Chandler ISR June 2004
Chandler • Open Source Personal Information Manager • Email, calendar, contacts, tasks, free-form items • Easy sharing and collaboration • Server optional • Linux, Mac, and Windows • Modular and extensible platform
Heart of Chandler • Organize and structure information the way people would like • Rich ability to associate and interconnect all kinds of items • Ground-up rethink of user experience including sharing and collaboration
Project History • June 2001- inception, vision statement. 3 people (birth) • October 2002 - Web site launched, source code publicly available. 8 people. (childhood) • February 2004 - first production quality infrastructure code, rationalization of development process. 20 people. (adolescence)
Chandler Roadmap • Chandler 1.0 (Canoga) suitable for individuals and small workgroups • Chandler 2.0 (Westwood) is our first version designed for institutional adoption. Plan of record Q4 2005 • Next release (0.4) is scheduled for Oct. 2004 • We are recalibrating our long-term schedules
Chandler Snapshot • Basic architecture framework in place • Repository • Chandler Presentation and Interaction Framework • Scheduling and Notification Framework • Content Model • Making the first experimentally usable release • Enter and edit items and collections • Organize and share items and collections, e.g., calendars • Basic security
Chandler 1.0 (Canoga) • Competitive PIM feature set + a few compelling ‘cool’ features • Target: ‘info-centric’ users • High volume information transactions • Information spanning multiple domains and richly inter-related • Low reliance on organizational infrastructure • Self-declared technology enthusiast • Routinely collaborates with other info-centric users • On campus: small departments and workgroups
Chandler 2.0 (Westwood) • First version for campus-wide adoption • Target: students, faculty and staff in higher education • Supported by $2.75 MM grant from Andrew E. Mellon Foundation and a group of 25 universities
Key Westwood Features • Nomadic usage and central repositories • Standards based calendar client • Full interoperability with standards based infrastructure • Robust security framework • Next level of maturity in features, performance and robustness
Why Open Source • I started with a product vision • No viable path to sustainable business model via proprietary development model • Success of open source in OS and middleware highly suggestive for applications
Is it really Open Source? • Building Blocks • Built on other OSS projects: Python, Berkeley DB, Open SSL, wxWidgets, Lucene, etc. • OSAF contributes back to those projects • Tools • CVS • Bugzilla • Tinderbox • Licensing • Hybrid license: GPL or commercial
Our Culture • Values matter • We value design integrity, product quality, inclusive & respectful workplace • Is there life after stock options? • Better alignment to open source culture, native engineering culture
About Software Design • Software design as a distinct discipline • An autobiographical aside • What architects are supposed to do for buildings… • Why software design IS NOT user interface or user interaction design • Software design in practice at OSAF • Working groups and the Design working group • Learning to separate the discourse • Designers and developers working together • Software design as a profession
Transparency and Participation • Public mailing lists and wiki for design, architecture, development discussion, documentation, product planning, meeting minutes, developer journals • Process transparency itself cannot remove barriers to participation
Community • The ideal • Prerequisites • Builds and Patches • Code
Key Challenges • Constrain and mold ambition without losing the spark • Increase rate of progress without exploitation of the staff • Build community while maintaining design integrity • Transition from benign dictatorship to greater democracy
The Bigger Picture • Is Chandler an Outlook killer? • Why a non-profit? • Creating a vibrant ecology • Will open source win on the desktop?
