Introduction

Google Summer of Code is a program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source projects. Google works with open source, free software and technology-related groups to identify and fund several projects over a three month-period. Historically, the program has brought together over 1,000 students with over 175 open source projects to create hundreds of thousands of lines of code. The program, which kicked off in 2005, is now in its fifth year, following a very successful 2008.

This document describes the student and mentor guidelines for the Joomla! Summer Of Code program 2009. It contains information about the program schedule, program goals, program organization, the selection, and other information useful to prospective students and mentors.

Important Dates and Times

Joomla! Summer Of Code Program

The general goals of Google are recognized and extended with our own goals. In short, we want to improve the innovation within the project by offering students the opportunity to propose (research) topics that are Joomla! related. The Joomla! project offers students an inspiring environment in which to do research, create proof-of-concepts or create working functionality. The students get well guided by field experts. We do not specifically target at implementing work in the Joomla! framework, if it can be done in the Summer Of Code period this is perfectly ok, if not we still have well founded research and possible new talents for the working groups within the Joomla! project.

There is a list of possible projects defined in the mentor guideline description. Please keep in mind that this is an initial list of subjects we would like to aim at, and the final program content is open for discussion. Students can send in their project proposals from March 23 - April 3 using the Google application. In the meantime you can discuss possible project proposals in the Google Group.

Specific notes:

• We don't want to put too many rules in place, but we ask every student to follow the proposal guidelines described below. This proposal guideline is put together based upon our experiences from past years.

• If you think you have a great idea, just go for it(!) and write your proposal, don't let the initial project ideas hold you back from proposing your own ideas!

Program Organization

We strive for a shallow hierarchy for the Joomla! project and the Summer Of Code program is no exception to that. There will be a formal program structure in place, but in general we like everyone to just do their job. For the mentors this means a big responsibility towards the Joomla! project and especially the students.

The total organization of the program will be done by the program leaders and mentors. In 2006 and 2007 Wilco Jansen has led the Summer of Code program, and Ian Maclennan joined Wilco in the 2008 edition. This year the program leaders are Mark Dexter and Akarawuth Tamrareang, but Wilco and Ian will be actively coaching these new program leaders. For each accepted project there will be either one or two mentors.

Mentor Selection Process

We want the selection process to be as easy as possible. Here are the general "criteria":

• Mentor needs to be familiar with the Joomla! project, and have some level of knowledge about the 1.6 framework.

• Mentor needs to be someone with experience in guiding people. You can have experience in as a manager, project manager, a team coordinator, teacher or whatever. If this is the first time you are going to guide a student, help is available (see below).

• Mentor needs to have knowledge about the topic he or she is going to mentor. For example, if a student wanted to write an extension for Joomla! and CiviCRM, then the mentor should have enough knowledge about Joomla! extensions and CiviCRM to guide the student in the project.

• The mentor is responsible for guiding the student. This takes time, and with cultural and timezone differences this can be a real challenge! Past year the average time it took for a mentor was at least 70-90 hours over 3 months. Please be sure you can devote this amount of time to the project before volunteering. Once you have a student committed to a project, there is a responsibility for us to provide the resources to complete the project successfully, and it is very difficult and disruptive to have a mentor drop out during the course of a project

• Potential mentors can share their interest on the Google Summer of Code list or send an mail to Mark Dexter or Akarawuth Tamrareang.

Student Selection Process

The basic process of student selection is pretty straight forward. All project proposals will be judged and ranked by the group of mentors. We expect to sponsor between 15 and 20 students this year, but the final number will depend on the applications we receive. The better you have defined your project proposal, the greater the chance that your project will be selected. A well defined project proposal leaves fewer questions for the mentors. We also advise potential students to study the Google FAQ. A well defined target and a proper planning are essential to have a successful project!

Student Proposals

We don't use a specific format for the proposals, but each proposal to contain the following sections:

• A short introduction of you, name, age, kind of study you are doing, personal interests etc.

• A short description of your personal skills.

• Project definition in terms of goals to achieve.

• Project planning, including milestones to deliver. This is a very important aspect of your proposal. Recent years have taught us that project proposals tend to be ambitious. Make a plan, and try to determine if the goals you set are realistic. If you need help, ask questions in the forum or contact the program leaders directly.

• Description of tools you are going to use. Also take a look at the tools we use in our project. You will most often use the same tools we use.

• What do you want to learn in the Summer Of Code?

Expectations for Students

What we expect is simple. Dedication, devotion, an open mind and patience. You are part of this program to actually learn (and earn) something. Before you start we expect you to get acquainted with the tools we use. Get prepared! The most important single lesson from our previous Summer of Code experience is the amount of time you need to spend on the project as a student. Doing a project in three months requires at least 20-40 hours per week. You should treat it as a full-time job and be prepared when you start.

If you join as a student, what do you get in return? You can work in an open-source environment, meet great and inspiring people in a great open source project, and, most important, you get guided by a field expert. It is all about sharing knowledge and working together toward common goals. We will be there to support you!

Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving

It would be naive to assume that a group of people always can work together in perfect harmony. There are going to be times when someone feels they have been handled wrongly. In these times the following procedure should apply:

• Talk privately to the person concerned.

• If you still believe grievances exists, then bring in one or two other people to help mediate.

• If this fails then take the issue to the program manager (Mark Dexter or Akarawuth Tamrareang).

• If this fails take the issue with the program manager to the Joomla! project leader.

Team members are encouraged to self-mediate all disputes. In all situations, treat 'wounds' appropriately. A prick on the finger just needs a tissue for a couple of seconds. Some grazes and cuts just need a Band-Aid to help heal well but will probably heal anyway if left untouched. More serious lacerations need immediate intervention for survival. If a wound is left to attract an infection then the obvious threat of gangrene is present.

There can be significant challenges to completing the program successfully. These include the need to communicate regularly with your mentor, using development tools you may never have used, differences in cultures, and accommodating busy schedules across different timezones. The first person to help you with these challenges is your mentor. A personal difference on how to proceed between you and your mentor can happen. In this case, the program leaders are happy to offer coaching and guidance. If possible, however, we would like everyone to use the conflict resolution strategy as described above.

Additional Questions

If you have more questions, please post them into the Google Group. We also have started a public Skype Chat. These areas will be the place to discuss on everything concerning the Google Summer of Code 2009!

Remember, good code can be the source of much happiness!