Announcing the Third Cohort (2024 Q4) of the WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program

The WordPress Contributor Working Group is thrilled to announce the launch of the third cohort of the WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program, that has kicked off on Monday, October 7th! This program offers newer WordPress enthusiasts  a unique opportunity to engage deeply with the project and make meaningful contributions by pairing them with experienced contributors (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.) for a six-week period.

Who are the Mentees?

This cohort includes over 100 diverse contributors (mentees), each either paired with a 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., involved in a task-focused project under the guidance of multiple mentors, or participating with a broader cohort group. These participants were selected from a pool of 150 applicants worldwide. All applicants should have received an email with the results of their application.

Program Breakdown

WordPress Contributor Mentorship Flowchart

This cohort will span over a six-week period:

  • Weeks 1 and 2 (October 7 – October 18): Kick-off session, initial mentor/mentee check-in, setting contribution goals, and online workshops.
  • Weeks 3 and 4 (October 21 – November 1): Focus on onboarding mentees to their chosen. Make/WordPress teams, with support from team representatives, to make their initial contributions.
  • Weeks 5 and 6 (November 4 – November 15): Finalizing contributions, Wrap up, set a 30-60-90-day goal, and a graduation session.

After these six weeks, mentees will have gained a solid understanding of the WordPress project, contributed to their chosen Make/Teams, and be prepared for continued involvement. Following the success of the pilot and second cohorts, the timing of this cohort is once again aligned with the latest WordPress release (version 6.7), giving all participants the opportunity to help build the latest and greatest edition of WordPress!

Check out the Cohort #3 White Paper for more details on the program.

Our Mentors

The success of this program is largely thanks to our dedicated mentors, who provide group support and guide mentees through their WordPress journey. From a pool of nearly 46 applicants, the following 25 mentors were selected to support these contributors:

Project/GroupMentor(s)
AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)TBD
WordPress 6.7 CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. ContributionsAdam Silverstein (@adamsilverstein)
Olga Glekler (@oglekler)
Sumit Singh (@sumitsingh)
Ajit Bohra (@ajitbohra)
Damon Cook (@colorful-tones)
CommunityAditya Kane (@adityakane)
Steve Mosby (@malgra)
WordPress 6.7 TestingCourtney Robertson (@courane01)
Krupa Nanda (@krupajnanda)
Patrick Lumumba (@lumiblog)
WordPress 6.7 DocumentationEstela Rueda (@estelaris)
Leonardus Nugraha (@leonnugraha)
WordPress 6.7 DesignEstela Rueda (@estelaris)
WordPress 6.7 Support ProjectTör-Björn Fjellner (@tobifjellner)
Faisal Ahammed (@faisalahammad)
Community Themes / Twenty Twenty FiveGanga Kafle (@kafleg)
Ohia T (@ohia)
Shiv Shankar Bhatta (@shivashankerbhatta)
Spanish Community/Polyglots/DocumentationJuan Hernando (@unintended8)
Nilo Velez (@nilovelez)
Javier Casares (@javiercasares)
Josep Moran (@josepmoran)
French Polyglots and French Translation of Learn contentJenny Dupuy (@jdy68)
WordPress 6.7 Core Contributions (Core Tech)Kira Song (@kirasong)
Bangladeshi Polyglots / TrainingMuhibul Haque (@devmuhib)
OpenverseTBD
bbPressbbPress Free, open source software built on top of WordPress for easily creating forums on sites. https://bbpress.org./BuddyPressPatricia BT (@patricia70)
Mathieu Viet (@imath)
John James Jacoby (@johnjamesjacoby)

bbPress/BuddyPress incl the community part = organise the bbPBP 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/.Patricia BT (@patricia70)
SustainabilityTBD
TrainingTBD

Localized Mentorship

In addition to projects, we are providing mentees with additional support through a more localized mentoring experience, thanks to the help of local supporters. Here’s a list of local supporter mentors who will be assisting with the program:


French
Patricia BT (@patricia70), Jenny Dupuy (@jdy68)

Spanish
Juan Hernando (@unintended8), Estela Rueda (@estelaris), Josep Moran (@josepmoran), Nilo Velez (@nilovelez), Alexander Ruiz (@alxrz)

Italian
Matteo Enna (@matteoenna)

