others from the UM project will be available to help with the 
toolchain; ie.e what happens when the branch breaks.
   2. Project Schedule - Belinda outlined overall schedule; through the 
end of 2010, work on getting everyhing setup in Bzr, everyone getting 
their tools setup, learning LaTeX (if necessary) and then formalizing 
milestones so everyone can hit the ground running in January 2011!  The 
first milestone will set in mid-January for all authors to have the 
first draft of their content ready.  (Note: anyone one who cannot 
produce or needs to drop out, needs to let me know as soon as they can 
so a new author can be identified).  Design Team will be asked to help 
with overall design but will not be a blocker to the 1.0 release.  First 
release is targeted for early March, if not sooner.  Canonical resources 
(Belinda) will only be available through March 2011.
   4. Work flow review - Key is to let authors concentrate on content, 
not toolchain.  Belinda is the overall cat herder and will take prime 
responsibility for project mangement, copy editing and will continue to 
identify other proofreaders, markup experts and final QA help. Authors 
write toward deadlines, BaL can assist with writing, overall copy 
editing and some markup.  We will also need to set a date and outline 
guidelines for screenshots (Shotwell?).  Rick says the project is not 
dependent on Natty release but we need to keep its schedule in mind for 
any screenshots and rewriting.
   5. Any other issues? - Ack, forgot to bring up the "official" book 
title!  - BaL will send an email to the list to finalize.
Thanks everyone, this is going to be a great project!