Initiatives/Mentored Projects 2024

This wiki page is a proposal for a new Community Initiative: Mentored Projects 2024. This proposal is directed to the Fedora Council for review.

Purpose

Vision

The Fedora community is renowned for its Mentored Project programs. Mentees/interns and Mentors know what is expected of them entering a Fedora Mentored Project and have a smooth onboarding process with Fedora Mentored Projects.

Mission

The Mentored Projects team improves the overall onboarding experience for Fedora Mentored Projects by equipping participants with role handbooks, by creating community spaces for mentors to connect with each other, and by advocating the new role handbooks and community spaces.

Objective Leads

• Co-Lead: Smera Goel
• Co-Lead: Fernando F. Mancera
• Executive Sponsor: Justin W. Flory

Note: Smera & Fernando would share one vote in Council votes.

Time-frame

Targeted completion within one month after Flock 2024 (i.e. September 2024).

The success of this Initiative may or may not spur on a new follow-on Initiative after the completion of this Initiative.

Logic Model

Visual

Last updated on 21 November 2023

Expanded (full text)

Inputs

• Budget for Outreachy internships (i.e. $24k USD for three interns).
• Budget for producing new swag.
• Our wonderful co-leads! Fernando, Smera.
• Fedora Council executive sponsor. Justin.
• All the people involved in mentored-projects in the past, Marie, Sumantro, Vipul, Akashdeep.. (Existing Mentors, SIG POCs etc)
• Mentors for projects in the Fedora umbrella.
  • Reach out to different teams/SIGs during the Initiative. So, we find the mentors as we go.
    • Python SIG??
    • Design Team.
    • Websites and Apps Team.
  • CentOS via Shaun McCance
  • NetworkManager via Fernando Fernandez Mancera
    • Desktop engineering @ Red Hat/RHEL, who work upstream first in Fedora
    • PipeWire, Anaconda installer, GNOME integration with Fedora, Linux power management
  • Red Hat IT working on Fedora CSB. Identifying relevant projects that align with Red Hat IT needs and Fedora community goals.
  • Fedora edition teams: Fedora Server WG, Fedora Workstation WG, Fedora CoreOS
  • Fedora Infrastructure Team (via Red Hat CPE)
  • Podman Desktop via Máirín Duffy
  • Mindshare Teams: CommOps, Marketing, Podcast, DEI Team, Accessibility WG
  • Past Outreachy interns who want to mentor.
• Other projects that are successfully mentoring.

Activities

• Identify current challenges and needs of mentors by interviewing specific personas, e.g. past org admins and mentors.
  • 1:1 outreach with specific stakeholders identified under Inputs.
  • Research other open source communities and how they participate in Mentored Programs. Compare this research to our plan.
• Collect feedback from interview rounds in a HackMD pad.
• Identify mentoring advice and tips from external resources that already exist.
• Draft content for the Fedora Docs Mentored Projects website (from HackMD/Google Docs to Fedora Docs GitLab Merge Requests).
  • Reviews on new/changed content from the relevant stakeholders.
  • New page for upcoming programs that Fedora is participating in.
  • Historical reference of programs we participated in the past.
  • Research how localization is supposed to work for Fedora Docs pages. Set up localization for Mentored Project docs.
  • Translate the “Accepted Intern” page to 2-3 non-English languages.
• Write Community Blog and Fedora Discussion posts about the role handbooks.
  • Share the role handbooks in other team channels.
  • Mindshare Committee Matrix room and Fedora Discussion tag.
• Regular updates at Fedora Council meetings about Initiative progress.
• Present at the Fedora Mentor Summit about the handbooks and future plans.
• Write Fedora Magazine and/or Community Blog articles calling for project proposals in the next Outreachy round. Include key deadlines.
• Present at FOSDEM 2024, Flock 2024, and possibly other conferences about the Initiative and our results.
• Create multimedia formats about our work, improvements, and changes (e.g. infographics and/or videos).
• Follow up with past mentees about their mentorship experience and where they are now.
• Organize the Mentored Project Showcase at Flock 2024 (to “showcase” the interns and celebrate the mentor/mentee relationships).

Outputs

• Documentation: Role handbook with four pages for Fedora Mentored Projects community.
  • Organization admins
  • Project mentors
  • Accepted interns (localized in 2-3 non-English languages)
  • Mentored Projects rep to Mindshare Committee
• Internships: 3-4 Outreachy internships in 2024.
• Mentors: Each Mentored Project mentor comes from a different team/SIG/WG of Fedora.
• Community: Mentors have a private, safe space to communicate with other mentors (e.g. Fedora Chat).
• Swag: One new special-edition swag item is introduced in the Fedora swag catalog, for mentors only.
• Recognition: All Mentored Project mentors are interviewed for the Fedora Community Blog.
• Onboarding: The 2024 Mentored Project intern batch is introduced in a Fedora Community Blog article.
• Flock: The Mentored Projects team proposes and organizes a Mentored Project showcase at Flock 2024.
• Storytelling: Past interns are interviewed about their career progress, and their updates are shared with their Fedora mentors.

Outcomes

• Fedora Mentored Projects are better organized. Organization admins have clear, established pathways for executing an Outreachy round.
• Fedora Mentors have access to resources, information, and connections to succeed as mentors. Mentors feel supported.
• The pool of mentors for Fedora Mentored Projects is growing. Mentors feel like stakeholders of their projects and Fedora Mentored Projects.
• Prospective interns can easily discover what programs Fedora is participating in and when.
• Improvements to Fedora Mentored Projects docs are reviewed and addressed promptly.
• A culture of recognition for mentoring is encouraged.

Stakeholders

Initiative Team

The Initiative Co-Leads and Executive Sponsor form a temporary working group dedicated to these specific tasks:

1. Create role handbooks.
2. Promote the role handbooks and Fedora's Mentored Projects portfolio.
3. Organize, lead, and support the Outreachy mentorship cycle in 2024.
4. Encourage a positive mentoring culture in Fedora by telling and sharing stories of mentoring from our community.

Mindshare Committee

The TTF and the initiative will be guided with assistance from the Mindshare Committee, which will offer advice and conduct regular check-ins during their scheduled Mindshare meetings.

This could also support the eventual revival of the Fedora Mindshare Committee in 2024.

Design Team

Develop one new special-edition swag item is introduced in the Fedora swag catalog, for mentors only. In addition, helping with the branding of the Mentored Projects initiative.

Translations Team

Translate role handbooks into various key languages once it has been completed.

Note: Do we want this or is English enough? There can be mentees that do not speak English according to Outreachy documentation.

History

• 2023-11-21: Wiki page created. Largely imported from HackMDs and Google Docs.