Bangladesh
Muhibul Haque (@devmuhib), Nazmul Hasan Robin (@nhrrob)

India
Aditya Kane (@adityakane), Alexander Gounder (@gounder), Yogesh Londhe (@yoga1103), Subhashish Chatterjee (@quizzycal)

Program Facilitators

The following fine folks – active members of the WordPress Contributor Working Group, are helping run this program for six weeks, from October 7th through November 15th: @devmuhib, @estelaris, @harishanker, @javiercasares, @jdy68, @josepmoran, @KafleG, @kirasong, @matteoenna, @nilovelez, @oglekler, @patricia70, @tobifjellner, and @unintended8

Join and Follow Along

In the spirit of openness and collaboration, we invite the WordPress community to follow our cohort’s progress. While not everyone can be assigned a specific mentor, anyone interested is welcome to join the #contributor-mentorship channel on Make/WordPress 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/.. Here, you can participate in public sessions and stay updated on the developments of the WordPress 6.7 release and the broader contributor community.

For future updates on this program, you can check come back to this URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org:
https://make.wordpress.org/community/tag/mentorship-program/ (RSS)

Acknowledgments

This program wouldn’t be possible without the tireless efforts of our mentors, Contributor Working Group members, and everyone involved in organizing and supporting this initiative. Your dedication to fostering growth and learning within the WordPress community is invaluable. Let’s work together to make this cohort a success, enhancing mentorship within the WordPress project and empowering more contributors!

#contributor-working-group #wpcontributors, #mentorship-program #mentorship-cohort-october-2024 #mentorship #contributor-mentorship

+make.wordpress.org/updates/ +make.wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org//project/  +make.wordpress.org/accessibility/ +make.wordpress.org/core/ +make.wordpress.org/cli/ +make.wordpress.org/design/ +make.wordpress.org/mobile/ +make.wordpress.org/polyglots/ +make.wordpress.org/support/ +make.wordpress.org/docs/ +make.wordpress.org/themes/ +make.wordpress.org/training/ +make.wordpress.org/test/ +make.wordpress.org/tv/ +make.wordpress.org/photos/ +make.wordpress.org/hosting/ +make.wordpress.org/openverse/ +make.wordpress.org/sustainability/

WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program Q4 2024: Call for Interest

Please note: The Q4 2024 WordPress Contributor Mentorship: Early call for interest has concluded as on July 15th, 2024, 23:59 UTC. Missed the deadline? No worries! We will be opening up a formal call for mentees by August. Please keep an eye out on this blog for more information.

We are excited to announce an early interest form for the Q4 2024 WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program Cohort! This program connects seasoned WordPress experts with newcomers, offering a fantastic opportunity for mentees to gain hands-on experience contributing to WordPress, while 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. share their expertise and improve their leadership skills. Learn more about our July 2023 Pilot, and our February 2024 cohort.

Following the success of our last cohort, we have received significant interest from community members worldwide about the program at 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 2024. Therefore, we are opening an early call for interest for participants in our next cohort, planned for October-November 2024. Interested participants can pre-register now.

Criteria for Mentees

Whether you are new to WordPress or looking to enhance your skills, this program offers a unique opportunity to learn from experienced contributors. Receive personalized guidance, develop your skills, and network within the WordPress community.
Never contributed before?
You’re STRONGLY invited to apply! 

Criteria for Mentors

If you have experience in WordPress development, design, community engagement, or any other WordPress-related area and wish to guide new contributors, this is your chance to make a significant impact. Through mentoring, give back to the community, enhance your leadership skills, and connect with emerging contributors.

Please note: This is not the official 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./mentee call form. The formal mentor/mentee selection process will open in August 2024. We typically receive many applications for our mentorship program, and by pre-registering now, you increase your chances of being selected.

Call for Interest Deadline: July 15, 2024

Please fill out the form by July 15th, 2024, 23:59 UTC.
Applications for the Early Call for Interest for Mentors and Mentees have closed as on July 15th, 2024. As shared above, a formal call for mentees will open in August. All applications will be informed about their mentorship selection by September 2024. Early applicants will be prioritized for this cohort.

Details of the Q4 2024 Mentorship Program

Like the February 2024 cohort, this cohort will also focus on project-based mentorship. Mentees will have the chance to work on projects related to their area of contribution. The cohort will work closely with the WordPress 6.7 release, giving participants an insider view of the process.

