sakai product council
Meet the Sakai Product Council
by xolotl | 24 July 2010 - 12:52pmWith Nate Angell (rSmart), Noah Botimer (University of Michigan), Eli Cochran (University of California, Berkeley), Michael Feldstein (Oracle), Clay Fenlason (Georgia Institute of Technology, Sakai Foundation), David Goodrum (Indiana University), John Lewis (Unicon), Stephen Marquard (University of Cape Town), John Norman (University of Cambridge), Max Whitney (New York University).
The Sakai Product Council acts on behalf of the broad Sakai community to ensure the exceptional quality and cohesiveness of Sakai product releases in their support of varied teaching, research and collaboration needs. It does this formally by determining those projects which will go into a release, and informally by advising projects as they progress from R&D to production-ready maturity. The Product Council will undertake its work: by employing the expertise of its members, through direct consultation with experts in the community, with reference to best practices for technology, pedagogy and standards, by establishing and communicating clear and objective criteria. You can read an interim report of Product Council activity in 2009 and goals for 2010 on the Sakai wiki. Join us at the Sakai conference to meet representatives from the Council, hear a current update of our activity and goals, and give us your input on our work to date and going forward.
Happy Birthday, Sakai Product Council!
by xolotl | 14 May 2010 - 1:14amAfter almost a year in existence, the Sakai Product Council that I was honored to join is completing a planned review of its configuration and activities. My answers to the common questions posed to Councilors and community reviewers are below, but before you dig in to those details—or maybe instead, if you're pressed for time or interest—let me sum up my review here as briefly as I can.
First, let me stress again that the formation of the Council is a very important step in Sakai's evolution and is part of what makes Sakai different from every other enterprise online learning platform available today. The Council represents a process for open, transparent, formal product governance by the community, for the community. This model is important both within the Sakai community, where we will benefit from the increased structure and governance, and externally, where potential adopters can see a community that truly controls its own destiny.
Second, I think the Council's form and function are largely correct, but need some adjustment. Read on for further details.
Third, I am not satisfied with my own participation on the Council or the Council's accomplishments generally. I think we can and should do better. I have made some suggestions below that may help make this happen, and have read other suggestions from other reviewers that may also help. This review is an appropriate and constructive step in the Council's evolution.
Sakai's New Maturity
by xolotl | 14 July 2009 - 9:13pmSeveral recent developments signal a promising new level of maturity in the Sakai community and product. The Sakai Foundation (SF) has created two new staff positions that will together enable the SF to better coordinate and communicate our work in Sakai.
Long-time Sakai community member Clay Fenlason is the new Sakai Product Manager. Clay is an excellent choice to coordinate our community's already successful work to further develop Sakai as a coherent, reliable product with a meaningful roadmap. Pieter Hartsook joins our community as Sakai Communications Manager. I don't know Pieter well yet, but was impressed by his experience and intelligence at the recent Sakai Boston 2009 conference and expect him to become an enormously valuable participant in our efforts to tell the Sakai story more effectively internally and externally. Read more about these new positions in SF Executive Director (ED) Michael Korcuska's blog.
This new maturity is further demonstrated by the formation of a community-based Sakai Product Council (SPC), which will "ensure exceptional quality and cohesiveness of Sakai product releases in support of varied teaching, research and collaboration needs" in the words of SF ED Michael Korcuska.
I'm honored to be named to the SPC along with key community contributors Noah Botimer, Eli Cochran, Michael Feldstein, David Goodrum, John Lewis, Stephen Marquard, John Norman, and Max Whitney, along with the new Sakai Product Manager, Clay Fenlason. As the SF ED, Michael Korcuska will also serve on the council as a non-voting, ex officio member. You can read more about the formation and ongoing activities of the SPC on the Sakai wiki.
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