Lots of things to write to help non-profits with their tech- what should it be?
For a while I’ve thought it would be a good idea to write about the experiences of building applications for non-profits. There is a certain nuance to non-profits that is not described in the “How to make shed loads of money making apps” / “Agile for start-ups” / “Build measure learn if you’re making 3d avatars” books. For example, if you’re not interested in profit, what are your impact metrics? How do you build websites in the culture of partnerships and meetings? How to tell a story with less truththan a scientific paper? Below is a collection of blog titles I have curated from a bunch of friends working for NGOs, governments and the private sector. All I ask is you highlight your favourite — we'll try and write it, or maybe you could offer to write one, or just suggest new titles. What do you think — worth a go?
How do you estimate the budget for a technology project — what do you need to consider?
Should you built it at all?
Is the adoption of mobile good for data portals?
Senior managers — what happens when you decide on the technology.
What happens after the contracts have finished?
When to go early+often versus when to hold back for a single launch?
What to look out for when adding more partners to a product?
What is the value of an API — what is an API?
What it means for a website to be accessible in the developing world?
What is the minimum you should build when sharing data?
The realities of new technology — the ever changing expectations
Project Manager, never worked on an IT project? here is some advice.
How do you know if what you have made has any value?
Projects in a product world.
Why users beat brand?
Commercial licensing reduces your impact.
Just use medium/facebook/wordpress/basecamp.
What happens after the launch is over
Open source the UN.
Doing the same thing in different ways in different organisations
How do you ensure that in 2 years your site doesn’t look 5 years old
What is the impact of TOS on websites.
How do you not make your maps not look like a Java applet with esri logos?
What is the impact of sharing data?
What is the value of an api (so that when a developer for an ngo goes, we should create a public api, and they squirm, they could point to your blog post to back up a value for it)
Demystify open data
What is free and what is not free in software
How to make a COP10 aka international meeting, a productive one
What licenses should you use
When do you need a contractor vs when you need to hire people
Projects and scalability, or why you don’t need to be Facebook
How to correctly hire a development team and not screw them up later
How to launch a project without all the zillions
OpenStreetMaps is awesome, how does my project work with it and when does it not.
Data visualization is awesome, but do I really need it?
I need a Social Network for X or a Wikipedia for Y
Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science. When does it work?
How to communicate tech w/higher ups and PMs that have even less tech skills than in the private sector.
Moving people towards less-monolithic projects and PM plans.