Application Process & Cohort Timeline

  • June 2024: Mentee Interest Form opens
  • June – July 2024: Next cohort structure finalized, and program announced
  • August – September 2024: Mentees/mentors are selected and announced
  • October-November 2024: Mentorship Program.

I hope many of you participate in this exciting journey of learning and collaboration! Please comment on this post if you have any questions.

#contributor-working-group #wpcontributors, #mentorship-program #mentorship-cohort-november-2024 #mentorship #contributor-mentorship

+make.wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org//project/ +make.wordpress.org/updates/

Announcing the Second Cohort (2024 Q1) of the WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program

We are thrilled to share the exciting news about the launch of the second cohort of the WordPress Contributor Mentorship program, starting next week, Monday, February 19th! This program offers a special chance for those enthusiastic about WordPress to immerse themselves in the project and make impactful contributions.

Who Are the Mentees?

This cohort is made up of over 50 diverse contributors, each either matched with a 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. or part of a task-focused project under the guidance of multiple 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.. These participants were chosen from a pool of 76 applicants from around the globe. All those who submitted an application should have an email waiting for them with the application results.

Program Breakdown

This cohort will span over a six-week period:

  • Weeks 1 and 2 (February 19 – March 3): Kick-off session, initial mentor/mentee check-in, setting contribution goals, and online workshops.
  • Weeks 3 and 4 (March 4 – March 17): Focus on onboarding mentees to their chosen Make/WordPress teams, with support from team representatives, to make their initial contributions.
  • Weeks 5 and 6 (March 18 – March 29): Wrap up, set a 30-60-90-day goal, and a graduation session.

After these six weeks, mentees will gain a solid understanding of the WordPress project, contribute to their chosen Make/Teams, and prepare for continued involvement. Following the pilot cohort’s success, this cohort’s timing is again aligned with the WordPress 6.5 release, providing mentees with a firsthand look at the release process of WordPress.

Our Mentors

The success of this program is largely due to our dedicated mentors who provide one-on-one support, guiding mentees through their WordPress journey.

Project/GroupMentor(s)
6.5 DocumentationAnand Upadhyay @anandau14
Bengali Polyglots OnboardingMuhibul Haque @devmuhib
Community ThemesMargarita Cabrera Ramirez @onemaggie
Ganga Kafle @kafleg
Community/Polyglots/SupportArthur Kasirye @thehopemonger
CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.Kira Schroder @kirasong
Anne McCarthy @annezazu
Benjamin Zekavica @benjamin_zekavica
Docs SprintJenni McKinnon @ninianepress
India Event ReactivationAditya Kane @adityakane
Alexander Gounder @gounder
Aravind Ajith @aravindajith
Yogesh Londhe @yoga1103
Learn WordPress Content TranslationJenny Dupuy @jdy68
MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.Steven Dufresne @dufresnesteven
Courtney Robertson @courane01
Photo Directory Reviewer TrainingTopher DeRosia @topher1kenobe
Polyglots & SupportTor-Bjorn Fjellner (Tobi) @tobifjellner
Polyglots Documentation OnboardingEstela Rueda @estelaris
Spanish Community + WPTVNilo Velez @nilovelez
Spanish Community Mentoring and Community OnboardingJuan Hernando @unintended8
Spanish Polyglots OnboardingJosep Morán @josepmoran/
SupportKavya Gokul @properlypurple
Sustainable ContributionPatricia Brun Torre @patricia70
TestOlga Gleckler @oglekler
Pooja Derashri @webtechpooja

Join and Follow Along

In the spirit of openness and collaboration, we invite the WordPress community to follow our cohort’s progress. While not everyone can be assigned a specific mentor,  those interested are welcome to join the #contributor-mentorship channel on Make/WordPress 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/.. Here, you can engage in public sessions and stay informed about the developments of the WordPress 6.5 release and the broader contributor community.

For future updates on this program, you can check come back to this URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org:
https://make.wordpress.org/community/tag/mentorship-program/ (RSS)

Acknowledgments

This program couldn’t happen without the tireless efforts of our mentors, the Contributor Working Group, and all involved in organizing and supporting this initiative. Your dedication to fostering growth and learning within the WordPress community is invaluable. Let’s make this cohort a success together to enhance mentorship within the WordPress project and empower more contributors!

