CODE3 - Collaborative Community Development

A Community Collaborative and Continuous Direct Engagement in the Design Development and Deployment Process

We need a methodology and framework that acknowledges the special nature of ICT projects and enables the stakeholders to participate actively at all stages of the development process. One that can be easily understood as an application of the Open Source model to social initiatives and project design and development.

One that provides a horizontal approach and combination of methodology, techniques and tools for making possible the direct engagement of a community in the process of building their own development solutions and initiatives.

Rather than a top-down or bottom-up approach, we need to show the many ways of implementing a horizontal approach to project development, management and growth, the tools that can be used and the techniques to deal with diverse skills, interests and communication and participation levels.

In particular we need to address the following issues:

• How to bring together, avoid conflict and allow collaboration among: Developers, Management (Funders or Policy Makers) and Stakeholders.
• Going from a discrete usability observation-design-implementation-feedback-improvement process to a continuous development process.
• Replacing intermediated observation with direct engagement.
• Community ownership through user empowerment.
• Definition of roadmap, stages and roles.
• Embracing end user diversity vs. standardization.
• From usability and user centric design to community focused development.
• Tools to use.

Please, keep in mind that CODE3 is an open approach to the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) projects and environments that serve a community of users. The assumption is made that, although the users may have different skill levels and experience dealing with technologies, they have indeed access to it.