Wikimedia Conference 2014/Documentation/22

22 Moving from Ideas to Experiments


presentation slides (pdf)
Jessie presenting

Speaker: Jessie Wild Sneller (WMF)

tl;dr: Don't be afraid of your own ideas. Talk about them, ask the WMF for help and realize them.

Main challenge/goal

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Moving from ideas to experiments: we talk a lot about cool new ideas, but why do they matter? how can we know if they are of any use? What can we do as a community to continue to incubate new ideas and execute experiment?

What's the purpose of 'innovation' or 'ideas'?

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  • to make things better/be more successful
  • inherently important to humankind
  • as a response to things changing

Two primary areas of innovation

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  • creation of something new
  • rethinking existing processes/systems

Three steps that are an integral part of every project

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  1. identify problem (blockages, barriers, technological gaps)
  2. find solution (e.g. by coming up with tons of ideas; identifying one ideal solution; identifying the tools/resources needed) based on its desirability, feasibility, viability, scalability
  3. test solution (i.e. conduct an experiment by planning, measuring (documentation), implementing, learning)
  4. case study: Wikisource IEG grant (click for more details or see the slide)

Some key collaboration tools that do exist

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Myths

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  • Innovation is too risky and won't be funded
  • WMF will not help in developing plan
  • → NOT TRUE! Communication is key! Ask your questions!!
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