Meeting Details

• Date: June 4, 2008

• Location: IRC: #ubuntu-maryland on freenode.

• Time: 8:00pm - 9:00pm (Meeting may end earlier, but no later)

• Moderator: TBD

Agenda

The following is a tentative agenda for the meeting. The moderator will move the conversation from topic to topic. Each agenda item is followed by an estimated amount of time to be spent on the topic. The meeting will end with an open discussion which will allow all members to ask questions or discuss anything they wish. The agenda may change as the meeting approaches.

• Usability Testing Discussion (led by Celeste Lyn Paul)

• Global Bug Jam Discussion

• NSA Museum & GPG Keysigning

• Software Freedom Day 2008

• Open discussion (open)

IRC Log

IRC-meeting-060408.txt

<ScottK> OK. No longer then.
<aboutblank> moo.
<seele> yo
<xphisherx> hey guys
<xphisherx> i haven't been at the meetings for a while
<xphisherx> :/ work has been busy
<aboutblank> can anyone else not see that person's nick? ^^^
<aboutblank> oh. tee hee. i'm not used to xchat
<xphisherx> my nick?
<aboutblank> yeah, nevermind.
<aboutblank> i'll call chuck if he doesn't show up in a sec
<aboutblank> is Celeste in the room?
<seele> yes
* seele waves
<chuckf> hi all
* chuckf waves
<xphisherx> hi chuck
<seele> NOOOOO.. the storm took out the hockey game!
<chuckf> it's thundering through here now
<chuckf> so if I disappear, it's not Craig's fault
<chuckf> :)
<aboutblank> lol
<chuckf> so are we ready to start?
<seele> yes
<chuckf> do you want to get us started?
<seele> i might have to go to a bar to watch the hockey game after :(
<seele> sure
<chuckf> oh the tragedy of going to a bar to watch sports
<seele> so, a few months ago during one of the loco meetings, someone (i forget who, i apologize) asked about ways the loco could be involved in usability testing
<seele> more than just as participants, but as recruiters and actually administering the tests
<seele> i think this is a pretty good idea, because everyone has friends and family who may use linux or might not and would be good participants
<seele> also, since you know the person you are guiding through the software, you dont have to worry as much about moderator protocol as you do when you talk with a stranger
<seele> the only difficulty in this is i would want to be at each of the sessions. we have two people in usability testing, one moderating, and the other taking notes
<seele> since i am a designer and have experience with testing, id want to be at the sessions to help them get started, answer any questions, and be the designer taking notes
<seele> the ubuntu desktop team has a few areas they are interested in, they call these experiences
<seele> two of the ones covered at the recent ubuntu developer summit were the music experience and photo experience
<aboutblank> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/Experiences
<seele> i think these would be two good scenarios to use in testing. i think we would have to pick one, or split groups to do two, because doing both will take too long
<seele> usability testing sessions are about 1 hour long
<chuckf> so what are the chances of getting some swag or sponsorship from Canonical or other group?
<seele> we dont have to worry about recording software or anything fancy. we aren't judging performance as much as gathering live feedback, as long as we have a notetaker (me) then we shouldg et most everything
<cgregan> So usability "workshops" would be held at a central location, like installfests?
<seele> chuckf: i think there is a very good chance of that. i can contact the right people, but usually getting "stuff" takes time
<seele> so that means we arent doing this next week, but maybe in a month or so
<aboutblank> fair enough.
<chuckf> okay
<seele> CDs are nice, but T-Shirts and stickers are much nicer
<seele> so.. logistics
<seele> we need a count of how many people are seriously interested in this
<aboutblank> since the Photos one *should* include a camera, I would suggest music
<seele> where we want to do it (or two)
<chuckf> how many can we run c?oncurrently
<seele> aboutblank: i would actually suggest our participants to bring their own gear
<aboutblank> touche
<seele> this provides the most realistic environment, and it would be really good for the dev teams to see what hardware works in the wild