@adityakane @angelasjin @hellosatya @javiercasares @KafleG @kirasong @nao @oglekler @onealtr @patricia70 @ratneshsonar @unintended8 @webtechpooja @yoga1103 @coachbirgit @josepmoran @harishanker @alexcu21 @alexdeborba @annezazu @askdesign @gusa @nilovelez @tobifjellner @tokyobiyori @topher1kenobe @voboghure @ninianepress @malgra @soberbanda @anandau14 @devmuhib @leogopal @matteoenna @lumiblog @krupajnanda

#wpcontributors, #5ftf, #contributor-working-group, #five-for-the-future, #mentorship-cohort-july-2023, #mentorship-program #contributor-mentorship-program

Contributor Working Group: Mentorship Chat Agenda | October 19th 07:00 UTC (APAC/EMEA) and 16:00 UTC (AMER)

It’s time for the next WordPress Contributor Working Group Mentorship chat. We’re meeting this Thursday (October 19th) to continue our work on improving the contribution experience of WordPress. Check out our launch post and past chats for more information on the working group and its plans.

Meeting Times

We will be holding these chats in multiple time zones to make accommodations for as many time zones as possible. These chats will continue to be held on the Third Thursday of every month.

Note: We will only be hosting the APAC/EMEA chat this week, as we don’t have a host for the Americas chat yet. If you can host the chat in the Americas time, let me (@nao) know. The Americas chat was originally planned for 2023-10-19 16:00 UTC (Google Calendar link).

In case a host is not found for the Americas chat, group members in the Americas are encouraged to participate in the EMEA/APAC chat asynchronously.


The chat will be on the #community-team channel in Make/WordPress Slack. Use this .ics file for calendar entries to not miss it. It’s also on the Make/Meetings calendar. Anyone keen on enhancing WordPress contributor experience or developing mentorship programs is welcome!

Pinging some of our active working group members as well as facilitators/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. from our latest mentorship program pilot:

@adityakane, @askdesign, @carl-alberto, @casiepa, @cbringmann, @coachbirgit, @courane01, @desrosj, @foosantos, @@gusa, @harishanker, @javiercasares, @jeffpaul, @jominney, @juliarosia, @kafleg, @leogopal, @leonnugraha, @matteoenna, @mayukojpn, @meher, @milana_cap, @kirasong, @mrfoxtalbot, @mysweetcate, @nao, @ninianepress, @nomadskateboarding, @oglekler, @onealtr, @patricia70, @realloc, @sereedmedia, @st810amaze, @sumitsingh, @sz786, @thehopemonger, @thewebprincess, @topher1kenobe, @tobifjellner, @unintended8, @webtechpooja, @yoga1103

Agenda

Following up on our last chat, we will focus on planning the next iteration of our mentorship program!

1. Welcome, introductions, and check-ins
How is everyone doing? New members joining the group can also introduce themselves.

2. Planning for the Next Mentorship Cohort
In our last chat, there was a consensus that our group should do a cohort along with WordPress 6.5 release (likely in Q1 2024). Let’s discuss the second cohort’s structure, timeline, and milestones in this chat.

Feedback to the draft plan doc (put together based on previous chats) is welcome any time!

3. Call for Volunteers
Are you interested in building the mentorship program? Express your interest in joining the team to build the mentorship program’s next edition.

4. Questions, thoughts, and open floor!
If we still have time after all that excellent discussion, we’ll open up the floor for discussing mentorship broadly and our program!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

#wpcontributors, #contributor-mentorship, #contributor-working-group, #mentorship-programs, #mentorship-chat, #mentorship-chat-agenda

Recap of the Contributor Working Group’s Mentorship Chat on September 21, 2023

In attendance: @adityakane, @coachbirgit, @gusa, @harishanker, @kafleg, @leogopal, @matteoenna, @mayukojpn, @kirasong, @nao, @ninianepress, @oglekler, @onealtr, @patricia70, @sereedmedia, @tobifjellner, @topher1kenobe, @webtechpooja, @yoga1103

Notes: @nao

Agenda: https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/09/19/contributor-working-group-mentorship-chat-agenda-september-21st-0700-utc-apac-emea-and-1600-utc-amer/

Meeting Start

APAC/EMEA: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1695279617297589
AMER: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1695312003171489

Summary

Based on the conversation, here are some takeaways from the meetings:

  • We should try doing the next cohort alongside 6.5
  • The next cohort size should be bigger
  • We should put out a call for 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. along with mentees
  • We should try to include more Make/Teams in the process
  • We should revisit the process of mentorship, add more documentation, and processes
  • Our project management tool will be our GitHub Project

Pending Tasks from our Past Cohort

These pending tasks were discussed, and additional feedback was provided.

