Benjamin Evans 5:51 am on November 26, 2022
Tags: project-thread ( 4 )

Project Thread: Training Team Onboarding Paths

Overview

This post will document updates regarding the creation of new onboarding paths for the Training Team. The original proposal and related discussions can be found here: Proposal: Create a new onboarding experience to the Training Team

Project DRIsDRI Directly Responsible Individual - the people who are taking ownership or responsibility for a particular project or feature.

Project lead

Ben Evans @bsanevans

Project member

Jamie @digitalchild

Project Member

Amit Patel @amitpatelmd

Project member

Pooja Derashri @webtechpooja

(Others are welcome to join in on the efforts, too! Let us know if you’re interested 🙂)

Project Timeline

November 26th – Project launch
December 19th – Project member check-in call
January 16th – Project member check-in call, drafts ready for team review
February 4th – Review of drafts completed by Training Team
February 13th – Onboarding pages published
February 17th – 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. Asia 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/.

Project Details

This project will create new handbook pages that will guide new Training Team contributors to their first contribution to the team, and set them up for success beyond that. The creation of each handbook page will be tracked in the following 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/ issues.

Getting Started (New parent page to replace the current handbook page with the same name)
Content Creator Onboarding
Content Translator Onboarding
Editor Onboarding
Subject Matter Expert Onboarding
Administrator Onboarding
Quick contributions

#project-thread

Courtney P.K. 9:21 pm on November 29, 2022

I’m excited to see this project kicking off, and looking forward to a shiny new onboarding experience for new contributors to the team! 😀
Amit Patel 3:35 am on December 6, 2022

I am excited and happy to volunteer my name for the 3rd member. Specifically about Onboarding Experience and SEO tasks.
- Benjamin Evans 4:55 am on December 6, 2022
  
  Thanks for volunteering, Amit! I’ll connect with you via 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/. about details.
Pooja Derashri 8:36 am on December 6, 2022

Count me in! I Would love to contribute to this project and can explore a way for beginners together.
- Benjamin Evans 2:03 am on December 9, 2022
  
  Wonderful! I’ve added you to the post. And I’ll reach out 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/. about details.
Benjamin Evans 2:23 am on December 10, 2022

Update: The project members have identified a need to update the handbook page structure to clarify information relevant to onboarding. Please see our proposed changes in this Slack thread. We look forward to receiving your feedback in that thread, too 🙂
Benjamin Evans 6:53 am on December 19, 2022
Update: The project members hopped on a call to discuss next steps. Here is what we decided.
- We identified editorial tasks as a good first contribution for not just Editors, but also Content Creators and Subject Matter Experts. Editorial tasks include:
  - General review of content
  - Responding to content error reports
  - Reviewing and updating content marked as needing review with the latest WordPress release
- We’ll ask contributors going through the onboarding paths to let the team know in the #training 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/. channel. This will allow team members who are online to keep an eye out for questions the new contributor may have.
- We I identified “content localization” as a fifth onboarding path we will create.
- We’ll add a form for people to submit feedback with on each onboarding page.
Project members took home the following tasks to work on.
- Ben – create admin path, and create an outline for the other pages involved in the project
- Jamie – create SME path
- Pooja – Create an outline for the Content Creator page, creating child pages under the “next steps” for specific roles
- Amit – update the team badge page (propose updates in a Google Doc first), update the Welcome Wrangler page, create the SEO Expert role explanation, how-to videos/pages for content localization
We also discussed an updated timeline for the project, which is now included in the main post. We’ll have this project completed by 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/. 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. Asia, to be used by new contributors there.
Benjamin Evans 6:53 am on January 16, 2023
Update: The project members checked-in with each other today. Here is how the project is going.

We discussed what a good way would be for contributors to add themselves to a list of contributors for each area of contribution. We’ve decided to create a Google Form which would be connected to a Google Spreadsheet team admins can maintain. The form would be embedded into the onboarding docs.

We also discussed what would be good “first contributions” for each of the five onboarding paths. Ideally, these “first contributions” would be things people can complete in 30-60 minutes. Below is what we landed on. We will be creating guides for each process in the Handbook, and linking to them from the onboarding documents.
- Content Creator: Review a piece of published content and submit an error report in 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/ if changes are required.
- Content Translator: Review a piece of translated content and submit an error report in GitHub if changes are required.
  - If there is no published content in that contributor’s language, then we’ll guide them to translate a lesson plan as their first contribution.
- Editor: Review a piece of published content and submit an error report in GitHub if changes are required. (This task is the same as that for Content Creators.)
- Subject Matter Experts: Vet a topic idea
- Administrator: Validate and triage a content error report in GitHub
We also discussed Amit’s handbook drafts on an updated profile badge process and the SEO Expert role. We will ask the team for reviews of these at this week’s meeting.

Next steps: Each project member will complete their allocated tasks by January 21st. We’ll then submit these onboarding documents to the Training Team for review by February 4th. Project members will gather on a call again on February 6th to finalize documents and publish them in time for 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. Asia.

To-dos:
- Ben:
  - Update Content Translator and Administrator pages
  - Publish call notes and send out invites for next meeting
- Jamie:
  - Update Subject Matter Expert page
  - Make Google form for contributors to show which area of contribution they’ll contribute to
- Amit:
  - Update handbook draft regarding profile badge process to mention https://profiles.wordpress.org/associations/training-contributor/
  - Update SEO Expert handbook draft as feedback comes in
- Pooja:
  - Make a handbook page to walk through the process of reviewing content and submitting error reports in GitHub
  - Add current team reps as group admins on https://profiles.wordpress.org/associations/training-contributor/ so that we can administer team badges with this page
Benjamin Evans 10:18 pm on January 23, 2023
Update: Onboarding Paths are ready for public review!

