Task Force Framework
A Task Force is the main working vehicle within the VIVO Community and may be created out of existing Working Groups, the VIVO Management Team, the VIVO Steering Group or any other VIVO group. Task Forces are created to undertake work in a defined area and timescale, thereby allowing collaborative work in a structured environment.
Rationale
The drivers behind adopting this model for executing work in the VIVO community is that as an open source community grows, the diversity of the participants' interests and expertise increases and concomitantly, the ability to manage the work done within the community becomes more complex. It becomes difficult to track the work everyone is doing in the community to help avoid that people unknowingly are working on the same issue or at cross-purposes. There's also the desire to increase the visibility of projects being undertaken by community members and to encourage greater community engagement.
Benefits
The lightweight structure is designed to increase the overall productivity of VIVO through systematic prioritization and management of work being done throughout our widely-distributed community. The model is meant to assert the least possible structure and is derived primarily from the experiences and guidelines of related organizations, including the W3C, the Research Data Alliance, and the Apache Software Foundation. The framework has been modified to align with existing VIVO Management Team and Working Group structures.
There are already self-organizing groups within the VIVO community focused on various projects. The Task Force Framework embraces these existing groups and practices and serves to improve upon them by making it is possible to:
- prioritize the work of the community so that it aligns with the VIVO Strategy and Value Proposition
- (No task force should be doing work if the work cannot be directly tied back to the VIVO Strategy and High Priority Goals and Value Proposition)
- (No task force should be doing work if the work cannot be directly tied back to the VIVO Strategy and High Priority Goals and Value Proposition)
- increase the productivity of the community
- provide direction to groups that call for guidance
- increase the number of and visibility of community contributions to the VIVO community, Management Team, and Steering Group
- increase community engagement (and hopefully grow the community)
- ensure that work is getting done
- easily document the key processes for getting work done, including:
- preparation of a brief proposal (charter) describing the work to be done
- ensure the members from the community are solicited to engage with the work
- identify objectives and deliverables
- provide guidance and assistance (from the Management Team, Working Group Leads and/or the Steering Group)
Details outlining how to form a task force, and templates for charter preparation and meeting agendas and notes are provided by following the links below.
For questions about the Task Force Process, Charter Development, or how to determine if the project you want to propose fits within the strategic goals and value proposition of VIVO, please contact Layne Johnson at ljohnson at duraspace.org
Suggest An Idea for a New Task Force Here
How to Form a Task Force
Go to --> this page to find what you need to to create a Task Force
Active VIVO Task Forces
Standard Visualization Suite Task Force - See Draft Charter --> here
