User Guides for Students and Instructors
OSDDP Site Documentation (Using Drupal)
Submitting Projects and Issues: Understanding the OSDDP Project Management Process
When working on projects on the OSDDP website, it is necessary to know how to create and post information. To do this, you must create issues and learn how to comment and update them. Issues can be new documents for the site, white papers, and any other documentation pertaining to OSDDP. Issues may also include suggestions for new areas within the guide and anything referring to concurrent OSDDP projects. The following describes how to create an issue, submit information, comment, and update that issue.
An update to this page explaining the review process and using the Status field in issues will soon be available.
Submitting a Project Issue
It is strongly suggested that users search through existing issues before creating a new one. Duplicate issues can end up causing duplicate work with different people working on the same project independently. Also, site members are encouraged to create new issues even if they do not intend to work on the project themselves. OSDDP works best when all site members contribute ideas for future projects.
NOTE: The OSDDP site project issue submission section does not work properly with some versions of Internet Explorer for the Mac. If you encounter difficulties on a Mac, use another browser.
* In order to post or submit an issue onto the OSDDP website you must first log on to the OSDDP website using the account name and password that you created.
- In the navigation block in the left hand menu (look for your username at the top), click on the create content link . Then select the issues link.
- In the Submit issue input screen, create a title in the Title box . Your title should describe the project you wish to submit. Avoid vague titles.
- Use the Project pull down menu to select the general project category your issue belongs in. Selecting an item in this field is Required. General project choices include,
- OSDDP Site – a project pertaining to maintaining the OSDDP website such as user documentation, improving site navigation, correcting usability concerns.
- OSDDP Project – a project pertaining to the work of OSDDP such as client work, white papers on open source, press releases, information pages on OSDDP, etc.
- Drupal – a special category related to working with the Drupal open source development community. Use this option for projects such as general Drupal documentation or working with clients on Drupal.
- Press the Preview button
- Now you should see another input screen with additional information for you to fill out. First, select the proper information in the pull down menus at the top:
- Component & Category: For these two, choose the options that best fit the project issue you are creating.
- Priority: Leave this as normal unless you are reporting something critical to the site, such as a major Drupal program bug to be fixed on the site.
- Assigned: If you intend to take on this project yourself, select your username from the pull down menu. Otherwise, leave the default setting.
- Status: The status fields are used to describe the state of the project in the production process. If you are just creating the issue, leave as active. Otherwise, consult the main Submitting Projects and Issues page for a description of how to apply the correct status when updating an issue.
- In the Description box, write a detailed but brief description of your submission and any instructions that you have for the reader. You may use plain text or HTML in this area.
- If you have a file attachment to include with the issue, use the Browse button next to the
File attachment box to select your file. Note that you may have to reselect the file again after previewing your post, so you may just want to wait until after you preview.
- If you are satisfied with your entry, select the Preview button.
- Drupal will then display your post above so that you can double check your entry. If you have supplied a file attachment, you may need to reselect it at this time.
- Select Submit to post this issue. Note: if you do not see a Submit button, you have most likely forgotten to fill in one of the required selections. Look for Required marked in red. Then select Preview again.
- Once you have submitted your file to the OSDDP site it can be read, altered, and commented on by anyone that has access to the site. All of the comments and suggestions will appear on your issue’s page.
Updating an Existing Issue
Site members will want to update an issue when they wish to clarify the scope of a project issue, provide drafts for review, accept assignment for a project issue, or update the status of the project issue. For general discussions of the project issue or to provide additional feedback, please use the comment boards attached to each issue (review Adding a Comment to an Issue for more information).
The process for updating an existing issue is very similar to submitting one for the first time.
- Visit the issue you wish to update. Select the update issue link.
- The input screen you will see is the same as the one used for creating an issue. Be sure to review Submitting a Project Issue for details on all options.
- When updating an issue, do not change the title.
- Be sure to select the appropriate Status choice for your update (see the Submitting Projects and Issues page for more information). Here are a few things to consider:
- If accepting assignment for an issue, only one person can be selected. Please be sure to list all other group members (if any) who are working on the project in the Description box.
- If offering a draft for review, set the Status to needs review. In the Description box, please describe where the draft is in the drafting process. In order to solicit better feedback, include any questions or concerns for possible reviewers.
- Please use the Preview button and read through what you have posted carefully before submitting. You cannot edit a project issue once you have selected the Submit button.
Adding a Comment to an Issue
With the first post of every issue, you will see an add new comment link. The comment board appears at the bottom of the page when a comment or comments have been posted. Please use comments for giving feedback on project issues (except when posting an attachment; in that case, you will have to use the update issue option) or any other general discussion about the project issues. As a matter of courtesy and in the interest of continuing conversation to better develop the project, site members responsible for the project should respond to any feedback in the comment boards.
The comment boards are not restricted to outside reviewers. When a group is working on a project, they may wish to use the comment boards as a place to plan and discuss the work of their project.
NOTE: When responding to an existing comment, please use the reply to comment link underneath the comment being replied to. This creates a threaded conversation, making it easier to follow which comments are in response to each other and which ones are new conversations regarding the project issue.
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