Training Team’s Onboarding Process & Guide Program

@leogopal brought up the Training Team’s Learning Pathway project and suggested that we work on creating different pathways for contributors to meet their interested roles.

@gusa shared @piyopiyofox’s comment in the Refreshing the contributor pipeline discussion, where she said the Training Team onboarding program is highly successful and can be adapted to other Make Teams, process-wise.

Planning the Next Mentorship Cohort

Timing

Many shared their preference for the next cohort tining to be after some break, possibly alongside of 6.5 release. “As soon as possible” was also mentioned.

Cohort Size

@nao @harishanker @adityakane @tobifjellner said the cohort size could be larger next time. No mention in the exact number, except @adityakane said doubling the size (= 26 mentees).

@tobifjellner suggested multiple mentees per 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. could also be possible.

Centralize project management

Everyone agreed that we need a better project management tool, and using the GitHub Project for the working group that @leogopal had set up earlier is a good idea.

@coachbirgit shared that the discussion feature on 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 can be useful for the group, so @nao enabled it: https://github.com/WordPress/wp-contributor-working-group-tracker/discussions

Working alongside a release

@nao @harishanker @coachbirgit @tobifjellner @kirasong @sereedmedia said running the next cohort along the 6.5 release would give enough preparation time for the working group.

@sereedmedia: “I like that the cohort could get exposure to the release process, regardless of what team they are on. it touches all the teams in some way, and the releases are why we are all here at the end of the day.”

@adityakane said intentionally decoupling the timing from release could help new contributors see non-coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development parts of the project.

@ninianepres: “having a cohort alongside one release it super great and less overwhelming. But also, it’s worth taking a look at when these releases are scheduled just so we don’t feel we’re rushed like the last cohort”

Duration/Timeframe

Some suggestions were brought up about the duration and timeframe: increasing the 4-week period, separating out the general onboarding parts, and spending four weeks on the specific team onboarding.

@sereedmedia made a point about reviewing survey feedback before making a concrete decision.

Things to change for the next cohort

Additional comments:

@kafleg: “Strictly monitoring and reporting the updates, and Mentee rating from Mentor and monitor”

@coachbirgit: “Template for a 90-day plan as follow-up for the mentees after the cohorts end.”

@sereedmedia: “Bug scrub & 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/. as a sprint, developing actionable contribution goals for each team that would be suitable for a “first issue”

@oglekler: “I can make a bug scrub meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. or something”

@ninianepress: “Consider having facilitators initiate the onboarding process, followed by mentors taking over/have different levels where junior & senior mentors or facilitators come in at different times; create checklists and forms for mentors as well this time and not just mentees; more clarity around defining the roles”

@adityakane: “Clearer framework, Github to project manage.”

Open floor/FYI

#wpcontributors, #contributor-mentorship, #contributor-working-group, #mentorship-programs, #mentorship-chat, #mentorship-chat-agenda #mentorship-chat-recap

#mentorship-chat-recap

Contributor Working Group: Mentorship Chat Agenda | September 21st 07:00 UTC (APAC/EMEA) and 16:00 UTC (AMER)

It’s time for the next Mentorship chat of the WordPress Contributor Working Group. We’re meeting this Thursday (September 21st) to continue our work on improving the contribution experience of WordPress. For more information on the working group and its plans, check out our launch post and our past chats.

Meeting times

We will be holding these chats in multiple time zones to make accommodations for as many time zones as possible. These chats will continue to be held on the Third Thursday of every month.

The chat will be held on the #community-team channel of the Make/WordPress Slack. Here’s the link to a handy `.ics` file, which contains calendar entries for our upcoming chat, so you won’t miss it. These chats have also been added to the Make/Meetings calendar. Everyone interested in improving the contributor experience in WordPress and building future mentorship programs is welcome to attend!

