Recap of the Contributor Working Group’s Mentorship Chat on July 18th, 2024

Agenda: https://make.wordpress.org/community/2024/07/16/contributor-working-group-chat-agenda-july-18th-0700-utc-apac-emea-and-1600-utc-amer/

Meeting links (SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.): APAC/EMEA

Host and Notes: @harishanker

In Attendance:
@harishanker (host) + @coachbirgit @eboxnet @gusaus @javiercasares @josepmoran @kirasong @lighthouse79 @matteoenna @meher @nao @ninanepress @oglekler @oneal @patricia70 @rcreators @rfluethi @rogermedia @tobifjellner

Note: On getting feedback from the community that the AMER timing of our chat was a bit off, we did an experiment where AMER folks could join the chat asynchronously, but it did not work out as planned, unfortunately. We will be resuming regular EMEA and AMER chats going forward from next week.

Notes

Program Updates

Call for Mentees Closes

The early call for mentees for the Q4 2024 WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program concluded on July 15, 2024. The program received 54 mentee applications from 35 cities and 20 countries, along with 30 mentorEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. applications from 10 countries and 19 cities. Significant interest was noted in the CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Team and Plugins team, with 17 and 21 mentee applications respectively. Full application details were shared with the working group for evaluation.

In our chat, we took a detailed look at the applications. There was clearly a higher interest in the Community, Polyglots, and Photos teams from mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. compared to mentees. We also discussed the higher number of mentee applicants for the Plugins team, questioning whether applicants were more interested in creating plugins rather than contributing to the Plugins team’s work. A suggestion was made to separate the Core Team into distinct options: Core, Core Test, and Editor (GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/).

Five for the Future Handbook Update

A new section was added to the Five for the Future handbook, offering guidance on how contributors can pitch Five for the Future to their employers. This update, contributed by @matteoenna, was inspired by his own experience of securing sponsorship from his company while being a mentee in the program: https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/handbook/organization-pledge-guide/pitch-five-for-the-future-to-your-employer/

Mentorship Program Planning

Based on discussions from the past chats, we put together an initial plan for the first cohort, including documentation.  The goal of creating this document at an early stage is to create a clear, cohesive, and transparent plan for our initial cohort of the mentorship program helping us to create a more structured and systematic mentoring experience. Here’s a draft of the plan that was shared: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uatuObmi0iZyAC_bBSiGvAMoXV7UFZosPJyqRCySi38/edit

A draft project plan for the next cohort was shared, outlining phases from planning and cohort selection to The plan includes structured onboarding and training sessions, with a goal of establishing a replicable mentorship program format. The plan is based on the current WordPress 6.7 release plan.

Program Duration and Phases

  • Phase 1: Planning (June-July 2024)
    • Close Early Mentee Applications by July 15
    • Create a detailed project plan and white paper
    • Develop mentor and mentee documentation and guidelines
    • Define cohort selection criteria
    • Finalize facilitators and create vetting groups for mentors/mentees
    • Outreach for the mentorship program
  • Phase 2: Cohort Selection & Program Building (August–September 2024)
    • Open call for mentors/mentees
    • Finalize mentor/mentee selection and inform them
    • Provide pre-event orientations and training
    • Create the mentorship Slack channel
  • Phase 3: Mentorship Program (October 7 – November 15 2024)
    • Week 1: Welcome and introductions
    • Week 2: Onboarding and release process familiarization
    • Weeks 3-5: Project focus and progress
    • Week 6: Release week and project wrap-up
  • Phase 4: Graduation & Retrospective (November 2024)
    • Graduation call and post-event survey
    • Analyze survey results and share retrospective

Program Goals

  • Establish a replicable mentorship program format
  • Document all aspects of the mentorship program
  • Achieve impactful contributions to WordPress
  • Ensure at least 25% of mentees contribute to big picture goals-related projects

Major Changes from Previous Cohorts

  • Use GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ Project for centralized management
  • Pre-scheduled live onboarding and training sessions as much as possible

Discussion

We had a discussion on the Mentorship Program and some excellent feedback was shared highlighting the importance of documentation and outreach to local communities.

Broad Suggestions

The team discussed several key points for improving the mentorship program. They emphasized the importance of documentation and suggested setting a 25% contribution goal. The need for outreach to local communities and the inclusion of local cohorts was highlighted. An introductory session before the final team selection was proposed, along with the flexibility for mentees to switch teams if needed. The conversation also covered the importance of planning for translations and setting an application deadline to accommodate vacations in Europe. The overall focus was on structured introductory sessions, local outreach, and careful planning for the mentorship program’s success.

Program Dates

The team discussed potential dates for the mentorship program, suggesting October 7 – November 15, 2024, to align with the release week and avoid overlapping with WCUSWCUS WordCamp US. The US flagship WordCamp event.. Concerns were raised about this timeline starting too late for optimal contributions to the 6.7 release. An earlier start, like September 30, was proposed for better alignment with the release cycle. Additionally, the idea of bringing a few early applicants as mentees to follow the entire release was considered, which could increase their chances of contributing effectively. The team agreed to finalize the best dates to balance program needs and core involvement.

Opening the Formal Call for Mentees

The team discussed how to combine early and later mentee applications for the mentorship program. One suggestion was to pair mentors and mentees initially, and if any mentees are left without mentors, issue a specific call for the required mentors closer to the start date. The challenge is balancing the early interest sparked by WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Europe with the promise of a later call. Another idea proposed was to double-check early applicants’ interest before opening the standard invitation. Additionally, the importance of a longer, more structured program to build strong mentor-mentee bonds was emphasized, highlighting that ongoing support and camaraderie are crucial for effective mentorship.

Mini Cohort Starting Early?

A suggestion was made to pre-select up to five early applicants as mentees to follow the entire 6.7 release, starting with the Alpha phase, allowing them to make more significant contributions. This idea was well-received, especially if the mentees seem ready and mentors are available. Another suggestion was to include these mentees in the mentorship planning and documentation process. It was proposed that a “bridge mentor” could be appointed to explain the various aspects of the release as they happen, helping to navigate the complex release operations and enriching the overall experience for everyone involved.

Discussing Program Next Steps

We took some time to discuss next steps in the mentorship program:

Cohort Selection Criteria

Suggestions included prioritizing motivation, desire to learn, and ensuring mentees do not already have connections within the community. It was agreed that previous criteria used should be maintained, but adding a multilingual aspect would be beneficial to address language barriers. It was also noted that mentees should have some prior contribution experience, and mentors should be well-connected within the community. Emphasizing a safe and supportive environment for non-native English speakers was highlighted as essential for effective mentorship. The goal is to offer a more multilingual and globalized version of the mentorship program to better support diverse contributors.

Cohort Size

Participants debated whether to expand the cohort size to 100 or keep it smaller. It was agreed that the number of mentors available would determine the cohort size. A 1:2 mentor-to-mentee ratio was suggested as ideal, with a potential adjustment to 1:3 if needed. Additionally, the idea of creating a mini French cohort was proposed and received positive feedback, acknowledging the presence of Francophone members in the group. The overall consensus was to scale the cohort size based on mentor availability while ensuring effective mentorship.

Working with Projects

One participant suggested organizing an online Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/. for bbPressbbPress Free, open source software built on top of WordPress for easily creating forums on sites. https://bbpress.org., potentially expanding it to include BuddyPress. The idea received support, and plans were made to coordinate and organize the event. Another participant highlighted the involvement of various teams such as Polyglots, plugins, themes, and learning in parallel operations with the release. The tech leads expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with the mentorship program during the 6.7 release, emphasizing the potential for cross-team projects and enhanced coordination.

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