GSoC 2014

Ideas

Add frontend interface for picking bitesize bug sets

• This project was accepted by GSoC for 2014: student Elana, mentors Asheesh and Shauna. It has its own wiki page at GSoC_2014/bug-set-creator.

• Brief explanation: Currently it is difficult for mentors to handpick a set of bitesize bugs for an event with an excel (or your favorite FOSS) spreadsheet. (See GSoC_2014/task-browser-info for more info.)

• Expected results: This project would add a user interface and backend logic for generating one of these bug sets.

• Skills you'll learn doing this project: Python, MySQL/relational data processing, unit testing, a willingness to think about and make and take feedback on user interface decisions, Javascript, web forms, JSON data APIs.

• Difficulty level:
  • Technical difficulty: medium-low
  • Design difficulty: medium
  • Open-endedness: medium-low
  • Project learning curve: medium-low

• Areas of focus: HCI, Databases

• Mentor(s): Asheesh Laroia, Shauna Gordon-McKeon

Improvements to auto-importation of bugs

Brief explanation: Right now, open source project maintainers that want to list their bugs in the OpenHatch bitesize bug index have to deal with an arcane UI that presents our database model to them, provides an unforgiving UI, and creates delays where they must wait a day before knowing if their project is properly set-up. This should all change!

Expected results:

Improve the http://openhatch.org/customs UI.

Possible ideas:

• Provide a simpler UI for getting a project on-board, focusing on a great experience for projects using GitHub issues first, and then extending it to support Bugzilla, too, and then other tracker types.
• Initially this would take the form of a wizard.
• Allow user to run 'preview mode' prior to accepting their specifications
• That would probably require running the bug import code as a service, on the web, that generates the JSON data in "real-time" for the wizard to consume and display
• Once configured, it would then be possible to do the import immediately, rather than waiting for the nightly crawl
• Small security fix, in terms of cookie domains.

• Skills you'll learn doing this project: Python, unit testing, a willingness to think about and make and take feedback on user interface decisions, Javascript, web forms, JSON data APIs. GUI design. Some security.

• Difficulty level:
  • Technical difficulty: medium-high
  • Design difficulty: medium
  • Open-endedness: low
  • Project learning curve: medium

• Areas of focus: Systems, HCI

• Mentor(s): Asheesh Laroia, Aaron1011/johnmorr maybe

"Greenhouse" project: AKA Debian Welcome Tool

• Brief explanation: We want to build a tool to help FOSS communities track the contributions of new developers, welcome them, and match them with mentors. There currently exists a functional prototype of this project called "Greenhouse" from a former GSoC student.

• Expected results: Enhancements to the web app. (performance, data analysis, etc.)

• Skills you'll learn doing this project: Python, MySQL/relational data processing, unit testing, a willingness to think about and make and take feedback on user interface decisions, Javascript, web forms, JSON data APIs.

• Difficulty level:
  • Technical difficulty: medium-low generally, except there might be more data than you're used to, which might make it harder
  • Design difficulty: medium
  • Open-endedness: high
  • Project learning curve: high

• Areas of focus: HCI, Databases, Analytics

• Mentor(s): Asheesh Laroia, paultag?