[wbs] response to 'Survey of W3C Community and Business Groups'

The following answers have been successfully submitted to 'Survey of W3C
Community and Business Groups' (public) for Olivier Thereaux.



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Overall Experience
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Please rate your overall experience according to the following aspects:

 * Your overall experience with Community Groups and Business Groups.: [ 3
+++ ] 
 * Have you found the Community Groups and Business Groups documentation
adequate (FAQ, policy summaries, etc.)?: [ No opinion ] 

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 
My experience with CG and BGs has been mixed. Some groups have been running
like WGs, with an experienced chair and a strong focus, and have been
fantastic to be part of. Others seem to convene, not know what to do, and
die a slow death. 

I don't think it is a problem with documentation - the documentation is
mostly OK. More of a problem of interaction design and flow, IMHO.




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Work Flow
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Questions 4 through 9 focus on work flow.




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Discovery
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Did you find it easy to discover groups of interest to you?


 * (x) Yes
 * ( ) No

If not, why? (or any other comments): 
Yes, but… I find it easy because I subscribe to a list giving me a
heads-up whenever a new group is created. If I had to navigate the existing
list of arcanely titled groups in search of something interesting, I would
probably struggle. That's not going to get any better as time passes and
groups pile up.




---------------------------------
Group Type Comparison
----
If you have experience in both Working Group and Community or Business
Group, what advantages do you see for Working Groups? for Community or
Business Groups?

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 
Some of the CG/BG tools for coordination and  web presence are great, and
they would benefit a few WGs too. WGs still massively more effective on
average, largely thanks to the work of W3C staff coordinating, nudging and
advising chairs and groups on how to get things done. 

Surprisingly, I haven't found my BG to benefit a lot from staff involvement
- possibly because the BG does not yet have a clear mandate, so the staff
can't help as much as they would in a WG with a clear charter. Oh yes,
charters are also what make WGs better - they do set a scope, and
milestones too. The latter are seldom reached in time, of course, but they
give groups something to strive for.




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Decision-making
----
How is your Community or Business Group organized to make decisions? Have
you reached decisions on challenging problems? We'd love to hear your
successes or obstacles you've faced.
Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 
Hasn't happened a lot in my groups. The poll tool was useful in a few
cases, though.




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Ensuring Progress
----
Are you satisfied with how the Community or Business Group makes progress?
What would enable you to make better progress?

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 





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Transition to Working Group
----
Do you expect to advance Community or Business Group deliverables to a W3C
Working Group? Please use the comment field for any information about the
transition (time frame, perceived obstacles or challenges).


 * ( ) Yes
 * ( ) No
 * ( ) In discussion but not decided
 * (x) No idea

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 





---------------------------------
Process, Patent and Copyright Policy, Contribution Agreements
----
Do you have any suggestions for changes to the
Community Groups and Business Groups process,
Contributor Agreement, or
Final Specification Agreement that would facilitate participation?
Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 





---------------------------------
Overall User Interface
----
Please rate the usability of the following aspects:

 * The home page of your Community or Business Group: [ 3 +++ ] 
 * Other parts of the Community and Business Group Web site.: [ 3 +++ ] 

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 
It's OK. I'm still confused by how the community groups' web space is
largely dedicated to the blog, when the groups often communicate mostly via
the mailing-list. Would be great to feature list activity on the HP
somehow.

I'm also giving a 3 for the usability of the list of groups. The live
search is nice, but the usability of the accordion effect and the location
of the links to the groups' home pages need to be tested with users and
fixed.




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User Accounts
----
Please rate the usability of any of the following actions you carried out.

 * Requesting an account (if you did so just for Community Groups and
Business Groups): [ No opinion ] 
 * Updating your affiliation in your account (if you were asked to do so):
[ No opinion ] 

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 





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Joining a Group
----
Please, select the case that applies to you and comment on your experience
joining a group (via the click-through form).


 * (x) I joined as a W3C Member employee, my request was processed by my
organization's Advisory Committee Representative
 * ( ) I joined as a non-W3C Member employee, after getting my
organization's patent and copyright commitment
 * ( ) I joined as an individual, unaffiliated with any organization

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 
Being my own AC helps. Some of my colleagues are often surprised that their
joining has to be vetted by me, but I'd like to keep it that way. 




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Creating a Group
----
If you created a group, rate the usability of the following aspects:

 * Clarity of the process for proposing a group: [ 5 +++++ (highest) ] 
 * Clarity of the process by which people express support for a group: [ 5
+++++ (highest) ] 

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 
That bit works really well. 




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Group Operations
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Rate the usability of any of the following operations you have carried out.

 * Choosing a chair (via checkboxes on the participants page): [ 4 ++++ ] 
 * Publishing a draft specification (available to Chairs only): [ No
opinion ] 
 * Publishing a final specification (available to Chairs only): [ No
opinion ] 
 * Making a final specification commitment (through the click-through
form): [ No opinion ] 

Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 





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Suggestion Box
----
What can we do to improve the experience of participating in a Community
Group or Business Group, tools you would find useful, or changes to enable
you to work more effectively?
Feedback: 





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Testimonial
----
To help W3C spread the word about Community and Business Groups, we invite
you to provide a 1-paragraph testimonial about your Community Group or
Business Group experience that you authorize us to publicize. This is
purely optional.
Comments (or a URI pointing to your comments): 



These answers were last modified on 2 August 2012 at 09:09:01 U.T.C.
by Olivier Thereaux

Answers to this questionnaire can be set and changed at
https://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/1/2012CGBGsurvey/ until 2012-09-30.

 Regards,

 The Automatic WBS Mailer

Received on Thursday, 2 August 2012 09:09:06 UTC