Beta Test Plans on ShowCase

Proposed version of 8/6/01 - Dan Corwin 
1. A MEMBER account is payable by subscription, with added charges for some options, custom R&D, or excess storage or bandwidth.  Each site is private to its USERS, but may have public pages.  This allows for competitive teamwork.

On-line competitions are meant to create excitement and specific challenges that help keep students or professionals engaged and eager to study RESOURCES.  They also help create news, email, web page props, UML models, and MEETINGS which make the related SIGS more meaningful and popular.

Ultimate winners in the competitions will be the MEMBERS, and the better-trained USERS they employ.  Hence, it is right they contribute to ShowCase support.
2. A few operating partners each get a free account on the prototype ShowCase server.  These MEMBERS have contracted with MESDA and ShadowCats jointly to help manage and expand the prototype server as a shared resource, and each will deal separately with site licensing fees and agreements.

If your organization is interested in becoming an operating partner, please contact Dan@ShadowCats.com
3. Additional free accounts go to MESDA and selected SIGs who will contribute time and expertise to the design and set up of the prototype ShowCase server:
  • MESDA - guides all work on its goals by SIGs, including ShowCase 
  • Linux User Group - set up OS, security, CVS, etc.  Aid on Internet tools. 
  • Webmaster Group - set up Apache, email, FTP, etc.  Aid new web sites
  • Java User Group - creates ShowCase for Java; organizes competitions
  • Web Apps WG - container for ShowCase and SIG-support servlets
  • EJB & DB WG - containers for MESDA applications, paid accounts 
It is expected that additional volunteer SIGS in MESDA - user or working - will join those above, adding new resources, and expertise.  They jointly help manage web apps on the central site, as MESDA's own volunteer Showcase-support body.
4. Additional paid subscriptions are planned for student groups at Maine's seven technical colleges.  Later on, each college will clone, then run, similar a ShowCase host on its own campus, with access limited to students.  (This assumes they have or can find independent local hardware.)

These accounts are "paid" because we expect no lack of commercial sponsors and we need their cash for support.  (Just like Little League teams would.)  Benefits to the ShowCase educational program include:

  • A low cost example campus J2EE site is built to aid student training, etc.
  • Networking and distributed-coding skills get enhanced at all such sites
  • Provisions are made to add extra ShowCase hosts as may be required
  • Sponsors get low cost PR, and an early link to students they support
  • Community involvement for the whole program is increased
It is expected that faculty at the seven colleges will eventually participate in coaching  competitions, and in jointly developing plans for their on-going administration.  It is also expected that each campus will host local MESDA (sub)chapters or SIGs, some of which may choose to participate in ShowCase as contestants or advisors.
5.  About 10 free accounts must be initially created under these plans on the first prototype ShowCase server.  These free accounts get used initially for alpha tests, and later on for server management and expansion purposes.  They include
  • ShadowCats and its 2-4 operating partners (as its business managers)
  • MESDA and 5 current SIGs (with more expected to be added later)
Starting late '01, we will start beta testing training RESOURCES, and begin the first trial design competitions.  These initially involve competitive "suggestions" for parts of an open syllabus in several related areas of J2EE, meant to be given on a recurring (semester? seminar?) basis later.  Creating these RESOURCES is expected to heavily involve these paid accounts:
  • Commercial Training or Distance Ed firms - as main initial contributors
  • Member firms, Faculty Groups - early users/critics of the RESOURCES
  • 7 Tech. College students - who rely on them in creating their own sites
Free and RESOURCE-focused sites pave the way for other MEMBERS.  Each runs independently under its own domain (and JVM?) for web I/O, with shared hardware, admin staff, and private accounts as options on nearby EJB and DB containers.
6. Commercial subscriptions will be offered to help MESDA pay for it all, first to  members and their clients who require J2EE training, at maybe $500/mo plus extras.  Of this baseline, about $100 pays incremental hosting costs.  The other $400 pays system administrators who operate the site efficiently, seek profits to reinvest in improvements, offer customer service impractical with only volunteer labor, and gradually expand overall site capacity toward these usage goals:
  • by 10/01, 10 free + 10 paid sites = $4k/mo shared admin expenses
  • by 01/02, 10 free + 25 paid sites = $10k/mo shared admin expenses
  • by 04/02, 10 free + 50 paid sites = $15k/mo, plus $5k/mo profits
  • by 07/02, 10 free + 90 paid sites = $20k/mo, plus $16k/mo profits
A Cluster Grant may be sought by Mesda to assist in this growth process, and cover the shortfall of income in the initial startup period . 
7. "Virtual Trade Show" subscriptions could help,  Mesda management can lower incremental costs for a ShowCase account (by maybe 50%) if they recast it as a set of high end options for a Trade Show account.  The latter builds on a similar baseline of code needed for a network of booths aiding subscribing MEMBERS

At a cost of minor confusion between the two initiatives, this spreads out basic hosting and admin costs over more beneficiaries, as both Mesda members and (paying) non-members can purchase Trade Show options for promotional as well as training purposes - News and SIG support for example.  Their fees would cut the extra support which Showcase must fund on its own, and also provide Mesda with extra sources of income for long term ShowCase administration.  The Trade Show forum may also aid in promoting competitions as "events".

Next steps on this hybrid funding plan will involve talks with various operating partners, to see if they can and will support the combined goals.  Stay tuned.