Project Proposal: Enhancing Volunteer's User Experience

[hua-lun]

Hi @Mariatta

I opened PR #70: created email templates and send email function to notify volunteers of their application status.

For my project proposal, I would like to expand upon this PR by enhancing volunteer's user experience.
I hope to get feedback for my draft proposal below.

Updates

7 April: Edited to include suggestions

Project Abstract

To streamline the volunteer registration process and provide an efficient way of communication between volunteers and organisers. The existing process involves volunteers to sign up by submitting a Google form. They choose from a list of committees and provide contact information. After form completion, organizers would go through the applications and reach out to the shortlisted volunteers.

This method is prone to human errors as the admin needs to manually sort and contact volunteers. For volunteers, they might find it hard to track their application status. If further communication is required, the process is slower as the admin needs to search for the correct detail before answering.

By creating a centralized portal, interested participants can learn the requirements for each role, sign up as a volunteer and receive application and volunteer team updates. Also, they can get email notifications for things such as application status and key volunteer announcements. For admins, they can easily go through volunteer sign ups and provide important updates to volunteers, directly from the portal.

Main Requirements

• Include a page for volunteers to learn about different roles (reference: https://conference.pyladies.com/volunteer/)
• Improve current volunteer sign-up form with affordances (e.g. multi-select search dropdown when choosing languages)
• Instead of manually typing in the Team and PyLadies Chapter fields, replace with dropdown for data consistency
• Allow admins to send mass emails (one-way) to volunteers on important updates and announcement
• Substitute hard-coded timezone field for datetime objects (e.g. UTC+8: Asia/Singapore)
• Further improve email templates by providing more details to volunteers
• For mentioned pages, ensure styling fits the PyLadiesCon theme

Weekly timeline

Week 0 - Community Bonding

1. Revise topics on Python, Django and other relevant third-party libraries such as django-allauth and pytest
2. Understand codebase and read documentation
3. Schedule a time with mentor to communicate expectations and setup a regular weekly catch up session

Week 1

1. Create a page for volunteer role description (https://conference.pyladies.com/volunteer/)
2. Connect the page to backend
3. Write unit tests for work done

Week 2

1. Improve the overall user interface of Volunteer Sign Up / Edit Profile page
2. Ensure all fields are editable. Users might not realize certain fields accept multiple selections (e.g. the languages field). Or, they are unsure how to fill them correctly. For fields that allow multiple choices, replace with a multi-select search dropdown. This creates an affordance and help users understand how the component works.
3. Write unit tests for work done

Week 3

1. Populate the Team and PyLadies Chapter with selection choices. This ensures data consistency and removes ambiguity.
2. Replace hard-coded timezone with dynamic data by using a timezone library. Some users might not be familiar with UTC. Including the timezone paired with its respective area, can improve usability. E.g UTC +8 -> UTC +8 (Asia/Singapore)
3. Write unit tests for work done

Since pytz objects are used, the project is open to extension if datetime calculations are required.

Nice to have: Function to validate social media usernames

Suggested Third-Party Library - https://doist.github.io/python-timezones/

Week 4

1. Improve styling of Volunteer pages with Tailwind CSS
2. Ensure the pages are styled to the PyLadiesCon theme
3. Write unit tests for work done

Week 5

1. Update volunteer application status email templates with PyLadiesCon theme
2. Write unit tests for work done

Week 6

Buffer week

1. Ensure all items from week 1 to 5 are completed and functional
2. Write unit tests for work done

Week 7

1. User interface for admins to write email announcement
2. Write unit tests for work done

Week 8

1. Function for organizer to mass email announcements to volunteers
2. Write unit tests for work done

Week 9

1. Email templates for mass email announcement
2. Include styling with PyLadiesCon theme
3. Write unit tests for work done

Note: One way email announcement, with note saying (this inbox is not monitored, do not reply, write to)

Week 10

All code implementations should be completed by week 10

1. Finish up on any pending tasks
2. Write unit tests for work done

Week 11 - 12

Code freeze starts in week 11

1. Ensure all unit tests are succesful
2. Finalize documentation
3. Write report on project e.g. completed deliverables, suggestions for future work

[Mariatta]

Thank you for the proposal, these are great idea and a great plan.

Some suggestions:

• instead of writing unit tests in week 5, I would prefer that the unit tests are part of the deliverables in each week
• Week 6: I think this will be more complicated and need more design than the available time. Email communication is usually a back and forth discussion thread instead of just one time email and one time response. Therefore, perhaps this can be omitted from the proposal.
• Week 7: I like this idea of ability from the organizers to send mass email announcement. It can just be a one way email announcement, with a note saying (this inbox is not monitored, do not reply, write to ... instead).

[hua-lun]

Thank you for the suggestions!

I have edited my initial proposal post to include the suggestions.
The main changes are:

1. In case of any delays or changes to the implementation, week 6 and 10 will act as buffer week.
2. Removed the part on back and forth email communication.
3. Elaborated more on sending mass email announcements

As part of the GSoC submissions, I have to indicate the project size (small, medium, large). My proposal's expands upon the provided project ideas: email template and frontend styling.

In this case, may I know if my project fits the criteria for small (easy) or medium?