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An update on the activities of the Sakai Foundation. Presented at the 10th Sakai Conference in Boston.
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Sakai Foundation Update
Michael KorcuskaJuly 8, 2009
Agenda
• Sakai Foundation in 2008• Sakai Foundation in 2009• Membership• Finances• Conferences• Proposed by-law changes
Sakai Foundation
• MISSION — help coordinate design, development, testing & distribution of software; manage & protect intellectual property; provide basic infrastructure & small staff; champion open source & open standards.
• PARTNERS — approximately 100 member organizations contribute $10K per year ($5K for smaller institutions, sliding scale for commercial affiliates).
• GOVERNANCE — ten board members elected by member reps to serve three-year terms; Executive Director manages day-to-day operations.
• BUDGET — funds 4-6 staffers, admin services, computing infrastructure, project coordination, conferences, Sakai Fellows Program, advocacy & outreach activities.
We are not “in charge” of the Sakai Product. We do develop community practices.
SAKAI FOUNDATION 2008
Focus on Quality
• August 2007: My first month at Sakai• Sakai release 2.4 going in production• Large institutions spending too much time on
troubleshooting & maintenance• Fewer resources for new feature development
• Immediate Foundation Goal• Quality, Quality, Quality
• Other Issues• Desire to rebuild Sakai UX• (Perception of a) developer-dominated community• Roadmap
Changes & Results
• Increased Foundation staff focused on QA• Extended QA Cycle for 2.5
• Formal Beta and Release Candidates• Final 2.5.0 release in March instead of November
• Introduction of Maintenance Releases• Currently on Sakai 2.5.4, the most reliable version of
Sakai to date• Challenge: Managing 2.5 and 2.6 releases
simultaneously• Not to mention 3.0
UX Improvement
• Did not make 2.6 release• Not enough work completed in time for code freeze• Many felt design needed happen on tools before they
would deploy on campus• 2.7 or 3?
• Currently the Foundation is working towards 3.0• Some design work can be implemented for 2.7, but we
need resources willing to do this• Overall Result
• Positive change in direction• Won’t be satisfied until changes reach release
8
Sakai 3
• Changing expectations• Google docs/apps, Social
Networking, Web 2.0• Success of project sites =
Sakai beyond courses
• New technologies• Standards-based, open
source projects• JCR (Jackrabbit)• Open Social (Shindig)
• Client-side programming• JavaScript/AJAX
Design Result
Sakai 3: What
• A set of R&D projects that will form the foundation of Sakai 3
• A series of preview releases starting later this year
• No defined date for Sakai 3.0
SAKAI FOUNDATION 2009
Current Challenges
• Predictable Roadmap• Good things are happening• When will they emerge into the release?• Action: Sakai Product Manager, Clay Fenlason
• Communication• Who is working on what?• Who is interested in the same things I am?• Action: Sakai Communication Manager, Pieter Hartsook
• Creating large changes• User Interface Improvement: UX Improvement Project• Major Tool Rewrites• A Completely New Version?• Action: New Product Development Process
Sakai Goals
• Adoption• Broad & Diverse (significant adoption by different types of
organizations)• The top choice for innovators
• Product Experience• Cohesive, effective and engaging (end users)• Platform for local innovation (developers)• Easy to deploy/manage (production)
• Community• Easy to contribute (for new & experienced members)• Diverse (roles & institutions)• Excellence (recognized as desirable to belong to)
Community Wants
• Clear product vision & direction• More communication from Foundation• Roadmap that allows campus advocates to
effectively communicate with stakeholders• Project structure that attracts sufficient resources
and uses them effectively• More input from functional experts & designers• Allow diverse types participation
• Large and small, Formal and informal, Institutional and individual
Product Life Cycle
Majo
r Pro
du
ct Ch
ang
es• Generate new ideas• Try new technologies
• Prove desirability• Create dev team/plan• Reduce dev risks
• Finish building• Test• Document
Community
Product Council
Product Development• Structuring of work in this phase is key• Projects probably need
• Project management• Project schedule and plan• Functional leadership• UX (including accessibility and i18n)• Multiple organizations involved
• Exceptions possible• K2 using Apache-style management successfully
Key: Ability to predictably deliver quality product
Product Council
• Authority:• Decide what is in the official release
• How:• Based on objective criteria as much as possible• Open process and document decision-making
• Also:• Provide guidance to incubation projects who are
wondering what they need to do to make the release
Product Council
• Nate Angell (rSmart)• Noah Botimer (Michigan)• Eli Cochran (Berkeley)• Michael Feldstein (Oracle)• Clay Fenlason (Georgia Tech & Sakai)• David Goodrum (Indiana) • John Lewis (Unicon)• Stephen Marquard (Cape Town)• John Norman (Cambridge)• Max Whitney (NYU)
MEMBERSHIP AND ADOPTION
10th Sakai Conference - Boston, MA, U.S.A. 21July 2009
New Foundation Members
Membership
• Steady overall• Expiration of original 3-year SEPP commitment
• Some institutions are not renewing• Introduction of 3-year discounted membership
• 20% for a 3 year commitment with up front payment• Membership will be driven by adoption
• And effectiveness in coordinating community
23
What Adoption Numbers?
• Moodle statistics are often referenced• These aren’t right for us.
• Number of Courses/Installation, ~ 40• Number of Users/Installation, ~ 400• 33% Higher Education, 12% Commercial
23
24
Sakai Adoption Metrics
Total enrollment of Higher Ed institutions that have adopted Sakai as their primary CLE
24
US Adoption
• Large research institutions who have (or will have) Sakai as their primary CMS account for ~22% of total enrollments (up from 16% as of Paris)
Adopted 22%
Not Adopted 78%
Overall US Adoption
Newpor...
Paris
Boston
0
250
500
750
1,000
In Thousands
Overall, US institutions who
have adopted Sakai have total
enrollment of 949,000.
Up from 832,000 at Paris (12%
increase)
Adopting 2 or 3?
• Generally, the answer is 2.6 or 2.7• It works well today• 3 doesn’t exist yet
• The best path to 3 will be through 2• Bb/WebCT migration to 3 is undefined• Bb/WebCT migration to 2 is well known• Many will be migrating from Sakai 2 to 3
• Exceptions• You don’t have a CMS or you are using something like
Sharepoint• Your adoption timeline is 2012 or later
FINANCES AND BUDGET
Finances
• Healthy: $890K of current assets• Current Cash Balance of almost $500K• A/R of almost $400K
• But• Conference expenses haven’t come in yet• Much of this reserved for future years (3-year
memberships)
• Expect to collect/spend approximately $900k this year
Spending Goals
• Less spending on conferences• Net of $300k two years ago• Net of $60k (estimated) this year
• More spending on product development• QA, UX, Release management
• More spending on communications• Internal and external (outreach)
OTHER TOPICS
Conferences
• Single Global Conference• Late June, Early July every year
• Regional Conferences (since Paris)• Stockholm, Virginia Tech, Australia, Japan
• Development Meetings• Next one?
By-Law Changes
• Remove requirement to have board approve conference chair and committee• If they want to they can do so. But it shouldn’t
be required in the by-laws.• Allow up to 2 external board members
• To bring perspective we might not get via elections process (financial, legal)
• Approved by 2/3 of elected board• Members must approve this change