doc: incubating projects must have a champion

[MylesBorins]

We had originally had "identifying a champion" as a section in the
application but removed it to make the process more inclusive.

This change re-adds the champion as an entrance criteria for the
incubation phase. Without a champion in incubation it will be quite
a bit harder for projects to be successful. Further, if no member
of the CPC is willing to sponsor / champion a project that would
be a fairly clear sign that the project should not enter incubation.

[kborchers]

Further, if no member of the CPC is willing to sponsor / champion a project that would be a fairly clear sign that the project should not enter incubation.

I'm not against having a champion be part of the entrance criteria but I don't fully agree with this assertion. What is the role of the champion? What sort of time investment is expected from a champion? Is it as simple as making a statement that the champion recommends this project or more of a mentor type role or something in between? Depending on the answers to these questions, it could limit the number of CPC members that are willing/able to champion a project through the incubation process. This could lead to rejecting a project that is a good fit but not "exciting" enough to get a CPC member to commit as a champion.

[MylesBorins]

@kborchers I'm imagining that a champion is an individual taking on the responsibility of making sure that a project is successful. This would include navigating internal conversations, mentoring through the process, and potentially a number of other things that come up during the process.

We could loosen the requirements so that the champion doesn't need to be a CPC member... but someone who wants to be a champion can easily become a Regular Member by opening a PR.

I've added the agenda label so we can discuss in the next meeting.

[jorydotcom]

I see the role of 'champion' as being akin to 'customer success' - the project ought to have someone they can count on to answer questions, help navigate process, and make sure things aren't slipping through cracks. I see it as a way to be welcoming and help a new project integrate with the community and meet new people.

Right now it seems like these responsibilities largely fall in myself & @brianwarner's laps, and I'm fine if this role is by default one that's filled by staff/program people rather than CPC members. However that may become a challenge over time if budget doesn't support it.

[tobie]

Worth noting the ASF has a similar incubation process and has both the concept of champions (which help prepare application for the incubation stage) and mentors (up to 3 per project) whose role is to accompany the project up to graduation. The role and responsibilities of mentors are described here. Mentors must be members of the Incubator Project Management Committee which contains roughly 300 members.

[mhdawson]

I think having a champion is important, Ideally, it should be somebody who can help the project through the process but I can see that with CPC members coming from existing projects that might be a challenge.

[kborchers]

I think I like the idea of following something similar to the ASF model which @tobie described. Separating champion from mentor and then allowing multiple mentors makes a lot of sense. My main concern here is making sure that the project has access to the resources they need to be successful through the entire application/incubation process.

[tobie]

BTW, the application form also mentions a Champion, which is described as "the main point of contact during the application process" which I assume is someone on the project side (and not on the CPC side). We'll want to fix that language accordingly.

[mhdawson]

#321 covers what was suggested in the last CPC meeting.

[MylesBorins]

@mhdawson can this be closed in lieu of #321?

[mhdawson]

Yes, I'll close, please re-open if you don't think that is the right thing to do.