Wikimedia Conference 2014/Documentation/22

22 Moving from Ideas to Experiments

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

Main challenge/goal

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'?

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

Two primary areas of innovation

creation of something new
rethinking existing processes/systems

Three steps that are an integral part of every project

identify problem (blockages, barriers, technological gaps)
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
test solution (i.e. conduct an experiment by planning, measuring (documentation), implementing, learning)
case study: Wikisource IEG grant (click for more details or see the slide)

Some key collaboration tools that do exist

Myths

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

Links

Summary of the session on Wikimedia Argentina's blog (spanish)