Marketing Pipeline

OSGeo has access to a number of marketing pipelines. This page identifies what these pipelines are, which then enables us to define artefacts required from each project to effectively make use the pipeline.

Refer to this Pipeline overview for a description of a marketing pipeline and why it is valuable.

Packaging Pipelines

OSGeo Live

The OSGeo Live DVD and Virtual Machine bundles up a stack of the best GeoSpatial Open Source Software on an Ubuntu/Linux DVD. It is handed out at conferences, used as the basis for OSGeo training, and handed out by projects and companies wishing to promote their software to new users. All OSGeo applications (excluding libraries) should be available on the LiveDVD.

The OSGeo Live's primary focus is on providing an easy, user friendly introduction in GeoSpatial Open Source Software, from complete newbie trialing GeoSpatial Open Source for the first time, through to tertiary education students. To achieve this, the focus on the DVD is on:

Quality
Stable Software
Simplicity in initial introductions, which may be expanded into more detailed concepts
Consistancy between documentation and applications as much as possible
Currency: simplify project maintenance requirements so that documents are continually updated
Periodic: Released every 6 months, aligned with the Ubuntu release cycle and the FOSS4G annual conference

OSGeo Live requires the following artifacts for each project:

Available from version 3.0, after FOSS4G 2009:

Install script
Definition (as an unformatted paragraph)
Project logo (32x32-pixel XPM icon for use by the Debian menus, and 48x48-pixel PNG icon for use by freedesktop.org menus)
Overview (one page HTML overview which includes:
- Image, probably screen snapshot. (probably 600x800 pixels?). (Introduced from version 4.0 for foss4g2010)
Test Description as per: Live_GIS_Disc_Testing (To be replaced by Quick Start from version 4)
Test Results as per: Live_GIS_Disc_Testing
Windows installers (for some packages)
Grouping (to enable categorisation in pull down lists)

To be introduced from version 4.0 for foss4g 2010:

Quick start guide
- Contains detailed steps showing a newbie how to set up and run a simple working instance of the software.
- It should be able to be run in 5 to 15 minutes
- Ideally, it will include screen snapshots
- It may additionally cotain extra steps to cover all core functionality
Lightening Overview presentation, in Open Office Impress format (and covertable to Microsoft Powerpoint)

To start to be introduced from version 4.0 for foss4g 2010, and expanded in future versions:

Grouping Explanation Overview:
- Explain what projects in a grouping do.(eg Web Services, Mobile, etc)
- Provide a paragraph or two for each relevant standard covered by the grouping
Grouping's project comparison:
- Provide information which helps select between similar projects between groupings. Targeted at Users or System Architects who would be making decisions about whether to use this product or not.

Future releases:

Introduce user and reference documentation. Ideally this should be consistant across projects, but it will likely be a number of years before such consistancy is achieved, and it may not be considered desirable.
Introduce training material for each project. This should be traced to international learning goals.

osgeo4win

UbuntuGIS / DebianGIS

Ubuntu and Debian are popular, widely deployed, linux distributions with a simple system for users to install new applications. The bundling and testing required for debian packages is non-trivial, but reach is great. Also, packages bundled into debian are automatically rolled into ubuntu, and it is then relatively simple to roll into the liveDVD which is Ubuntu based.

Artifacts required for each project:

A bundled package

Web Presence

Each project should already have a web page.

The OSGeo Live project also has a consistent list of project definitions and descriptions. This will likely also soon include project comparison information which will provide good material for selecting technologies.

Conference Booth

Since OSGeo inception, OSGeo boothes have been a regular feature at many international and local conferences, manned by local OSGeo volunteers. A standard exhibition pack, outlined at Exhibition_Pack, provides the volunteers with the tools to promote OSGeo packages.

The following artifacts are required from each project:

Software packaged on the OSGeo Live DVD (as above)
Project Overview, as a colour PDF, printed on paper which includes:
- Image, probably screen snapshot. (What resolution?)
- Project logo (what resolution?)

Presentations / Webinars

OSGeo evangelists regularly provide OSGeo presentations at conferences. Conference attendees regularly give a report back to their workplace outlining what their learned at the conference. Many presentations have been recorded as videos, and there is talk of an OSGeo webinar series. What we are looking for here are base OSGeo presentations which can be easily presented by multiple OSGeo evantualists.

OSGeo-Live Lightening talk

This presentation is to be launched at FOSS4G 2010. It will provide a lightening overview of the (approx 40) packages on the OSGeo Live DVD/Virtual Machine, with one slide/package. Each slide to take 30 to 60 seconds to present. It will also contain a few overview slides (eg: Explaining the relevant OGC standards) Requirements from each project:

One slide which contains:
- Image (probably screen snapshot. 600x800 pixels)
- Bullet points explaining at a high level what the application does, how established the project is, and why you would select it
- Text in notes providing a 45 sec script for the presenter to read. A reference to the one page project overview, to provide the presenter with background information.

Project Specific Presentation

A 20 min presentation for each specific project.

Technology Comparisons

Comparisons between similar projects ease the technology selection process for new users wishing to determine which technology is right for them. These technology comparison summaries provide tables list available features and key selection criteria against applications.

Requirements from each project:

Maintain up to date information for the latest stable release of software, in the relevant technology comparison table.
Ensure that updating this information is part of the project release process.

Comparison projects:

Desktop Comparison
Web Browser Comparison
Web Service Comparison
- See the WMS Shootout. WFS/WCS comparison is still wishware.
Database Comparison (hopefully will start to be covered at foss4g 2010)
Web Processing Service Comparison (still wishware)
Mobile Application Comparison (hopefully introduced through a talk at foss4g2010)

Case Studies

Systems architects and project directors reduce project risk by reviewing previous implementations of technologies they are considering. Hence, case studies which describe how Open Source Geospatial has been used in previous project are very valuable. Case Studies from risk adverse organisations (like government) are usually more valuable than those from R&D organisations (like University projects).