Mentoring
As we discussed in several team meetings and as comments on slack and on this platform, it would make sense to have some form of mentoring for new core developers in place, so effort of non-core-team-members does not get lost / spent in vain. Therefore I prepared a possible mentoring strategy with requirements and process definitions. I’m eager to hear your feedback.
Description
Wording
- Contributor: Mentee / person to be mentored
- Mentor: Member of the core team agreeing to mentor someone
Pre-Requisites for the Core Team Member
- Interested in mentoring a topic / a person working on the TYPO3 Core
- Available for architectural discussions
- Willingness to regularly check on current implementation state with contributor
- Clear focus area / requirements for Mentees
- Participation in status meetings (for example Core Team Hangouts), to regularly communicate current state
Process
Start / Kick-Off Phase
The mentoring process can be started via different entry points:
- Contributor opens a topic on “decisions.typo3.org”
- Contributor asks in Slack channel
- Contributor pushes patch in related area
If any of the above happens, the potential mentor for the respective topic should contact the contributor to start the mentoring process.
If the mentor fails to notice the contributor he/she may be triggered by other team members, to ensure no contributors are forgotten or left behind ;).
After getting in touch with the contributor both should have a kick-start talk / meeting to clarify goals, focus and processes.
Implementation phase
While the contributor is actively working on a topic the mentor should
- Be available for any questions by the contributor / answer at least once a week
- Have regular status meetings (for example every two weeks) with the contributor
- Review the corresponding patches and steer the contributor if necessary
- Report about the current state back to the core team (for example via monthly hang-out)
- If in doubt the mentor should ask fellow core team members for their opinion, to make sure the contributor produces a widely accepted solution
Finalization
- If the patches are ready they are reviewed by the mentor again and announced in the core development channel to get more reviews
- The mentoring process ends when the planned goals are reached
- The mentor should discuss further steps with the contributor, to keep motivation high and the contributor active
Preparation
If we agree on this process, core team members add themselves to a document with a short description and an area they would mentor. We will then write a news announcing the mentoring including the potential mentors so contributors can also actively contact people - the list of people and areas should also be added to the team page on typo3.org
Organizational
Topic Initiator: Susi Moog
Topic Mentor: Susi Moog