<seele> it would be a good backup to have a camera and ipod that is known to work in case we get one that doesnt work
<seele> chuckf: only one, since i want to be at each of the sessions
<chuckf> that's going to be tough for alot of non tech people to break down and carry in
<seele> chuckf: but we can have several in a row, say 3 or 4 in an afternoon at the library
<seele> chuckf: and we can do that for a few days or few weekends in a row
<seele> chuckf: maybe even at two locations to make it convenient for the different member locations (depends on who is seriously interested)
<aboutblank> I don't think you two are on the same page, are we talking whole computer or CDs, camera, iPod?
<seele> aboutblank: free gear/gifts for participation or gear for testing?
<aboutblank> gear for testing
<seele> ah, yes, a computer (or laptop) preferrably and extra monitor so we dont have two people up in the participant's face
<seele> and a backup ipod or camera
<aboutblank> no no, are the participants bringing their computer or just a camera/ipod/etc
<chuckf> so it's not them bringing in their computers, just camers/ipod/etc
<seele> aboutblank: just a camera/ipod
<aboutblank> lol
<chuckf> k
<seele> aboutblank: we will provide the computer
<aboutblank> it's sad when Chuck and I think the same.
<seele> oh, sorry
<xphisherx> i can bring two monitors (1 lcd, 1 crt) and at least 2 people for the actual test, if needed
<phr0z1> Hi all
<chuckf> I could probably rope a few people in
<aboutblank> Hardware for testing will not be a problem. we can pull that together in a matter of hours
<aboutblank> hey John
<phr0z1> hey Craig
<chuckf> hi John
<aboutblank> what we need are participants and training
<seele> yes, the next part i was going to talk about
<phr0z1> Whats the topic? The bug day
<seele> participants will be easy
<aboutblank> John: usability testing
<seele> we will do what we call in the biz a "friends and family recruit"
<seele> basically you just ask whoever you can if they want to participate
<seele> we could try to get half ubuntu users and half never used linux users
<xphisherx> will we need to provide small snacks as an incentive, drinks, ice cream (i assume it will be hotter during the tests)
<chuckf> and we're looking for novices or does it matter?
<seele> chuckf: actually, i dont think it matters
<seele> i think it matters more that we get variety if we dont care
<seele> i wouldnt want to get 10 system admins or 6 mothers in there
<aboutblank> I would assume we would want a variety so long as we tag them with an ability level...
<seele> we can have them fill out questionnaires so we know what we are dealing with
<phr0z1> How long do we need these victims to participate?
<aboutblank> Right.
<seele> phr0z1: sessions are usually an hour
<seele> phr0z1: but they could be less if we find it more convenient and running through the software doesnt take so long
<seele> any questions so far?
<aboutblank> We have hardware, participants and it sounds like admins. Celeste, you would need to design the procedure, provide any forms to collect this data, and give some training
<seele> yep
<aboutblank> k.
<chuckf> is training for us a seperate day or the morning of?
<phr0z1> What are we doing about monitors? I can bring some boxes.
<seele> chuckf: i think it depends on how easily we can get people together on whatever date
<chuckf> seele, will be proctoring each one, so we will need maybe two pcs
<seele> if we split the testing sessions up in to multiple days, we might want to have a loco meeting earlier in the week for beer and procedures
<aboutblank> *highly recommending NOT day of*
<aboutblank> <-- *cough* still under 21
<seele> basically the set up would be the computer and monitor in front of the participant and the moderator sit next to them
<chuckf> we'll give you water
<seele> and then the second monitor on the other end of the table and out of the way so the participant doesnt feel crowded
<seele> aboutblank: we can do it at a restaurant so you can get soda :)
<seele> so the earliest i think we can do this is the weekend of July 20
<phr0z1> BBL, gotta check if my stuff is flooding
<seele> anyone know how hard it is to get library meeting rooms at the howard county library?
<aboutblank> Chuck?
<ScottK> With beer? probably pretty hard.
