Repo Project Overview (for README)

[a-laughlin]

The point of this issue is to aggregate ideas for the project readme. As the comments develop, I'll update the description. Please suggest sections if you think of any. The comments have some ideas.

Tentative Sections:

• Problem Definition
• Goals (SMART)
• Screenshots of "Done" (what the site looks like once goals met)
• Success Criteria (minimum necessary to consider project a success, if differs from goals)
• Success/Goal measurement
• Stakeholders/Audiences (devs, and especially all gov decision makers involved, because if they ain't happy, ain't nobody happy, and the project will likely be shelved)
• Roadmap (i.e., high level features for V2, V3, etc)

[a-laughlin]

Potentially related to #3 (project overview presentation), having a clear project overview in the repo would help to clarify things.

@vr00n also posted a good example (thanks for posting those Varun). While the RFP's detail is overkill for a readme, it hits some necessary points I included above (e.g., success measurement).

Another thing to consider from Varun's post, is the user journey. They're useful to develop the goals. For example, thinking about user needs, ways to quantify them, and solutions to meet them would help fill out the sections "Problem Definition", "Goals", and "Success/Goal Measurement".

This template from Code for San Francisco is potentially useful too, though I don't have time to break it down now.

[a-laughlin]

Also relates to Tutorial Design since the screenshots and/or prototypes will evolve as we get audience input.

That said, we should consider making the goals loose enough to allow for iterative design phases. On one hand we're unlikely to hit an optimal design on the first iteration if we don't know what works. On the other, a first iteration could be the definition of "Done" for a V1, with the assumption we'd go on to V2. That may make scoping the project easier. Need to think about / research that.

[a-laughlin]

Should include maintenance plan.