On Tue, Mar 11, 2014 at 12:54 PM, Sumana Harihareswara sumanah@wikimedia.org wrote:

Hi, Maduranga Siriwardena! Thank you for being interested in Wikimedia and in open source software.

First, a quick tip: it's better to include a subject line when you email people, especially on mailing lists. Please see http://en.flossmanuals.net/GSoCStudentGuide/ch014_communication-best-practic... for guidance.

Now, as you see at https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Mentorship_programs/Possible_projects#A_syste... , some basic requirements have already been listed. What more do you need to know in order to start your proposal? (Performance benchmarks to hit? Standalone web app vs. extension to an existing system? Perhaps something else?) Asking specific questions is going to be a better way to get answers.

I hope this helps!

Sumana Harihareswara Engineering Community Manager Wikimedia Foundation

On Sun, Mar 9, 2014 at 1:48 PM, Maduranga Siriwardena maduranga.siriwardena@gmail.com wrote:

...

Hi all, I'm Maduranga Siriwardena, 3rd year computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate at University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Currently I'm in my internship at WSO2, which a opensource middleware company.

While going through the project ideas, the idea of "A system for reviewing funding requests" impressed me. But as I'm new to the wikimedia project, I don't have much idea how to proceed. Please describe the requirements of the project and other requirements needed to proceed with this project.

I probably broke protocol on this as well when I responded off-list. For the benefit of anyone else who's lurking^Wwatching the list archives here's the stock response I gave:

A component of the project will be to refine the requirements for the final application so details are a little underspecified at this point. The most immediate need is for an application that can be used in the Individual Engagement Grants (IEG) program to review grant requests. The IEG currently uses an ad hoc process involving Google Forms to collect input from reviewers. After seeing a demonstration of the reviewer interface built into the Scholarships application they became interested in the idea of having a similar tool for their review needs.

Analysis of the problem would start from a few core user stories:

As an administrator of the grant review system I want to create new grant campaigns So that reviewers can provide feedback on the applications in the campaign.

As a grant reviewer I want to mark grant applications as valid/complete or invalid/incomplete So that invalid/incomplete grant applications can be excluded from further review.

As a grant reviewer I want to score a grant application on multiple dimensions So that the quality of the grant application can be compared to others in the same campaign.

As a grant provider I want to view reports on the aggregate reviewer scores for grant applications in a campaign So I can recommend applications to fund.

The project would encompass three phases. First the core user stories would be fleshed out with additional details based on interviews with the IEG team and other interested parties within the Wikimedia Foundation to produce a list of core requirements.

The second phase would seek to make an analysis of existing FOSS applications that could satisfy these core requirements. This analysis would be used to make a "build versus buy" decision on whether to create a solution based on existing software or undertake the creation of a brand new project to satisfy the requirements.

The third phase will be the implementation of the build versus buy decision. The activities needed here will obviously vary based on which avenue is chosen, but will likely require some software development in either case. If an existing application is found to be a close match the third phase would involve configuring the application to satisfy the requirements and be deployable to the Wikimedia Foundation production cluster. Implementation of an existing product would quite likely also involve fixing small to medium complexity upstream bugs and adding small to medium size features. If instead the decision is to build a new solution the third phase would involve creating a new project that leverages as much existing code as is reasonable from the Wikimania Scholarships application.

We have had several potential applicants express interest in the review application as a possible GSOC project. As mentors we will ultimately need to select only a single applicant to back in their proposal. To help us evaluate your technical skills I'd like you to fix an annoying little bug in MediaWiki or a related project:

Here's your workflow: 1) Go to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Annoying_little_bugs. 2) Pick an annoying little bug to fix. 3) Follow the instructions on the page, and fix the bug!

These bugs are specifically chosen to not be so difficult to fix, so hopefully they should be within your abilities. The application period closes on 21st March, so you've got some time to do this.

Thanks and good luck! Bryan