[Oe List ...] OECommunity "project management" website

[David Dunn]

Hello Colleagues,

CONTEXT & QUESTION
We have some housekeeping and a decision to make: Do we maintain and pay for
the online resource that was created before the Springboard Gathering in
Denver in late March at <oecommunity.grouphub.com>?

BACKGROUND
We've been building the 'Repository' for some time now at <wedgeblade.net>.
Since the Springboard Gathering a couple of months ago, the Repository has
moved in the direction of a 'portal'--a quick access point to a number of
online resources, including other sites and our listservs.

We've been experimenting with the 'OE Community' website as a way to share
documents related to the Springboard Gathering. This site is organized by
'projects' and now contains projects related to the July Springboard follow
up gathering at the Pattersons' 'Abbey North' north of Toronto and to
preparation for the 2008 ICA International gathering in Japan. Anyone can
log in and participate.

THE DATA
The "OE Community" project management web site costs $24/month to
accommodate 15 projects. There is also a $12/month version that can
accommodate 3 projects and a free version that will accommodate 1 project.
We need to decide whether this particular resource is the right 'tool' that
is really useful, how useful and how much its users are willing to pay for
it.

The Respository website costs only time, not any appreciable amount of money
to maintain.

COST/BENEFIT CONSIDERATIONS
It's probably realistic to say that this sort of site is only useful if one
or more groups of people are actually actively using it to manage,
coordinate and communicate about an active project. It's definitely not cost
effective as an information repository site. We already have the Repository.

The question within the question becomes: Does anyone what to use the "OE
Community" (project management) site?

OPTIONS
1. We could transfer Springboard Gathering documents over to the Repository
site for long term 'archiving' and discontinue the "OE Community" site.

2. We could transfer the Springboard documents to the Repository,
discontinue the 'OE Community' site and work to add 'project management'
capability to the Repository at no cost.

3. We could transfer Springboard documents to the Repository and see if
anyone wants to use the "OE Community" site--and whether the lower monthly
fee for 3 projects--or even the one project 'free site' is adequate for our
projected use.

MY RECOMMENDATION
Unless there are specific groups with interest in the "OE Community" site, I
think that it is more futuric and more realistic to spend time and energy
building and adding collaboration capability to the Repository site. I'd
like to shift from paying for and maintaining the site, to training and
coaching others to maintain it who want to use it. My primary interest is
moving in the direction of the care and feeding of the wedgeblade.net portal
site.

ANSWERING THE REAL QUESTION
The deciding factor will be whether one or more groups of people would find
it worthwhile to use and maintain the 'OE Community' website, including
carrying the monthly fee.

I'd like to hear from whoever wants to weigh in. Thanks for any and all
feedback.

David

PS. The <oecommunity.grouphub.com> website guest login is:
username: oe
password: community

-- 
David Dunn
www.mirrorcommunication.com
david at mirrorcommunication.com
720-314-5991
Skype: dmirror

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