Pinging some of our active working group members as well as facilitators/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. from our latest mentorship program pilot:

@adityakane, @askdesign, @carl-alberto, @casiepa, @cbringmann, @coachbirgit, @courane01, @desrosj, @foosantos, @francina, @harishanker, @javiercasares, @jeffpaul, @jominney, @juliarosia, @kafleg, @leogopal, @leonnugraha, @meher, @milana_cap, @kirasong, @mrfoxtalbot, @mysweetcate, @nao, @nomadskateboarding, @onealtr, @oglekler, @patricia70, @patriciabt, @realloc, @sereedmedia, @st810amaze, @sumitsingh, @sz786, @thehopemonger, @thewebprincess, @topher1kenobe, @tobifjellner, @unintended8, @webtechpooja, @yoga1103

Agenda

In the last Mentorship Chat, we evaluated the pilot cohort of the Contributor Mentorship program. 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. US Community Summit had some relevant discussions, and notes were published:

This week, let’s start planning for our second iteration of the mentorship program.

1. Welcome, introductions, and check-ins
How is everyone doing? New members joining the group can also introduce themselves.

2. Pending Tasks from our Past Cohort
We have a few more pending tasks that need to be done from our past cohort: the participant survey and contributor badge. Let’s quickly share where we are and what help is needed.

3. Planning the Next Mentorship Cohort
It’s clear that our past cohort has been a success, and there has been positive feedback on bringing up a new cohort. How do we go about it? Let’s discuss our next steps: timing, cohort size, project management process, focus/teams, or anything else relevant.

4. Questions, thoughts, and open floor!
If we still have time after all that intense discussion, we’ll open up the floor for discussing mentorship broadly and our program!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

#wpcontributors, #contributor-mentorship, #contributor-working-group, #mentorship-programs, #mentorship-chat, #mentorship-chat-agenda

Recap of the Contributor Working Group’s Mentorship Chat on August 18, 2023

In attendance: @adityakane @oglekler @yoga1103  @st810amaze @onealtr @tobifjellner @javiercasares @sereedmedia @mysweetcate  @harishanker @patriciabt @webtechpooja @peiraisotta @coachbirgit @sumitsingh @kafleg @topher1kenobe @desrosj @matteoenna @ninianepress @wpdelower @kartiks16 @bycecaelia @sunitarai @unintended8 @jominney

Notes: @harishanker

Agenda: https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/08/16/contributor-working-group-mentorship-chat-agenda-august-17th-0700-utc-apac-emea-and-1600-utc-amer/ 

Meeting Start
EMEA: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1692255601787449
AMER: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1692288003311649

Evaluating our Mentorship Program’s Pilot Cohort

We started off by thanking all group members for their contributions in making the program a success, and celebrated some of our major wins such as being featured in WP Tavern and the Torque Magazine’s Press this podcast. Key wins for the program include:

  • 50 applicants applied to the program, of which 13 were selected as mentees.
  • 12 participants completed the required Learn WordPress courses – at an 89% completion rate.
  • 11 participants formally graduated from the program so far
  • The program was held alongside WordPress 6.3 and participants got a bird’s eye view of the WordPress release.
  • Two mentees got coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. contribution badges for their work.
  • Together, mentees contributed nearly 2000 strings to multiple locales.
  • Contributions were made to several other teams including Training, Docs, Photos, Support, Test, and Training.
  • We have prepared reusable training materials (onboarding videos) for several Make/Teams as part of the program which are available for everyone. 

Additionally, even though only 13 mentees formally participated in the program, several others joined along as our program’s progress was broadcast in the public #contributor-mentorship.

Next, group members were asked to share feedback on the program, especially along the lines of what did and did not work well, what could be improved, our biggest wins and opportunities, among others.

