Hi all,
Its great to see that the new exec board kicked off and that the new roles have been defined and have been delegated in Working Groups (WG). This is a great first step of the new organisation and shaping how we collaborate together.
I think we are now mature enough to take the next step in how we can effectively collaborate. Hereby a proposal that I and Luiz have been working on and that Luiz will present in due time to get also your feedback from it. That said, please do not hesitate to also give your feedback via replying on this post.
Here I would like to propose a process in 5 steps to ensure we are dealing with the right problems that we see in the field and find technical solutions for that (thereby making the turbines more attractive)
I have color coded the text to show involvement of our different responsibilities to get this up and running.
Blue is WebMasters: Jonathan and Andy
Green is clarification on agreements of specific roles that will be addressed in a special meeting (RACI meeting hosted by Jon Leary).
Step 01: Any WE member can submit his problem or wish that he would like to have solved with optional his initial idea how this needs to be solved. He can download a template of the ProposalDocument that needs to be stored somewhere on the WE site and fill in:
– [Obligatory] Fill in the basic information (red), note there is also a workgroup owner (WGO) pulldown list included
– [Obligatory] What the problem is in the background section. Ofcourse also here can be told what could make the turbine more attractive in the field.
– [Optional] Normally, the person filling it in already has an idea of what needs to be done to get it solved and can state this in the remaining fields.
Click here to download the proposal document: ProposalDocument_Template_rev08
Step 02: The Proposer sends his ProposalDocument to the Proposal Collector (PC)
(the PC can be a task for a separate appointed person or delegated to an already existing function, fx Tech coordinator, this needs to be clarified in the RACI meeting)
The who-to-send-to information needs to be given at the same page where the ProposalDocument template can be found for download
Step 03: The Proposal collector reviews the correctness of the filled in template and sends it to the corresponding Work Group Coordinator (WGC). This could be for instance the Measurement or tower WGC.
Step 04: The corresponding Work Group Coordinator (WGC) does the following (all WGC must agree to these tasks that need to be clarified in the RACI meeting):
4.1) The WGC looks for existing solutions that might be unknown for the Proposer and inform him if so
4.2) If there is no solution yet – The WGC sets up a brainstorm/clarification meeting and invite:
– The Proposer (obligatory attendance),
– Key specialists that have volunteered via who-is-who that it is ok to contact them for consult (invitation directed per mail)
– Any member that is interested (announced via WE Calendar and News post)
In this phase the Description Deliverable, Approach, and Estimated capacity & competences will be finalised to make sure we are about to take the right steps.
The proposal is now frozen and lies ready to be released and look for volunteers.
Step 05
Now this Proposal needs to be sold to a team of volunteers that covers the capacity and requirements as specified during the clarification meeting. This is best done by the people that stand close by potential volunteers (eg Universities). Special Proposal Sellers (PS) could be appointed (to be sorted during the RACI meeting) that can bring volunteers into contact with the specific WGO.
The WGO will initiate a Scope of Work Clarification meeting with the group of volunteers to see if they cover adequate commitment and shape the right expectancies toward each other as a team.
If enough commitment and means is found and clarified during this meeting the project can start, otherwise it comes on a shelf and awaits till the right people/commitment is found (fx via student research projects).
I have attached here a few proposals zipped to give a feeling how it can look like: proposalDocumentExamples
I know this is quite a lengthy and abstract story – that is why Luiz will give a special presentation about it filled with examples to make it more lively and address any concerns. You will then see that in reality it is not as complicated as it seems at first sight.