While the FSE Outreach Program enables folks to contribute to testing efforts directly, another important aspect of contributions not quite covered is facilitating calls for testing themselves. This post invites folks into that aspect of contribution with the Test Team to expand the testing efforts across the project. To better understand what this work entails, check out the recently overhauled handbook page on “How to facilitate a Call for Testing”.
Why is this important to do?
It’s critical to the success of the project that feedback regularly comes in from daily users to help shape the direction WordPress goes. The FSE Outreach Program can only test so much though and there are many parts of the WordPress experience that need feedback. As the scale of WordPress increases, our testing efforts need to follow.
This is an effort to do exactly that by empowering others to contribute in increasing feedback loops, stabilizing features, and bringing the great WordPress community along with the work being done. Finally, the more folks who feel comfortable facilitating testing efforts, the more potential there are for future outreach programs around areas you know and love (here’s looking at you, Media Library).
What might this look like?
Helping facilitate testing can look like many things and there’s room for your creativity. Here are some examples of how this could work:
- Run your own testing effort based on what might need testing. This could be facilitated or self-serve (read the handbook page for more info).
- Help with one aspect of a call for testing in the FSE Outreach Program. For example, you could write the summary.
- Co-run a call for testing for the FSE Outreach Program with yours truly. We could divide the work or directly collaborate on each step.
- Take on facilitating the entirety of a call for FSE Outreach Program testing, from start to finish.
Important note: these opportunities do not need to be done within the Outreach Program as testing does and will exist outside of that. I am listing those above as an entry point that I can help onboard into that work personally.
Comment below if interested or if you have any questions/comments/concerns.
If you’re interested in contributing in this way, please comment below! If you’re interested but aren’t quite ready to put your name out there, please share what might help you feel more confident doing so.
Props to @cbringmann @chanthaboune @priethor for helping review this post.
