[TYPO3-dev] TER troubles again

[Michelle Heizer]

Kasper Skårhøj wrote:
> I felt I had more to say about this issue. Mostly because I can feel
> that this rant is of the type that is killing me slowly. 

I think this is such a serious, yet typical problem in the TYPO3
project. As someone who has been part of a few projects, let me
illustrate what happens from my point of view.

1. A team leader begins a project and calls for volunteers. The team
leader spends a lot of time organizing the project, assigning tasks and
coordinating with people. This can be weeks/months of work for the team
leader.

2. Team members start their tasks and give updates to the team leader.
The team leader gathers this information and provides updates to the
team. They also spend time working on subprojects/tasks.

3. Then the problems begin. Not all volunteers complete their assigned
tasks. If the project has several volunteers (20+), this can be even
more of a problem. Now the team leader has to send reminders, find out
what the hold-up is and ultimately, reassign the tasks to other team
members, if necessary.

4. Without all the tasks completed, the team leader has to rely heavily
on the few volunteers left in the project. Unfortunately, they do not
have that much time to donate (they didn't sign up to do the whole
thing) and they feel so overwhelmed that they lose interest in the project.

5. The project is now left to the team leader and maybe a volunteer or
two. They are responsible for not only finishing the project, but
maintaining its outcome as well.

6. People start to complain. They want to know when the project will be
finished or why features are taking so long to implement.

As both an outsider and an insider, I've seen projects begin and end
with complaints. People complain when nothing is getting done, yet they
do not help out in the project to fix what is wrong. Then they complain
again. I will never understand what gives them a right to complain.

Imagine the effect this has on the team leader and the few team members
that are left. These are the people we have to rely on for TYPO3's
longevity. Volunteers come and go, but it's the people that give
"noticeable results" every day/week/year that will keep TYPO3 alive.

To be honest, the worst thing you could do is just start assigning
projects and tasks to anyone that complains. Not only will this not
build a stable foundation for T3, but it will just be a maintenance
nightmare down the road. This is why proper team-building is of utmost
importance. It might take time, but it will take just as much time to
fix all these half-completed projects down the road.

Regards,

Michelle