How to Increase Participation in the JCP
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The document discusses strategies to increase participation in the Java Community Process (JCP), highlighting the importance of reducing barriers such as awareness and complexity for potential participants. It emphasizes the need for more engaging and interactive methods, including creating standard templates for JSR documents and promoting discussions through JUGs and online platforms. Additionally, it suggests supporting events like hackathons and providing incentives such as giveaways to foster greater involvement from both individuals and companies.
How to Increase Participation in the JCP
- 1. How to Increase Participation in the JCP? Jim Gough, Bruno Souza, Mohamed Tamen, Heather VanCura January 2014 EC Meeting 1
- 2. JCP is now more open than ever... • • • • • • Public JSR schedule--current, and updated regularly. Public read and/or write page/wiki for the JSR. Public discussion for the work of the JSR (archived). Public feedback mechanism. Public issue tracker. One EC votes on all JSRs 3x in life of JSR with public results. • All JSRs have 3 open public review periods (30 days). ● JSRs release early and often! 2
- 3. Adopt a JSR! Thank you 3 and
- 4. JCP is Back in Spotlight • Adopt-a-JSR has been a great push, and put the JCP back in the spotlight: ● More interest from JUGs. ● More people involved. ● More discussions. • But... getting involved is not easy... ● ● 4 Specs are perceived as boring; ‘legalese’. These are new times for everyone: – Conferences are more interactive. – Developers are looking for more hands on, participative activities.
- 5. Barriers to Participation • The top reasons for not joining the JCP program: ● ● 2012 Online Survey Never considered joining, not aware of benefits, too expensive, process to join is too complex. • Address the barriers: ● ● ● 5 Awareness. Complexity. Difficulty finding key artifacts.
- 6. Awareness • Adopt-a-JSR can help lower the barriers and promote experimentation. • We need to encourage evangelism of the JCP and JSR. • Developers are not very interested in specs...we need to promote discussions. ● JUGs are "evangelism" groups - how can we help them evangelize the JCP? ● Create more video/podcasts on JCP topics. ● Expand Twittter conversations. ● Create hackathons around specs and links to presentations around the JSRs. ● Pre-JSR activities: Once a JSR is introduced, create discussion groups about how we do something today. 6
- 7. Complexity • It's daunting to understand the JSPA. • It can be a barrier to contributing, and unless someone is absolutely set on contributing they won't follow the process. • In large companies it can be an effort to get the JSPA signed, so it's important to understand what will need to happen and the benefits. • Provide tools to help demystify: http://londonjavacommunity.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/contributing-tojava-the-jspa-and-the-oca/ 7
- 8. JSR Spec Template • Standardize the JSR spec document ● 8 Have a standard document with ordered sections, which should be found in all documents and its hierarchy, and the content section is based on subject. So the reader or adopter of JSR, can find it easy to reach the point inside any JSR document. – A standard Spec Template document.
- 9. JSR Archive Map • Standardize the content of the JSR which is downloaded from JCP site for each JSR. Currently it is hard to find all what you need. ● A standard map of the JSR contents would define a standard archive of contents for each JSR deliverable: an Archive Map of the contents. JSR-XXX-Contents |----> JSR document specification.pdf |----> JSR Contents (folder) |----> JSR API JavaDoc (folder) (Contains all API java documentations files) |----> JSR RI (folder). |----> JSR XXXXXXX RI-version.jar |----> JSR XXXXXXX RI-version.mvn.txt (contains maven info, and any other information regarding RI) |----> license.txt (as main license and referenced from source code, to be in one location instead of each file. it is for maintainability). |----> ReadMe.txt (contais the project, JIRA,, examples, tests, WIKI location on java.net, and other information regarding the specification and project). |----> History.txt (contais the RI and spec change history from version to version. and leave the specification document for the main contents.). 9
- 10. Get involved! 10
- 11. How will companies participate? • As an individual – OK. • As part of a team – better. • Work through JUGs or employers. • At JavaOne we were talking about how to get more companies involved. • Next steps? 11
- 12. How can EC Members Help? • Many JUGs are part of the JCP, and more will join. With the work being done to increase the participation of Individuals, there will be even more JUG members. EC members can help those JUGs in getting involved, but also create a relationship with them, and help get more support from JUGs to JSRs that the EC member finds important, and also get JUG support during elections. • Schedule conversations with Spec Leads and Expert Group Members. ● It would be really good to have meetings with EG members, specially around important JSR milestones. ● PMO provide schedule and teleconference hosting. ● Provide presentations and material that can be replicated to all JUGs: slides with speaker notes can make wonders to get the presentation replicated. 12
- 13. Go Visit Your Local JUG • Go visit a local JUG: many EC representatives travel around the world, • • • • 13 and even if they don't, there is probably a JUG near you. We'll help you go visit the JUG. Can we try to schedule a visit for each one, sometime in the next six months? Many of the large companies that have a seat on the EC have employees worldwide. We would like to help you sending an employee to a JUG near them. Visits to JUGs don't need to be about the JCP, but having EC members being more present in JUGs activities will totally help and show the importance of this group. Support a hackathon: JUGs could run hackathons around important JSR milestones. Can EC members provide office space to do that? The LJC has done amazing work on Adopt-a-JSR and Adopt-OpenJDK by doing code meetups and hackathons. It doesn't require much, and with small support from EC members, we could create a "package": ● office space to make it happen, pizza for the participants, some giveaways or a larger prize.
- 14. EC Member Support • Giveaways ● ● ● Can each EC Member that is part of an EG provide a t-shirt about your JSR? One that has your logo on it, and JCP/name of the JSR? JUGs love to give tshirts away. Also, people joining the Adopt-aJSR program would love to receive a tshirt like this for the JSR they support. The same is true for branded coffee mugs, USB sticks or other giveaways. • Support speakers ● ● 14 Can we get some kind of speaker support fund, so we can send Adopt-a-JSR participants to give presentations in other JUGs? If you consider that sending someone from your team will cost you not only travel, but all the time the employee stays away, a sponsored Adopt-a-JSR speaker, that will mention your company, may be a reasonable investment to do.