Ubuntu Wiki

General Structure

The Ubuntu Beginners Team exists to enhance the initial experience of new Ubuntu users and to guide existing Ubuntu users to become part of the global Ubuntu community.

The Ubuntu Beginners Team is composed of:

• Members

• Focus Groups

• Guides

• Mentors

• Leadership Council

Members

Beginners Team Members are users who have gone through the Beginners Team Membership Process. This means they were assigned a Guide or Mentor and worked with that Guide or Mentor to build a body of work demonstrating their understanding of a particular area the community.

All team members are expected to adhere to the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, and should consider signing the Code of Conduct on Launchpad. Furthermore, those in leadership positions are in addition expected to adhere to the Ubuntu Leadership Code of Conduct. Although not a strict requirement, members are encouraged to contribute to the Greater Ubuntu Community and eventually become Ubuntu Members.

Focus Groups

Focus Groups allow the Beginners Team to organize around different areas of the Ubuntu Community. The Ubuntu Beginners team has two types of focus groups. Most focus groups are associated with at least one official Ubuntu team. (ie., Bugs Focus Group is associated with the Bug Squad, Bug Control, Testing and Quality teams). The purpose of these focus groups is to help people become more active in the Ubuntu Community.

Focus Group Leads Each Focus Group has a lead that is responsible for organizing, inspiring, and being the first level of dispute resolution. Focus Group Leads are nominated and elected by the Focus Group Members.

If your Team would like to work with the Beginners Team and start a Focus Group look at our Focus Group Creation Page.

Guides

To smooth integration into the team and the Ubuntu Project, we have a mandatory mentoring system in place. Every new prospective member will be paired with an experienced member of the team. Guides are Beginners Team Members who have continued to build their knowledge and excel in their area of the community. Guides assisting prospective members are responsible for the following:

• Welcome potential new members to the Ubuntu Beginners Team and familiarize them with general operation.
• Provide prospective members with a wide array of resources for learning and answering their questions.
• Help them find and integrate into the focus group of their choice.
• Assist prospective members creating and maintaining their wiki and launchpad pages.
• Help the prospective member get his Community Recommendation.
• Verify that applicants are committed and not just "passing through".

Guides will be qualified in specialized areas of the community such as accessibility, packaging, documentation, etc. If a person is working towards joining a specific Ubuntu team they will be assigned a Guide or Mentor who is qualified in that area. The responsibilities of Guides working with people trying to contribute and/or join an Ubuntu team are:

• Ensure the mentee is familiar with the resources the associated team uses
• Answering questions about the associated team
• Providing feedback to the mentee on their activities in relation to the associated team

Just because you're assigned a Guide or Mentor, doesn't mean you can't ask questions of other members, by all means do. The Guide or Mentor is there as someone who will get to know you more than others and spend time on whatever you need, like a first year mentor at a new school.

How to Be a Guide - Guides are Beginners Team members who have continued with their contributions and excelled in their area of the community. Members wishing to be Guides are approved by the Beginners Team Council.

Guides and Mentors List

Mentors

Mentors are a step beyond Guides. These are truly experts in their area.

How to Be a Mentor - Mentors are Beginners Team Guides who have continued with their contributions and excelled in their area of the community. Members wishing to be Mentors are approved by the Beginners Team Council.

Council

The Ubuntu Beginners Team Council is the group that is ultimately responsible for the governing the IRC channels and interfacing between the Ubuntu Beginners Team and the rest of the Ubuntu community and governance systems. The Ubuntu Beginners Team Council chose to delegate some of its powers and responsibilities to Focus Group Leaders.

Council Responsibilities:

• Dispute resolution - ensuring that we adhere to the Code of Conduct across the team, ensuring that differences of opinion or personality don't become destructive to the work of the team. (Note: We will try to follow https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BuildingCommunity/DealingWithConflict )

• Decision Making - The most important responsibility is making sure that their team is run efficiently. In order to ensure this, the council will make make all decisions based on feedback received from the rest of the team via the mailing list and during monthly IRC meetings. Decisions will be made when a majority of the seated council is in agreement.

• Motivation - To motivate and encourage Ubuntu Beginners Team members to be the best they can be

Structure:

• Terms - Ubuntu Beginners Team Council members serve terms of two (2) years. Ubuntu Beginners Team Council members can be re-elected to serve multiple terms as well.

• Size - The Ubuntu Beginners Team Council will consist of five (5) members. Membership should be public. The current members can be found on Launchpad

• Requirements - All council members must be active members of the Ubuntu Beginners Team

• Selection - The Ubuntu Beginners Team Council will be elected by the Ubuntu Beginners Teams members

• Council Elections - The Beginners Team Council is nominated and elected by Beginners Team Members.

In summary, running the Ubuntu Beginners Team is a complex job that requires contributions from many disciplines and a significant commitment to good process, good governance and good organization.

CategoryBeginnersTeam