Mozilla L10N Urdu Team had gathered in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
delegation:
Mozilla l10n Urdu team had gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 4th January 2020 to 6th January 2020. 6 out of 8 Team members had attended this event are Shahbaz Alam (India), Tanzeel Khan (India), Faisal Aziz (India), Mahtaab Alam (India), Aamir Raza(India) and Umer Tanveer (Pakistan).
Adeel Tahir (Pakistan) & Musaeb Khan (Pakistan) were unable to join because of unforeseen visa & travel issues.
background
Since after its inception in 2012 , Mozilla Urdu Team has gone through different transitions. Driven by two countries India & Pakistan, Team has seen various challenges and bottlenecks due to different geographies, lack of standard modus operandi, persistant contributions & language support.
To address these issues, current Urdu l10n team managers Shahbaz & Tanzeel took this initiative with the support of Mozilla L10n Drivers Jeff Betty to understand and retrospect current issues. Hence they reconnected with existing contributors to discuss and plan next course of action which was discussed first on first call and later scheduled for work weekend in Kuala Lumpur.
Agenda
During our initial call, We have identified that Urdu Locale has few contribution challenges. In order to identify these challenges it is vital to bring all contributors on same page. Collaborative discussions happened and we have listed some key areas to take them further which are mentioned below:
- Project Priorities & focus areas
- Accountability Matrix for contributors
- Project Resources & Urdu Language Glossary
- Team Collaboration & Communication
- Recognition
- Team Expansion, On-Boarding and Roles Definition
By taking these areas into consideration, We have created a agenda and the team planned this meeting to derive a long term plan for healthy contribution and team management.
Day 1 – Retrospect & planning
On Day 1 of event , We gathered and discussed how we can build and sustain a better community structure which will help both existing and new contributors to understand and get started with quality contribution.
We have analysed current status of locale and projects and identify areas where immediate attention is needed.
- In Past contributions were random and not focused on project priorities.
- Without a style-sheet and standard glossary , previous translations were not standardized resulting in low quality and ambiguity.
- Lack of accountability and visibility was a bottleneck in persistent contributions and ownership.
- Lack of awareness about roles, tools , resources and team communications impacted team collaboration and quality.
- We were missing a routine communication to keep contribution momentum going.
- No On-boarding documentation and resource available for new contributors.
Identifying these action areas helped us to define our event agenda and future course of action for team.
Day 2 – ACCOUNTABILITY, structuring & communications.
To address challenges discussed on day, Team has decided to bring up a quarterly plan of actions to provide continuous project deliverable and a structure that empowers existing contributors with opportunities , visibility & recognition.
- An extensive style-guide has been created to standardize contributions.[Link]
- Team has decided to do monthly calls to keep contributors aligned with project priorities and action items.
- A responsibility delegation model has been proposed to encourage project ownership and accountability.
- Explained roles and responsibilities of Managers, reviewers & translators to team and define contribution pathway for new contributors.
- Quality contributions will be paramount for all of us.
- Enhance communication with staff to learn how other locals practice and manage.
- Quarterly plans proposed to delivery commitments.
- On-Boarding refined and a plan created to expand contributors base.
day 3 – Action items & takeaways
After a productive day 2 , We gathered on Day 3 to retrospect and conclude our meeting and listed action items as take away for the meetup.
- Managers will ensure proper communication and visibility to team.
- We all pledge to attend monthly meetings and update our status.
- We will follow accountability structure and complete respective projects before string freeze.
- We will ensure quality of translations should be maintained as per standard style-guide.
- Apart from contribution, We will spend our time in on-boarding, mentoring & team expansion.
- Build and maintain trust among team members working in different geographies.
- Extend support in building glossary and promote Firefox in Urdu Language.
Team activites & quality time in Kuala lumpur
Special mentions
Special mentions to people who were unable to make Kualalumpur however they are equally involved and consulted are Yaseen Khan (India), Adeel Tahir (Pakistan), Museb Khan (Pakistan), Manzar Hasnain (India) and all active contributors of Urdu Locale.
Last but not least special thanks to Jeff Betty for supporting & mentoring us to organize such a productive weekend,
Thanks,
Faisal Aziz
Love Open Be Open 