<seele> i dont know if they are usually available on the weekends, ive only ever tried to get library rooms on a not busy workday
<seele> ScottK: lol, not beer
<seele> beer would be before somewhere else
<chuckf> it's not hard most of the tiem
<chuckf> to get the library rooms
<chuckf> as long as we're not picky to the location
<seele> ok, tentatively i would say July 19 and July 26, and if Sunday works out better for people, we can do a sunday instead
<seele> we just need a table and power
<seele> internet would be nice, but not required for photos. we'll have to sacrifice some functionality in music
<chuckf> we should be able to get that. I'll email them and find out
<seele> ok
<chuckf> internet at the library is easy for the most part
<aboutblank> Celeste, could you make the July 17th regular meeting and give us proctoring instructions?
<seele> aboutblank: yeah, that is fine.. i was going to suggest one of the evenings ahead of time
<chuckf> that's the gpg meeting
<seele> but i want to see if the 19th or 26th is better for people
<aboutblank> I haven't planned that far ahead yet
<seele> it might be easier if we do 19/20 and 26/27, but people need to let us know
<seele> i guess what we should do is set up a poll on the forum or a wiki page for people to express interest on a certain day, and how many people they are willing to look for
<aboutblank> Indeed.
<chuckf> we'll send an announcement to the list asking for what day/s work better and schedule from there?
<seele> i wouldnt suggest more than 3 because it would be very tiring
<seele> i think 2 would be the optimal number for someone to recruit and moderate
<aboutblank> sweet. this is coming together.
<phr0z1> I am more likely to be free on a saturday. But it is hard to project that far out at this time
<seele> right
<chuckf> and the library might be closed on sunday's through the summer
<seele> i wouldnt suggest recruiting people until 2 weeks before testing
<chuckf> btw, taxi's Rev Jim ep is coming on on WGN
<phr0z1> Whats that?
<seele> so.. let's see what we need to do now to get this rolling
<seele> celeste: contact ubuntu/canonical for swag
<seele> celeste: create testing scripts for music and photos
<seele> chuck: check out the library schedule
<seele> someone (chuck?): set up a poll to see how many people are interested in moderating and if those dates are ok
<seele> anything else?
<seele> we can worry about gear closer to testing
<chuckf> I'll set the poll up
<seele> ok
<seele> it would be good to see if the library is open/closed on a sunday. some people mgiht not be able to make a saturday
<ScottK> Summer hours are less now that school's out, IIRC
<chuckf> I'll do that as well
<seele> we might want to consider two locations
<seele> because we have people up in baltimore and out in frederick
<phr0z1> hmm. I think we might get in over our heads
<seele> remember we need to get our friends and family to these places, and an hour drive is a bit much to ask
<chuckf> if the frederick contingent wants to do this up there we'll look at the library there first I think
<seele> phr0z1: no way, we can do this as long as people are committed
<ScottK> seele: Just checked and this Sunday is the last Sunday they are open until the Fall.
<seele> phr0z1: you just need to get people to location A at time X on day N
<seele> ScottK: ok, thanks
<seele> it looks like we will be working two saturdays unless we find a library that is open on a sunday somewhere else
<seele> chuckf: i dont know where most people are located.. are most of the interested parties up your way?
<chuckf> how many participants do you need to make this work?
<seele> mmm.. we could write something up with as few as 6 or 8 participants
<chuckf> seele, well as part of the poll we'll find out the frederick/columbia mix and go from there
<aboutblank> i think most are around columbia - at least me and John, and chuck is pretty close
<seele> but i would really like to get 10, that would be really significant
<seele> we could see if the DC Loco wants to get involved in this too
<seele> they do install fests at a library in DC
<seele> chuckf: you know kevin cole?
<chuckf> I've met him a couple times
<seele> i'll email him and see if this is something he would be interested in
<chuckf> cool
