Because we now have BOTH the FSN phpBB and CD, we need to decide where to discuess what. Personally, I think that the general idea discuession should occur here, on CD, where there will be more viewers. However, the in-depth tech. stuff should be handled on the FSN forums.
How to get things going. Well… I’m not really sure how well this would work, but here’s my first idea:
Create groups. There would be different groups each doing one thing. Ex:
DB Group - This group would be in charge of designing the MySQL db. This is a little harder than it sounds, because a lot of thought needs to go into:
a)record types
b)minimal space storage
c)minimal queires required
d)ways to identify double (or spammed) data
XML Group - This group would be in charge of creating the scripts to provide both xml output from the db, and parsing of incomming data for db insertion. They also would create the format of xml that would be used.
Web_Front_End Group - This group would create the main web front end. A lot of html and php would be needed for this. They need to create both the the html & graphics and then the user system / data querying. They also need to remember that pages need to be light on the server, and to be able to have all data fields dynamic.
Collection_Device Group - This group would be in charge of (depending on how the skills of the people in this group) to create a ready-to-use scouting collection system to be used by the teams. Examples of this would be Access, File Maker, Palm OS, PPC OS, Excel, Paper, … Also, when other teams create a system, this group would be assist in insuring that the system will be compatible with FSN. (Mabey a FSN endorsement??)
PR Group - This group would spread the word of FSN to FIRST teams. They would get teams to use the system and handel any necessary connections with US FIRST / Event Hosts. This would be the perfect group for non-tech. people. Trust me, there would be plenty to do.
What should be done before these groups can begin? Or… are they ready to begin? What are the first things they need to do? - Personally, I’d think that they would need to get community input and create some general outlines.
Also, would there be people intrested in “heading” up the groups? This person should be able to put in the “time” when needed, and be sure to keep others on task. They also need to be able to hand out work well because they can’t do it all. Finally, they need to know whatever they will be working with pretty well and they also need to be sure to keep providing updates to all the other groups so that everyone knows what everyone else is doing.
Jack i’d be happy to help with the web front end group…and if you just need someone to continue to come up with wacky ideas cuz it seems like i am good at that, i’m up for that too…
Also I’d be happy to help with graphics and visual stuff for the entry stuff and anything else that might need it…
And i can also help try and coordinate between other teams if you need help with that.
If you need someone to help coordinate stuff, you know I’m close by… Since I probably won’t be too involved with any teams next year, I could act as somewhat of an intermediary between groups. Bouncing around between groups and keeping them on track is really my strength, anyways… it’s what I’ve done on our team for the past two years. I may not be the most knowledgeable about one thing, but I know enough about everything to make things work.
First off, great work so far Jack, you’ve gotten much further than all of us who have tried before to bring the FIRST scouting community together. I really hope you’re successful.
However you’re missing the two most important groups: Requirements & Architecture. The Requirements team takes input from the FIRST community and decides what the whole FSN system should do. Then the Architecture team is responsible for turning the requirements into a design. They tell each component of the system what their function is and how they pass data to & from other components.
Don’t even think about coding anything (unless it’s a proof of concept) until you have good architecture & design.
These are the most important groups because they can make or break a project. Proper requirements & architecture make the component design & coding much easier. Plus it’s very difficult to recover from mistakes made in the overall design, it takes more time & effort for everyone to fix problems as they progress through the development cycle. That’s why in industry the software architects make the big bucks and the coders (like me) make less.
I can’t commit much time to the project, but I’ll keep an eye on it and help you when I can.