The project members are pleased to announce that this project is ready for a public review! Please leave your feedback for each document in its corresponding 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/ issue listed below. If you have feedback about multiple documents, feel free to leave them as a reply to this comment. Project members are also available to receive your feedback 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/.!

Please leave your feedback by February 4th. This is to leave the project members enough time to apply the feedback and publish this content 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. Asia.

In particular, we are interested in knowing what feedback people have for using Google Forms to collect information about users eager to contribute to the team. Please see the onboarding documents noted below to see how we have used forms in this instance.

Thank you for your feedback!
- Getting Started (Start here! All other documents are linked from here) – GitHub issue for feedback
- Content Creator Onboarding (includes Google Form) – GitHub issue for feedback
- Content Translator Onboarding (includes Google Form) – GitHub issue for feedback
- Editor Onboarding (includes Google Form) – GitHub issue for feedback
- Subject-Matter Expert Onboarding (includes Google Form) – GitHub issue for feedback
- Administrator Onboarding (includes Google Form) – GitHub issue for feedback
- Quick contributions you can make now – GitHub issue for feedback
askdesign 11:07 pm on February 1, 2023

I’m new to the training team and working my way through the onboarding process. So far, I’ve found things to be very clear and easy to follow. I am very impressed by the quality and subject variety of the tuts… Nice work!

I enjoyed the “Getting Started” and completed the Editor Onboarding, making a couple of minor contributions in the form of feedback on tutorials. I’m going to tackle the other tasks suggested for lesson plans and courses. Then, I’ll go through the Content Creator onboarding.

I like that there are areas to concentrate on and small, incremental steps to take.

Questions:
(1) I’m not yet clear about the 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/ aspect in terms of how the team uses it, so I’ll lurk in the shadows for a while 🙂
(2) What software are people using for their videos?
(3) Does Make WordPress have a “corporate” account with a screen recording software or are we on our own?
(4) Where are the branding guidelines?
- Benjamin Evans 5:57 am on February 7, 2023
  
  Thank you for working through this and providing valuable feedback, Anne! I’m glad you found the content to be clear and easy to follow.
  
  I’m not yet clear about the 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/ aspect in terms of how the team uses it, so I’ll lurk in the shadows for a while 🙂
  
  That’s a great point. The team is slowly adding more documentation in our handbook about how we use GitHub. Lurking is a great way to lear, but we’ll also update the main onboarding page to provide folks a brief introduction of how we use the tool 👍🏼
  
  What software are people using for their videos?
  
  Me personally, to make the main onboarding video, I recorded with QuickTime on my Mac. But your question got the project team thinking… Maybe we should create a page in our handbook that lists all the tools we use? We’ll work on getting a page like that published soon.
  
  Does Make WordPress have a “corporate” account with a screen recording software or are we on our own?
  
  The team has a shared (paid) account for a few services. Team reps and Faculty members have access to the login information. We’ll incorporate what services we have accounts for in the page we’ll be making about team tools.
  
  That being said, we try to use free and open sourced tools whenever possible. So as you get involved, if you know of good tools we could use, do let us know!
  
  Where are the branding guidelines?
  
  We have a page in our handbook about this: Brand Usage Guidelines
askdesign 11:44 pm on February 1, 2023

Another thing I thought of:
Last week, I reviewed content prior to its being published. When I attempted to review content after it was published, I got lost and confused in the instructions. I’m a 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/ user, but those seemed daunting to me at the time.
- Benjamin Evans 6:00 am on February 7, 2023
  
  Thanks for this feedback. Based on our conversation 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/., I’ll be updating the “Content Error Report template” to “Content Feedback Report template”. I’ll also update the content of the template and make sure the information is current and easy to follow. I’ll let you know in Slack once the updates have been made, as I’d love for you to take a look again and see what feedback you still have 😃
Benjamin Evans 12:41 am on February 6, 2023
I’m noting some feedback we got from @piyopiyofox regarding the Google Form in these docs:
1. Could we somehow list how one can find their profile ids?
2. We should share our reason for collecting email addresses. Is it to compare to a HelpScout submission later when one wants to be removed from the list of active contributors, so that we can verify the request?
3. Are Google Forms accessible? Do they work on mobile, too?
Jamie 5:10 am on February 6, 2023

Hi all, thanks, for the feedback.

1. Added.
2. I’ve added a note as to why we collect the email address.
3. Yes.
Benjamin Evans 9:27 am on February 6, 2023

Update: The project members got on a call today to review all the feedback we received. Thank you to everyone who went through the drafts and provide fantastic feedback!

We’ll be responding to each piece of feedback this week. We’ll update the onboarding paths as necessary with the goal of publishing everything by Saturday, the 11th.
Benjamin Evans 8:19 am on February 10, 2023
This project has now completed! As part of launching these paths, we’ve done the following:
- Published a post announcing the completion of the project: Training Team’s new onboarding program is now live!
- Updated the “Content Error Report” issue template 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/ to “Content Feedback” and cleaned up related labels. (See Slack thread)
- Refreshed the hierarchy of some content of the team handbook for consistency.
Thank you to everyone who was involved in this project!

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Overview

Project DRIsDRI Directly Responsible Individual - the people who are taking ownership or responsibility for a particular project or feature.

Project Timeline

Project Details

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