What worked well

  • @coachbirgit: “The interest into the pilot program was overwhelmingly high and I loved to see how many workshops were provided on short hand for this besides the already prepared material on learn.wordpress.org
  •  @adityakane: “That it had enough room to be not over structured helped participants to find their way and also feed their curiosity along with knowing how to contribute.” 
  • @tobifjellner: “We gathered energy, feedback and insights. Created something new and welcoming in several “make” teams.”
  • @kafleg: “The biggest achievement is we did it. As I said before, not matter how many contributors we’ll get in the long term, but we believe that it will be a basement for many contributors.”
  • @javiercasares: “As a whole, I think it was a great pilot program and mentees are happy to participated.”
  • @oglekler: “ I am really pleased about our mentees, amazing people. And I am eager to do it again. ✨ Timing was perfect when the whole program went alongside the release to its finish nose to nose.”
  •  @ninianepress: “I loved how we all came together on this and so many people stepped up and did so much to make this happen, like you @harishanker and so many! Thank you!! I loved how mentees got a Google doc with a checklist on what to accomplish. It made things SO much easier as a 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. since there was a clear path. My mentee was super awesome and super self-motivated 🎉 so it made things vastly easier for me. I also loved how there were Zoom check-ins.”
  • @mysweetcate: “ the program seemed to work exactly as needed and intended. I built a bond with my person, was able to encourage her as she encountered the bumps of getting started, and she was able to find her way to areas of contribution that she enjoyed.”


What did not work well about the program?

  • @coachbirgit: “The zoom sessions or upcoming workshops were often announced at too short notice. The 90-day-plan template would have been nice to have on hand before the cohort ended. (or I may have missed the where-abouts)”
  • @adityakane: “Cannot think of anything specific. Maybe it felt hurried to me, and since it was the pilot cohort, there were no follow up cohorts for someone to skip midway and join another one.”
  • @tobifjellner: “People have more or less, and different hours available. Huge kudo to Hari for the energy of running stuff twice every time. Still: perhaps we need to make more of this work well in an async setting.”
  • @oglekler: “The last to weeks were very impacted with events, I am wondering if we can have something like “Part 2: Advanced program” For Core it would be nice to have at least 1 more dedicated session – about creating a patch and 1 video tutorial about local envs installation (it will be quite boring as an online session and need to cover different OSs).” 

 What could be improved about the program?

  • @coachbirgit: “It would be nice to have a learning path especially for the mentorship cohorts and a calendar view of the live sessions in advance”
  • @adityakane: “We haven’t been using 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/ for this Working Group – and we really should. Also it could be a nice onboarding for mentees to get used to using Github in our spaces.”
  • @tobifjellner: “It felt a bit rushed in time. And I think a slightly bigger group might have created more energy. Introduction workshops to various teams would need to be planned a bit more beforehand. At least my introduction (to Polyglots) had very low attendance when it happened, but I hope the recording will still help more people to get started.”
  • @javiercasares: “I think we need to have like, 2 line of work. One, the things we know (like the onboardings and everything set up before the new cohort starts) and, the other is the “real-time” events. The first one need to be exceptionally organized (I thing we improvised a little with that). All good, but some place to improve 😀 Having the calendar helped a lot 😛 (at least for me, my agenda is crazy and helped me to set my personal / profesional meetings)”
  • @topher1kenobe: “I would love some more “definition of success”.  I don’t think itll be the same for each mentee either, it’s something to be determined by the mentor and mentee together. For example, I only met with my mentee a few times, and felt like maybe I wasn’t doing a good job.  But I was actually fulfilling her needs as she saw them quite perfectly. but I didn’t KNOW that.  So establishing what Success looks like near the beginning would be good.”
  • @mysweetcate: “I would recommend giving access to the learning content in stages. My person did an excellent job of getting everything done early, but then was kind of waiting around for next steps (which she and I discussed). Dripping the content out more could help keep momentum up.”
  • @bycecaelia: “It would also help some of us cough cough people like myself lol to not get too overwhelmed with too much info at once (and might help with storing things in long-term memory? maybe)”
  • @kafleg: “About the suggestion, we need to followup the mentees what they are doing, if they need any help or guidance etc.”

What are our biggest wins from the program?

  • @coachbirgit: “The awareness of seasoned contributors that new contributors might struggle to find their way without guidance. The program displayed were we can improve our contributor documentation.”
  • @adityakane: “Looks like all the mentees responded very well to the learning courses and also did some sort of contributions. So that was a big win.”
  • @tobifjellner: “It’s great that we start thinking project-wide on how to make it easier to discover contributing and getting started.”
  • @oglekler: “The biggest win is yet to come. We need to stay in touch with our mentees and make this sustainable by itself.”