<seele> we could do one weekend at howard county then another one in DC
<chuckf> sounds like a plan
<seele> that would give us a lot of people and us people closer to DC could test in DC
<chuckf> so I think we're done with this topic now?
<seele> i think so
<chuckf> okay
<chuckf> so the next thing is the global bug day
<chuckf> good idea? I've had 4 people interested so far
<chuckf> I'm thinking we'll do it at loyola if the room is avalable
<aboutblank> seems like it - not a lot of people know how to triage
<xphisherx> i have no clue what that event is.. but sounds interesting..
<chuckf> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GlobalBugJam
<phr0z1> I'm interested too
<aboutblank> http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1506
<chuckf> basically getting people intereested in triaging bugs
<chuckf> I'm thinking about an hour or so presentation in the morning then start triaging
<chuckf> we'll have the overhead for whatever we need to do
<xphisherx> wow.. this is pretty cool.. although i don't code.. i'll try to make it out :D
<chuckf> I don't code either
<chuckf> but part of this will be saying 'yes, it's a valid bug'
<chuckf> or reassigning bugs to the proper category, marking dupes, etc
<cgregan> The other part is about making sure all the information for recreating the issue is in the report
<xphisherx> awesome.. i'm an expert in finding "bugs" mainly cause i have a tendency of exploring too much stuff.. I'm in ;)
<chuckf> cool
<chuckf> I'll try to get the loyola room for that saturday aug 9
<aboutblank> I can't make that - Defcon
<chuckf> you'd rather be in vegas than here?
<chuckf> hehe
<aboutblank> hellz yeah
<chuckf> okay, so that's settled
<chuckf> we'll work on details as we go along
<chuckf> next is longer term, sep 20 we're registered for software freedom day
<chuckf> http://softwarefreedomday.org/teams/Ubuntumaryland
<xphisherx> august 9th.. yipes.. i can't make it.. sorry.. i'll be at otakon. although i can use that time to pass out some ubuntu discs to a bunch of teenagers
<aboutblank> are we getting stuff this year?
<chuckf> as long as the shipping label doesn't fall off again, yeah
<phr0z1> hehe
<aboutblank> is that what happened? lol
<chuckf> yeah, I got some guy's medication
<chuckf> it had both labels on it
<aboutblank> lol
<chuckf> I'm thinking of doing classes/tutorials and demos
<phr0z1> Funny. I got an order from Amazon the other day that had another package inside with someone else name
<chuckf> was it good?
<phr0z1> Thats a great idea. I don't think install fests are reaching the people we want at this time.
<cgregan> So that's where my gold brick order went! ;-)
<phr0z1> Nah just a book and 2 CDs. I sent it back to amazon.
<chuckf> oh well
<phr0z1> They gave me such a hassle about returning it I almost just threw it away.
<chuckf> the next thing is the NSA museum trip
<aboutblank> woot
<phr0z1> Wow. I need a calendar for all of this stuff.
<chuckf> if you're going, please put your name on the wiki
<aboutblank> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarylandTeam/Events/FieldTrips/NSAMuseum
<chuckf> phr0z1, yeah, two weeks ago I'm thinking "we need something to do" now its 4 projects
<aboutblank> lol yeah
<phr0z1> I guess I just need to visit the Wiki more actively :9
<phr0z1> :(
<chuckf> the CAlug is having a linux and computer forensics presentation next week.
<phr0z1> cool
<chuckf> then in July it's the GPG presentation
<chuckf> then our July meeting will be helping people who have questions about gpg
<chuckf> then the keysigning after the museum tour
<phr0z1> Chuck, I want to go to the CAlug GPG meeting. Keep me informed
<phr0z1> I gotta go guys. Its been fun.
<chuckf> anything else?
<chuckf> I'm heading over to the #ubuntu-meeting channel to see about getting approved. I just saw that someone unremarked my name from the list and i dont' want to not show up
<chuckf> so if anyone wants to vouche for me, come on over if you have time
<chuckf> otherwise, this meeting is now freeform
<xphisherx> chuckf: i apologize that i haven't been able to work on the logo.. i'll try to work on it and have something back within the next few weeks.
<chuckf> xphisherx, not to worry
<chuckf> xphisherx, I'm really not stressing over it
<xphisherx> cool.. thanks...i guess i'll catch everyone at the next meeting.
<xphisherx> bye