Book Chief Editor

Hi all,

It's great to see so much discussion going on here regarding the book ! I have my work cut out for me holding up my end of the bargain now!

I have mentioned before I think BobS is the ideal choice for managing this project.

However, as this is a volunteer effort, and people need to be happy to be happy following his direction, I'm not quite going to just appoint him unilaterally .

So, I'm going to say that I think he should be in charge given he:

• has shown he is very good at keeping pace
• has great attention to detail
• has a history of focusing on usability and the needs of the average user
• has significant business experience
• participates in discussions, taking in other people's points of view and willing to be persuaded to change his opinion
• has plenty of time

But, if anyone else wants the position, or disagrees with BobS's appointment, please drop me an email. If there's no competition/controversy by Monday morning (UK time), I'm going to announce BobS's coronation, and therefore his ultimate power . If there's a contest, I think we'll do this democratically and have a poll.

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Personally I'm only slightly keeping an eye on the discussions in here. As I say, I have my work cut out for me with my own commitment, plus of course all my usual duties, especially to customers. I think my only personal input is to encourage people to keep things simple on two fronts:

• simple in terms of commitment to get it done – don't over-stretch limited resources; it's fine to consider doing more things after a first book in terms of having an ideas list, but I'd definitely say from my own experience you don't want to commit to having to map stuff too far out and keep too much future in mind in the early stages, or to do work in parallel. Concentrate on the fundamental task of the here and now, because the future is unpredictable, as are contributors time commitments. It is a lot easier to adapt what has been done in the past to match a stretched roadmap, than it is to create and maintain a complex roadmap to start with.
• simple in terms of the user; I have always noticed, the forum is not representative of the typical user. The typical user never registers, and spends just a few minutes trying a system out, without really reading much documentation. I'd encourage trying to reach the common denominator (i.e. common need) and to provide a guide targeted at the ones who need it most. More advanced and engaged users already have the tutorials and community, and their own analytical skills, to solve problems.

I think also Bob is the man for this job. So i vote for him.

Chris Graham said

- simple in terms of commitment to get it done – don't over-stretch limited resources; it's fine to consider doing more things after a first book in terms of having an ideas list, but I'd definitely say from my own experience you don't want to commit to having to map stuff too far out and keep too much future in mind in the early stages, or to do work in parallel. Concentrate on the fundamental task of the here and now, because the future is unpredictable, as are contributors time commitments. It is a lot easier to adapt what has been done in the past to match a stretched roadmap, than it is to create and maintain a complex roadmap to start with.

• simple in terms of the user; I have always noticed, the forum is not representative of the typical user. The typical user never registers, and spends just a few minutes trying a system out, without really reading much documentation. I'd encourage trying to reach the common denominator (i.e. common need) and to provide a guide targeted at the ones who need it most. More advanced and engaged users already have the tutorials and community, and their own analytical skills, to solve problems.

I think I have say this already, keep it simple to understand. Give some ideas how to make things easier. So that people who search for a cms get intrest and take the time to look deeper to it.

Harry

Bob gets my vote, too!

 

    I agree, "vote Bob"  

No objections to Bob but perhaps he should have an assistant or understudy to help him out in case his medical situation becomes more serious and limits his commitment.

The PM is the most important role and is one that will hold up all other jobs if it is not itself in a state of constant progress. Just a thought.

Duck said

No objections to Bob but perhaps he should have an assistant or understudy to help him out in case his medical situation becomes more serious and limits his commitment.

The PM is the most important role and is one that will hold up all other jobs if it is not itself in a state of constant progress. Just a thought.

I broached this subject with Chris when he first spoke to me about considering this position. He and I are in total agreement that there should be a back-up in place just in case something happens.

My medical condition should not be overlooked but need not be a central issue. In all likelihood, I will be dealing with a chronic, non-life threatening issue. Considering that I have more time than most because I a retired is probably a more important criterion. In any event, my plan is to develop this book in the open so that picking up on anyone's commitment will be easy, if needed.

Bob

BobS is now officially Chief Editor for the book .

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I've noticed there's quite a lot of disagreement in the topics here about exactly how things should be approached. As Bob is now in charge, he gets the final call. That said, it seems to me actually most of the disagreements are stemming from definition. For example what exactly is 'beginner', 'intermediate', etc – it seems to me that people have different definitions in mind, rather than different intents.

Chris Graham said

 it seems to me that people have different definitions in mind, rather than different intents.

This things are happened when different people are working on one project Every one sees things a another way. So Bob is the end producer…  gratulations to Bob!!

Chris Graham said

BobS is now officially Chief Editor for the book .

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I've noticed there's quite a lot of disagreement in the topics here about exactly how things should be approached. As Bob is now in charge, he gets the final call. That said, it seems to me actually most of the disagreements are stemming from definition. For example what exactly is 'beginner', 'intermediate', etc – it seems to me that people have different definitions in mind, rather than different intents.

Thanks for the vote of confidence everyone and I look forward to getting this very important project underway.

I'm still tidying up the book structure and chapters and will work to get the project posted so that people can see the milestones.

I will be putting out a formal call for writers and editors and will get to writing the introduction and brief.

I want to stress again that I consider myself the "collaborator-in-chief" (it's simply not my style to be autocratic) and I really do appreciate getting new input from others if you feel it will make the book a better product. But I don't want to keep rehashing the same stuff over and over - it's time for action, not words.

Bob

Congratulations, BobS; or, should that be condolences?  

psydoc said

Congratulations, BobS; or, should that be condolences?  

I assume it involves both pluses and minuses. The important thing is that we end up with a solid product that will help those new to ocPortal to get their sites up and running in the easiest manner possible.

Bob

Remember my offer, it still stands.

psydoc said

Remember my offer, it still stands.

Certainly keeping your offer in mind. I am quite confident that we will end up with a great product that encourages people to give ocPortal a shot and then explore its additional capabilities.

Bob

With you leading the project and all the capable people here at OCP contributing, I am sure you will produce a GREAT product.

I couldn't cast my vote before today as I was out of contact without Internet, but it was a given, you are the Man!

Congrats with my full support!


Jean