Hi Sharan, Thank you for starting this important topic. OFBiz definitely needs strategic objectives and a sense of direction. To try to formulate a strategy, I would suggest perhaps we highlight where I think OFBiz delivers value and where it does not, and based on that provide a few suggestions on moving forward.
OFBiz main value proposition ------------------------------------------- - A very robust domain model based on the data model resource book. - A library of services to control and manipulate the data model. - A DSL that hides and abstracts away the complexity of everything (services, entities, widgets, routing, etc...) and makes it easy for adopters to provide value quickly. - A business automation suite. What OFBiz is not (yet?) ------------------------------------ Currently OFBiz may provide some of the below, but it is not the main value proposition. - A web framework - A general purpose programming environment - An ERP system ready for immediate use by business owners (not geared for end-users) Where should we focus? ----------------------------------- If you agree with the above assessment on OFBiz's value proposition, then I think we need to focus our limited resources and efforts and utilize the help of the community where it provides the highest value for effort. To start this discussion I suggest the list of below strategic objectives to try and move forward over the next 1-2 years at which time we can review and amend the strategy: - UI redesign: I think the user interface is one of the weakest points in our project and is probably the most critical item for adoption because at the end this is what people _see_. Having non-technical people download OFBiz, fire it up and start using it immediately without the intervention of a consultant or a developer is key to bigger adoption. Bigger adoption in turn leads to a more thriving community and business built around OFBiz. Hence we need a fully redesigned user interface that is not a reference for developers but rather a usable interface immediately to someone who needs an ERP platform for their business. - Documentation: We have a lot of documentation resources, but they are unorganized, scattered and outdated. Documentation is another key driver of adoption and I think a significant amount of work needs to go into organizing and cleaning up our documentation. We need a unified resource for getting information. I really like for example the documentation of Gradle found in docs.gradle.org which breaks things down beautifully into a user guide, a DSL reference and JavaDocs with very good sub-categorization and hyperlinks between everything. - Branding: A new website, activities on social media, success stories (updating), references, etc ... The reason I recommend the above strategic initiatives is that they are relatively easy and most community members can contribute to which would provide great value by leveraging the help of as many people as we can. Thoughts? Cheers, Taher Alkhateeb On Mon, Nov 28, 2016 at 1:35 PM, Sharan Foga <[email protected]> wrote: > There was a bit that I missed - and this is a common thing that keeps > coming back up when we get together and talk: > > OFBiz could deliver more than one product. We could have more than one > product active at the same time e.g > > - Framework with applications > - Advanced UI but without all features > - Advanced features but with the poor UI > > This is also something that we could think about for the high level > strategy. > > Thanks > Sharan > > On 2016-11-28 11:08 (+0100), "Sharan Foga"<[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Everyone > > > > One of the topics that came up during the brainstorming in Seville was > that the project desperately needs a clear strategy and roadmap. > > > > Benefits: > > - A strategy will provide a clear path for people to follow > > - A strategy will allow us to set goals / milestones and metrics about > progress > > > > In past maybe we have tried to do too much (tried to do it all at once - > which is why we find it h ard to focus). > > > > - One suggestion was to set a maximum of 3 goals and then work only on > these. To define these goals we need to look at what is the most important > thing that we want to achieve - and base them on that. > > - Another suggestion was that the most important thing for the project > is driving adoption. If this is true then what are the key blockers that > stop user adoption of OFBiz? (the UI!) > > - Suggestion to organise / setup teams from the community that focus on > specific areas (e.g. workgroups) - this could really help progress > > > > So to get the discussion started: > > > > 1. Do people agree that the project needs to focus on driving adoption? > > 2. Do people think that the UI is one of the key things that stops this > ? (If, not then please include what do you think is) > > 3. What goals could we set? > > 4. Are people interested in working in workgroups, to focus on specific > areas (or goals)? > > > > (I know there are some ideas/work around the UI going on, but I will > post the Seville details and notes about that in separate discussion > thread.) > > > > Thanks > > Sharan > > > > >