Pending steps for our mentorship program
Our cohort has a few pending action items left: 

  • Share a post-event survey for mentees and 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. (@nao @sereedmedia and @ninianepress are working on it
  • Create a draft contribution plan document to encourage mentees to continue ongoing contributions.
  • Create and assign badges to mentors, mentees, and facilitators’ WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ profiles (we already have a tracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. request for badges and are waiting for the MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. team to help us with this). 
  • Follow-up with mentees after three months to check-in and see how they are doing. 

@ninianepress @sereedmedia @adityakane and @javiercasares offered to help out with these tasks.

Next Steps for our Working Group

Since the pilot is over, the group has decided to start working on next steps. We explored the next project(s) we should focus on, and got the following responses from group members:

  • @oglekler: “We can plan the next program and Advanced program(s) for different teams. We can start on October 11 and finish the day after release, November 8th Hopefully we will be able to make the full schedule and plans beforehand.”
  • @coachbirgit:
    • “I’d love to see a dedicated handbook section for facilitators, mentors and mentees. Since its an overarching program, I wonder if there would be a good place to create  a handbook on make/Projects as the other teams have. This will also help to run local editions
    • I’d imagine having a mentorship section in each make/Team handbook referring to team-specific mentorship actions and activities
    • we should definitely do another cohort this year. I imagine at least one each quarter of the year for a global mentorship cohort.”
  • @kafleg: “I see the community in Japan is organizing the community-building workshop. I think we can communicate with the local community to do some meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. especially focused on contribution and mentorship programs. Every local community has an experienced contributor who can guide the new contributors. We can manage some credits or attribution (like giving badges). We need to get involved in the local community to make it successful. P.S. We are doing a webinar weekly basis on how to contribute. We can run something similar in every local communities. Contribution is always proactive. But as community leaders, we can show them some chocolate and cookies to motivate them.
  • @oglekler: “Possibly some materials can be provided to local meetups for translation and adaptation, like slides or scripts for the talk “
  • @adityakane: “I agree with @kafleg
    • We could start making some plans on outreach to local communities with a focus on involving students.
    • We could also increase our focus on “skill development” as a vital part of career development for people getting involved or contributing (especially in this economic climate it seems like an oppurtunity)
    • On things we can do right away:
      • Mentor Program handbook
      • A mentorship program landing page
      • Plans to have several more cohorts – if we are planning one — maybe we should plan two side by side — one belayed by 2-3 weeks and see how that dynamic plays off.”
  • @javiercasares: “About the “local” contributions, I think the main problem will be having people for “all the teams”. For example, doing the global explanation (the two first weeks) will be easy, but we will have some limitations about the teams. In Spain, for example, I think there won’t be any problem with Polyglots (also, trying to expand not only to Spanish, but Catalan, Euskera, Galego, Asturiano, Aragonese…), There are key people who knows about some teams, but we will depend on those key people (AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility), Design, Documentation…) and that may be the stopper… Probably we should have like a mentoring for mentors  so we can have like a quick understand on what we can ask for mentors to do, timing. The students part is one of the reason we are creating an Association in Spain, so we can “officially” approach schools and everything, bacause if you don’t have have an organization, you can do proactically anything with them ”
  • @mysweetcate: “I am definitely in favor of another cohort. Particularly with WCUSWCUS WordCamp US. The US flagship WordCamp event. happening and likely to spark new contributor interest.”
  • @ninianepress: “What if we kept up a regular rotation and kept a waiting list. We could just keep bringing people through the program for who ever wants to do it. I think a doc where we collect feedback and ideas async is a great idea for next steps. To bring this to local communities, what about doing something similar to Apple and their Genius Bar in their stores. At local meetups, we can have a designated mentor going to onboard people into the program. Maybe sort of similar to tables at 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/. if the meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. is large enough. I agree. I think if we set up regular, planned cohorts on a regular rotation, it would be so great! 
  • @sereedmedia: “IMO cohort-based instead of on-demand is better for outcomes and sustainability.

Questions thoughts and Open Floor

@coachbirgit highlighted work happening on the DEIB working group, and asked for help from the contributor working group on creating a primer for the mentorship program a on how it applies to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. She is hosting a session on the same at the Community Summit, and has shared an agenda for preparation. Remote participation is also welcome in 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/. on the #deib-working-group Slack channel – details can be found in the agenda task issue in GitHub

The Contributor Working Group is also considering an informal meeting at 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. US on the contributor day (August 24th). 

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#mentorship-chat, #mentorship-chat-recap