WG Chairs training (Re: modest suggestion for how to proceed)

[Harald Tveit Alvestrand]

--On onsdag, mars 26, 2003 13:36:11 -0500 Margaret Wasserman 
<mrw at windriver.com> wrote:

>
>
>> So my next question is, is there ANY problem that has been
>> suggested, that might have a resolution that can be worked out
>> in isolation?
>
> Yes. I believe that the following problem (at least) can be
> worked on independently of the others:
>
> "IETF Participants and Leaders are inadequately trained."
>
> And, several of us are already working to address one aspect of
> this problem -- WG chairs training.

there are actually more hairs to this dog too....

instituting training can be based on two different theories:

- Training a pool of people so that they are available for work when needed
- Training people who are already working so that they work better

The first one requires that there is time enough between training and the 
onset of work; it also implies (at least hints strongly) that one should 
record the dossiers of people so that one knows who has received training 
and which have not.

The second one imposes no such requirement, but requires us to live with 
active working group chairs who have no training (didn't get it yet) and 
working group chairs that have their own ideas on how to work (because 
they've got experience with what things have worked for them); the 
appropriate training methods may be thought of as dialogue and experience 
exchange rather than the "classroom" that tends to appear in people's minds 
when the word "training" is used.

I think the second model is the one that's possible for the IETF; if we 
choose it consciously rather than trying to impose thinking from the other 
style of training, I think we may achieve more benefit from it.

>
> I think it is very important that the organization does not
> sit still while we omphaloskepsize ourselves our of existence.
>
> One of my top goals in the "process" effort is spin out several
> small, tactical problems that can be addressed in the short
> term, while we work on longer-term problems.

agreed. I am looking forward to seeing an approach on this.

> I do realize that this will have the affect of making our current
> situation more tolerable and lessening the perceived need for
> more drastic longer-term measures... Thoughts?

if we can get a community acceptance that larger changes are needed to 
address structural problems before things get calmed down to the point 
where it's almost tolerable to live with for another 2 years (at which time 
the frog will be truly cooked), I don't think there's a conflict.

In other words - I'd like to get the process for structural change on the 
rails quickly.

               Harald "the sky is falling" Alvestrand