DDEV Advisory Group 2025-05-07

[rfay]

Previous meeting: March 5, 2025
Next meeting: July 2, 2025

Agenda

• Turn on recording, turn on AI note-taker (Zoom)
• Governance: Apache PMC model used by Backdrop CMS.
• Mike Anello doing invoice payments this month, step forward in making things not depend only on Randy. Process is now documented in private repository, and we're practicing.
• Massive Add-on Maintenance and Documentation by Stas
• XHGui feature sponsored by TYPO3, but transfer has not come through yet.
• Drupalcon Atlanta.
• Discussion: Should event attendance become a priority for DDEV?
• Request for TYPO3 Q3 Community Budget Idea
• Randy will be out Bikepacking approx May 23-June 23
• Finances (see reports below)

Financials and planning

Financial Summary:

Bank balance: $7075.91

• DDEV Foundation Profit and Loss 2025-05-07-13_07.pdf
• DDEV Foundation Balance Sheet 2025-05-07-13_08.pdf

Anything on anybody's mind!

Recording

https://youtu.be/FjJehzLP3IY

AI-generated Meeting Notes

Quick recap

Randy led a discussion on the governance model for their project, inspired by the Apache Foundation's Project Management Committee (PMC) model, and encouraged the team to review the model and consider its potential for their project. The team also discussed the structure and potential downsides of a small organization's board selection process, and the importance of considering the goals of the board. Lastly, Randy discussed the success of the Xh Gui, the challenges of reaching out to organizations for financial support, and the need for a clearer page on ddev.com for donations.

Next steps

• Randy to create a blog post about the most popular or useful Ddev add-ons (Blog: Most popular/useful DDEV add-ons ddev.com#410)
• Randy to create a blog post seeking connections for attending and contributing to open-source events
• Randy to solicit ideas for the Q3 Typo3 community budget proposal in the next 2 weeks
• Selwyn to add the Ddev funding widget to his website
• Randy to follow up with Andrew about engaging potential financial supporters
• Jonas to revisit and update the issue about ddev exec command error code mirroring
• Randy to investigate the Github Sponsors page issue reported by Selwyn
• Randy to work on improving the clarity of donation options on the Ddev.com support page

Summary

Governance Model for Project Success

Randy led a discussion on the governance model for their project, inspired by the Apache Foundation's Project Management Committee (PMC) model. He shared that Backdrop CMS link, a project with over 10 years of experience, has successfully implemented this model. Randy encouraged the team to review the model and consider its potential for their project. The goal for 2025 is to make progress on governance, possibly updating their founding papers. The team was also encouraged to share any issues or problems they encounter with the model.

Exploring Board Selection Process Solutions

In the meeting, Michael, Randy, and Chris discussed the structure and potential downsides of a small organization's board selection process. Randy highlighted the common issue of power centers choosing board members, which can limit the introduction of new perspectives. He also mentioned TYPO3's membership process, which gives one vote to every entity on most matters. The team considered the Backdrop CMS and the Apache model as potential solutions for their needs. Selwyn suggested using AI tools like Quizzing Co-pilot or Perplexity to explore new forms of governance. The conversation ended with Randy expressing interest in exploring the deep research options.

Randy Discusses Board Goals and Procedures

Randy discussed the importance of considering the goals of the board, such as providing guidance or increasing the number of board members with less than a certain number of years of experience with DDEV. He also mentioned the challenges of having insiders on the board and the need for more formal governance. Randy then moved on to discuss the progress made in setting up Mike Anello as a signer on the bank account and the successful test invoice payment using Wise.com. He also mentioned the creation of a private repository to document procedures, including a financial pattern. Randy concluded by mentioning the need to document the accounting process for the meetings.

Add-Ons Updates and Performance Improvements

Randy highlighted Stas's significant work on updating official add-ons to current best practices, which has improved their functionality and template. Michael suggested creating a blog post about the usage of add-ons, which Randy agreed to add to their follow-up list. Stas mentioned a recent change in Github's policy that may affect the automated tests for add-ons, and Randy explained the implications of this change. The team also discussed the Xh Gui feature, sponsored by the typo 3 community budget idea, which has improved performance studies.

Randy's Event and DDEV Discussion

Randy discussed the success of the XHGui feature and the minor issues that were resolved. He also mentioned attending Drupalcon in Atlanta and the challenges of getting sessions accepted. Randy expressed interest in the group's opinion on events and Ddev, considering their financial situation. Michael suggested focusing on PHP conferences and making connections in the PHP community. Randy also discussed the possibility of attending events like Craft CMS and OSCon, but emphasized the need to find a way to contribute. Randy then proposed a feature for DDEV that could be attractive to the Typo 3 community and asked for ideas. He also mentioned his upcoming bikepacking trip and the current financial situation of the company. Michael expressed his willingness to help with fundraising and governance.

Discussing Financial Support and Github Issues

Randy discussed the challenges of reaching out to organizations for financial support and the need for a clearer page on ddev.com for donations. He also mentioned the public data feed and the contributions of Stas, Bernardo, and others. Jonas expressed interest in working on the issue of executing commands and mirroring error codes. Michael and Selwyn had to leave the meeting early. Selwyn reported an issue with the Github sponsors page not working on his browser, which Randy offered to help investigate.