[00:00] ok everyone, let's get started [00:01] please announce yourself and from which LoCo you hail from [00:01] I'm Jorge Castro and I'm from ubuntu-michigan [00:01] I'm Nathan Handler and I'm with ubuntu-chicago [00:01] For the next hour I will be running a session on how to run an effective "bug jam" for your Local Team [00:02] LoCo teams from around the world will be participating in the Ubuntu Global Bug Jam: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GlobalBugJam [00:02] jacob from ohio..! [00:02] so the primary goal of these sessions are to provide help, tips, and tricks in how to make that more efficient and fun for everyone [00:03] though a LoCo can have bug jams as much as they want [00:03] For example in Berlin they have a bug jam every 2 weeks! [00:03] Looks like we have good representation from the midwest [00:03] anyone else? [00:04] ok, let's continue. :) [00:05] heh, small group. [00:05] So, the primary piece of documentation that is important for a bug jam is this page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RunningBugJam [00:05] if you're doing a real life bug jam, ie. meeting someplace [00:05] then the venue is probably the most important part [00:06] jcastro: bug jams have been done online? wasn't aware of that [00:06] because that takes planning and choosing a location that fits for the loco [00:06] yes, in fact, one of the most successful groups during the last GBJ was club-ubuntu [00:06] which is a group of people without a physical loco [00:06] mm, interesting. [00:06] of course, we encourage people to get together physically [00:07] in fact, the goal of the bug jam isn't so much fixing bugs, as it is an opportunity for the loco to get together and have a good time [00:07] so you shouldn't have a goal of something like "We should try to do X bugs as a loco" [00:07] the goal should be that everyone has a good time [00:07] and learned something about ubuntu [00:08] so your venue should probably be centrally located [00:08] or on a place that's easy for people from around the area to congregate at [00:08] power and internet are of course important. [00:08] And a projector can come in handy too [00:08] yep [00:09] one thing we found useful [00:09] was to tell people to get their launchpad accounts ready beforehand. [00:09] Panera has been friendly with the power and wireless, though they have a 30min cap on wifi as of a few months ago (d'oh) [00:09] new people will show up and need accounts, but it helps if you can get people to at least do those before they show up [00:10] the projector is useful because we used it to keep a list o bugs we were working on [00:10] and when someone got "stuck", someone would put the bug on the projector [00:10] and then the group would go over the bug, discuss possible actions, and then recommend what to do [00:10] this is useful because it allows new people to see how bug workflow works [00:10] and it allows you to work together [00:11] because it's easy to get rusty if you're not doing your 5-a-day. :) [00:11] Promoting the jam is also key [00:11] on the wiki page we provide a PDF that you can print [00:11] (someone even translated it to spanish!) [00:11] of course we encourage people to blog/dent/post on the forums, etc. [00:12] You'll want to take pictures of the jam so you can share those with other Local Teams [00:12] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GlobalBugJam [00:13] if you look on that page you'll see a list of bugs that we've classified from easy to hard. [00:13] jcastro: You mentioned 5-a-day a few minutes ago. I would just like to mention that Daneil Holbach is currently working on improving 5-a-day, and plans to release a new version prior to the Global Bug Jam. [00:13] right [00:13] it'll be easy to just join a team [00:13] instead of having an applet and all that [00:13] cool, i think that was a bit of a barrier when introducing some to 5-a-d [00:13] For your new volunteers, something like "New bugs without a package assigned to them" would be useful [00:14] yeah, that's why it's going away [00:14] you'll just join your loco group in lp, and a 5-a-day group [00:14] and then that's it [00:14] Bugs marked for expiration are also good for beginners [00:14] one can probably check those bugs for days asking the reporter if they still experience the bug. [00:15] For more advanced and intermediate people we have lists as well [00:15] needs-packaging bugs are also pretty easy to triage. [00:15] yep [00:15] You can pair people off, or small groups, or individual, whatever works for your team [00:15] I tend to like pairing off experienced people with new people [00:16] the experienced person won't get as many bugs done, but in the long run teaching their knowledge pays off [00:16] plus since it's face-to-face, you can get alot of tutoring done, and then let the new person improve on their own after the GBJ [00:17] teaching someone to fish vs. giving them a fish kind of thing [00:17] any questions so far? [00:17] Nope [00:17] We also have a video of how to run a bug jam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBY7wfX2jpA [00:17] would it be a good idea to try to get a bug jam of sorts going on during a release party? [00:17] also, all the videos in the developer channel [00:17] those have been ohio's most successful events in terms of attendance [00:17] you could have those running on the projector too while people are doing stuff [00:17] yes [00:18] jacob: I believe that is what the French Loco did too [00:18] while the idea of a bug jam on the mailing lists has been met with a bit of silence [00:18] in fact, we want LoCos to spontaneously run jams [00:18] we also encourage locos to run jams at events [00:19] so while we didn't have internet at the ohio linuxfest we still had a tutorial session on bug best practices, etc. [00:19] (if only there was internet access at OLF, that would be a great place for one) [00:19] yeah [00:19] We didn't try this at my loco last year but we plan to try [00:19] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GlobalBugJam/Bingo [00:19] * nhandler found the greasemonkey script annoying [00:20] you can also think of local prizes or ways of rewarding people who are doing well [00:20] again, don't worry about the actual numbers, worry about having a smooth run event where people are having a good time [00:20] some loco's have jams at pubs, or they might go to a pub after, or whatever [00:20] so it's very much a social thing [00:21] a new volunteered shouldn't feel