Hi Jochen,
One thing particularly interested me in your comment.
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!
I thought the Jury panel had time to review all the websites between Noon
till the start time of the presentation(1.30pm?). Is this correct or you
guys actually only had the 8 minutes to judge every site?
If that's the case, I don't think any participant knew about that, I
didn't.
Thanks and Regards,
*RAMGOLAM Sandeep*
*Front-end Developer - Designer - Web Enthusiast - Gamer**Website :*
barfii.net <
http://www.barfii.net>
On 25 May 2015 at 11:21, Jochen Kirstätter <mscc_at_kirstaetter.name> wrote:
> 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 - 07:38:14 PST