Hi altogether,
I'm going to combine a couple of your statements into one response, *and
then it's EOT from side*. ;-)
First, WebCup originated in La Reunion - which might explain the domain:
http://www.webcup.fr - and has been extended into the Indian Ocean based
on the positive feedback and experience during the past events.
Personally, I find it outstanding that there is an annual challenge in
IT between the islands of this region! Not sure, what the nay-sayers
have to argue about that...
Reading through the various comments, I clearly see that you're
discussing about the technical aspects of how a website should be done
mainly. Well, in disclosure of being a member of the jury during the
WebCup 2015 let me tell you this:
*It absolutely didn't matter at all*
The WebCup is about the creation of a website based on a given subject
and requests within 24 hours.
It's also a fun event. Anyone participating with a serious sense of
competition should simply stay away - the WebCup isn't the right event
for your high standards then.
The whole rating process is based on *the client's / visitor's point of
view*. And how the team addressed the requested functionality in order
to pitch the audience and jury for their vote. Given this background it
absolutely doesn't matter whether a team is writing a website from
scratch using a plain text editor like Notepad or vim, or in which
programming language (PHP, Ruby, Python, ASP.NET, etc.) the back-end, if
ever there is a back-end and data storage after all, or whether an
existing template, free or purchased, has been plugged on top of a
content management system. It simply doesn't matter under the given role
of a website visitor to vet and rate the resulting website.
I know there are purist and very talented software developers on this
mailing list, but frankly, do you care how other people's websites have
been created? Whether somebody else is using WordPress, Drupal,
AngularJS, Laravel, or whatever platform? I don't know, but I don't care
I'm visiting a website because I'm interested in either a product or a
service which I could purchase. And that's what the challenge during the
WebCup is and was about. I cannot and won't comment on past events as I
wasn't present.
Raising the standards of generated outcome, being more meticulous and
whatsoever you all have as arguments. Yes, I agree with you, and the
jury members talked about those aspects. Taking into consideration that
the teams usually consist of 4 members during those 24 hours, this gives
us actually 96 hours of effort, or roughly 2.5 weeks for a single
person. And yes, that's an impressive amount of time but...
* most teams are amateurs, hobbyists, students, etc.
* they are young
* they usually don't work together as a team
* working 24 hours in one go is a challenge for itself (I speak of
experience as I've done this numerous times)
* as for the professionals - they might have other IT core expertise
* etc etc etc.
There was an interesting comment about to how assemble the "perfect team"...
* 1 front-end developer
* 2 designers
* 1 content writer
Frankly, full agreement!
It's about the visual impression and the fulfillment of the given tasks.
Again, nobody cares about the underlying technology - it absolutely
doesn't matter.
So, whether a team decides to go for a customisation of an existing
template during those 24 hours is a choice.
If a team feels more comfortable and at ease to write everything from
scratch, again it's a choice.
Whether a team integrates existing APIs from 3rd party suppliers to
solve a feature, it's a choice.
But bear in mind... 24 hours is the hard limit. Either a team delivers
or not. There's no extension you can ask for, so rather make a wise
choice regarding your own capabilities and what the team effort could be.
Of course, commonly established criteria like responsive web design,
load performance, etc. have been taking into consideration but not by
all members of jury because some of them also are familiar with these
checks. And frankly asking, when did you ever have a client that
confronted you with an performance auditing report of GTmetrix (or other
sites)?
Now, giving you some details regarding the presentations and evaluation
of the created websites.
The WebCup 2015 had 19 teams. How much time can you possible assign to
each team to do their pitch and answer a couple of questions? Well,
teams have been given 5 minutes to present their outcome, and 3 minutes
for questions from the jury. And honestly, I felt like sitting in
something comparable to American Idol or Britain's Got Talent. But
simply do the maths.
19 teams, each ~ 10 minutes = ~ 190 minutes or 3+ hours
And that's after a recent 24 hours coding situation...
Every one is tired and exhausted after that long day and night of events.
But back to the jury. Seriously what can you vet during those 8 minutes
that every team has to demonstrate their output? I hope that you agree
that the view is on the first impression, the idea or concept that the
team based their development on, and the demo of the requested features.
That's it, time is over! It's the point of view of a first time visitor
on a new website. So, the questions that have been asked:
* Does the visual appearance leave an impression?
* Would I talk about that website to someone else or tick it off?
* What's the product or service the team is offering?
* Do I get enough details about the product or service to be attracted
to do a purchase?
* Can it be purchased - in this case: Can I book a ticket?
* How much does it cost?
* In this case: Can I choose the currency depending on my location?
Again, there is absolutely no room for anything related to the
underlying framework or back-end. It doesn't matter.
And just in case... How would you rate a team using a framework?
* DotNetNuke, WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, etc. = bad?
* AngularJS, Aurelia, Laravel, ParixisCMS, etc. = good?
Pathetic!
<!-- sarcasm alert! Because haters gonna hate anyways... -->
Alright, enough food for thought and venting about some people's
comments. As said initially I'm done with this topic as it is more
likely Kindergarten than having any kind of constructive outcome. I
won't comment on any further responses - sorry but keep the negative
hatred and spiting of venom for yourselves.
Those who do not agree with how the WebCup is organised by La Reunion
and executed by the local team in Mauritius. Well, honestly instead of
making things ugly and sour with negative criticism, feel free to
organise another competition/challenge like a hackathon or system
administrator's magical show on a national and later regional level. It
would be interesting to know about how you guys are going to feel when
people stick it to you.
Do yourself a favour and put all that negative energy into some positive
outcome...
<!-- Whew, enough said -->
Actually, instead of posting this here in the mailing list, I might
better consider to post this on my blog.
Just in case that you really can't bear the fact to hold back your view,
please feel free to talk to me direct and at best offline.
PS: I'm still friends with all of you... just in case you might take
certain statements made above personal.
--
Kind regards, Jochen
Founder of Mauritius Software Craftsmanship Community
http://www.meetup.com/MauritiusSoftwareCraftsmanshipCommunity/
Received on Mon May 25 2015 - 07:21:59 PST