bummed out if they only get through one bug for example [00:21] every little contribution is appreciated [00:21] i think our (ohio's) main barrier is getting people to *go* to the actual events - plenty show up on irc ;) [00:21] well [00:21] for non-GBJ days you can always do what club ubuntu does [00:22] pick a date on the calendar and just do it in irc. [00:22] sometimes a LoCo might want to pick one thing and work on those bugs [00:22] for example "hey, we all like pidgin, let's focus on that." [00:22] or something [00:22] jcastro: we've been doing that with a bit of success on Friday's, "5-a-day Friday" [00:22] ah, excellent. [00:22] I didn't know that, you should blog that. :D [00:23] it's quieted down recently, but i think i'll poke some people to get it running :P [00:23] jacob: You might also consider turning it into a community-wide Bug Day [00:23] yeah, that's an idea. something for #ubuntu-bugs perhaps? [00:24] whichever way works for your LoCo is encouraged. [00:24] yeah, there are existing bug days [00:24] called hug days [00:24] right [00:24] it might be a good idea to just get your loco started in that [00:24] and just set some small but attainable goals [00:24] like "this cycle we'll do 2 hug days and the GBJ" [00:24] * jacob searches for the next hugday [00:25] February 19 jacob [00:25] nhandler: thanks, that's close [00:25] in our LoCo we really only do the release party and the GBJ as our two main events per cycle [00:25] jacob: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuBugDay/20090219 [00:25] and inbetween people try to do their 5-a-day [00:26] any other questions or ideas? [00:27] What wiki pages would you recommend showing to new contributors at/prior to the GBJ? [00:27] ah [00:27] good question [00:27] just remembered this: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/OhioTeam/5-A-Day-Friday if you're interested in that [00:27] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs [00:28] so we've revamped these pages to be easier to read [00:28] and not so daunting [00:28] jcastro: indeed, those are much more pretty than I remember [00:28] triaging is probably the best thing to get people started on [00:29] It wouldn't hurt at the beginning of the jam for someone to go over a simple bug [00:29] and the documentation [00:29] though it's broken right now, remember staging.launchpad.net is a test instance of lp with test data [00:30] so you can make example bugs in there to help teach people [00:30] without adding noise to the normal bug tracker [00:30] Will staging.launchpad.net be up again by the GBJ? [00:30] that is useful because people can click around and get a hang of it [00:30] ah, another thing - ustream.tv, works out well for demonstrating bugs if you have the right video hardware for streaming [00:30] yeah it's been messed up today [00:31] normally it's up and around though [00:31] hmmm, any other tips? [00:33] We have the Greasemonkey scripts that are very helpfuli [00:33] s/helpfuli/helpful/ [00:33] ah, good pointer [00:34] https://code.edge.launchpad.net/launchpad-gm-scripts [00:34] though I would let the intermediate/advanced users use those [00:34] I have found that explaining GM in the first place can get complicated for people [00:35] I find the karma script very useful. It shows a user's LP name next to their real name. It also shows their karma and certain teams that they are on. This is useful for spotting comments from more experienced users. [00:36] nhandler: +1, i've added other teams to that script (our loco for example, makes it easy to spot team activity) [00:37] that's a good idea [00:38] I am trying to think of other wacky ideas [00:38] but this is pretty straightforward and both your LoCos have been around for a while [00:38] bug jeopardy? "i'll have 'Bugs without a Package' for $500" [00:39] haha [00:39] What would you advise LoCo's that don't really have any experienced bug triagers do to participate in the GBJ? [00:39] nhandler: I always learn by following along [00:39] jcastro: Following along where? In #ubuntu-bugs? [00:39] one thing I find useful is finding a person who is an experienced triager and follow their work [00:39] yep, either in irc or on launchpad [00:39] for example (give me a sec) [00:41] ok so Pedro is a good example of an experienced bug person [00:41] https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/~pvillavi [00:41] that's the list of bugs he's touched [00:41] you can have new people open a bunch of those in their browser [00:41] and see how he does his work [00:41] Most of the people at the top of the 5-a-day list (http://daniel.holba.ch/5-a-day-stats/) are pretty experienced too [00:42] yep [00:42] and also, ubuntu-bugs will be hopping with people [00:42] and of course they will be available to answer questions, etc. [00:42] one thing I find useful for the irc channel [00:42] is to have one person representing the group [00:42] and ask the questions on irc [00:42] and then announce the answer or whatever in the room [00:42] jcastro: Didn't bdmurray create a tag for LP that was used for new triagers to request help? [00:43] that way you don't have people sitting next to each other all asking the same questions. [00:43] hmm, I don't recall that [00:43] but that is a good idea [00:43] I will ask him and then add the info to the bug page [00:43] Thanks a lot jcastro [00:43] wow, that seems like a really great idea now that I think about it [00:44] but at the minimum, if someone is totally lost, having them follow along with someone else or just watching a bug will help them [00:45] bug work can be complicated and frustrating, so don't force it, go at their pace. [00:46] any other ideas or questions? [00:49] well, as always, people can ask questions on the loco lists [00:49] or get ahold of me via jorge@ubuntu.com [00:49] so go forth and conquer bugs! [00:49] if you use KDE, you can go forth and konquer bugs! [00:49] Thanks a lot for giving this great session jcastro ! [00:49] :) [00:49] thank you for coming! [00:50] great session jcastro :) [00:50] happy unix epoch everyone! [00:50] * jacob parties \o/ [00:50] thx jcastro :) [00:52] wow, a fourth person! [00:53] jcastro: I think you had a few people silently watching the session. [00:54] i found out about this channel too late, doh! :) [01:02] IRC Logs for jcastro's session are available here: http://paste.ubuntu.com/117893/ [01:03] handy, tnx [01:05] You're welcome matt [03:20] hmm... === BillyIdle is now known as DreamThief === istaz_ is now known as istaz