And here comes the train! I am happy to announce the second Ubuntu Global Bug Jam which will take place from 20 to 22 February 2009.
So, what is the Ubuntu Global Bug Jam? Jono explains it as “a world-wide online and face-to-face event to get people together to fix Ubuntu bugs – we want to get as many people online fixing bugs, having a great time doing so, and putting their brick in the wall for free software.” The short answer is … a super hug day taken to the next level. This is not only a great opportunity to really help Ubuntu, but to also get together with other Ubuntu fans to make a difference together, either via your LoCo team, your LUG, other free software group, or just getting people together wherever to fix bugs and have a great time.
If you are in a LoCo Team, the Ubuntu Global Bug Jam it a great opportunity for LoCo Teams to get together and have a physical bug-jam, which in turn becomes a great opportunity to socialize, meet exciting new people, and share the love for Ubuntu. To get started there is a Running a Bug Jam guide, which offers some helpful advice for getting your jam organised. If you are in a Linux User Group why not try and organise a bug jam for your LUG too?
If you are planning on organising a jam for your group, just follow these steps:
- Decide on a venue and dates, and start letting people know about where and when the jam is. You might want to post to other local groups to let them know so they can attend. Take a read of the Running a Bug Jam page to help you get started.
- Update the Ubuntu Global Bug Jam and add your jam to it. Be sure to add any specific applications your local participants are interested in in the Interests box – we will then try to get upstream specialists to the Jam who can help with debugging on IRC.
- Blog about it, post to mailing lists, put flyers up in computer shops and other places and otherwise spread the word.
- Involved in the global jam last year? Now is your chance to get that excellent feedback and feed it into your LoCo this year so that we continue improving.
Not involved in Ubuntu but in another upstream project? We encourage you to “pile on” and take advantage of this opportunity. At the bottom of the Bug Jam page you’ll see a section for upstream projects for the jam. Maybe you need someone to help you triage bugs, maybe you need someone to help you test new features or maybe you’re just looking for contributors. Either way this is an opportunity to find users passionate about your software.
We’ll see everyone there!
> 20 to 22 February 2008
I’m guessing the date should be 20 to 22 February 2009
Yes of course, thanks for that. Updated.
brilliant. The addon bingo game to be played by jam participants is a nice touch.
Do you plan to try to collect some metrics on the activity?
Obvious question to ask, how many days of typical contribution is a 2 day bug jam equivalent to a X number of days of worth of normal triaging/patching/translating? Can the karma system help you there, or does the renomalization process kill the ability to see an affect?
Also do you see a increase or a fall off in activity just after the bugjam? Is it a motivator or is it a burnout? Or does it not affect day-to-day activity a week later or a month later? If you could gauge what the after-glow for an event looked like, and how long it lasted, you could then optimize the frequency of the events to get maximum returns on effort.
It would also be interesting to know if these events make better use of manhours than just normal day to day contributor activity. But that’s a hard question to get at since you probably don’t know the number of equivalent manhours people are putting in on a typical day. But think about the question, maybe there’s a way to measure that productivity.
If you can show these events are a productivity win, you’ll have a stronger argument for other projects to pile-on.
Good Luck!
-jef
We always collect 5-a-day metrics, but they are opt-in: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/5-A-Day
We encourage people to participate in 5-a-day metrics during the jam but that is optional. The stats aren’t really as important as the Local Teams getting together and forming relationships.
Jef: to me the most important thing is having fun in the LoCo. 🙂