Last Modified on: 10/1/2013
Dallas GiveCamp: Project Manager Handbook
Greetings Project Managers, below is information that should help ensure we have a successful event.
Thank you for your support, GiveCamp would not be possible without your help.
General Info
1. This is a living document check for updates at http://dallasgivecamp.org/pm-handbook
2. Ensure completion of each of the tasks below, you may delegate these tasks to members of your
team, however please stay on top of them to ensure they have been completed.
3. Email questions to pm@dallasgivecamp.org
Timeline
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NOW – Gather requirements from your charities, keeping a close eye on the scope of the project
to ensure that it is doable in a weekend
NOW – If you charity needs hosting/database or other resources request it (instructions below)
T-2 weeks (Oct 7) – Share the business requirements with the developers, and discuss any
technical requirements with your team of developers. Encourage them to brush up on any skills
that they might need during the event weekend.
T-1 week (Oct 14) – Double check that the team has everything they need for the event, so they
can hit the ground running Friday evening.
T-4 days (Oct 21) – Touch base with the team and ensure everybody is ready for Friday night.
Tasks
1. Requirements – Each charity has provided GiveCamp with a word document containing
preliminary requirements.
o Task: Prior to the event speak to the charity and confirm all the details of what needs to
be completed during the GiveCamp weekend. Gather everything you need from them
(images, text, etc.). We only have 2 days to complete this work. Be sure to be upfront
with the charity with how much work can be done in this amount of time. Prioritize
requirements with charity so that the “must have” tasks get done first.
o Don’t forget to collect information about any existing systems.
 Do they currently have a hosting account? Where? What are the credentials?
 Where do they host there email? If we move them to discount will this break?
 If they need to move their email I would recommend Microsoft
(http://domains.live.com) instead of Discount. It is free and provides
them separation between hosting and email, let alone awesome tools
like outlook.com for web based mail access and IMAP access for just
about any device or desktop client.
 Where is there domain name registered? What are the credentials (they will
need to provide one if they require a website)
o Be careful what information we agree to collect on the web. Since we cannot audit or
guarantee the security of the applications that we are working on it is a good idea to
avoid collecting things like physical address, credit card numbers, etc.
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Dallas GiveCamp: Project Manager Handbook
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When collecting items such as images from the charity, please confirm with them that
they have the rights to use them on the website. Please also ensure that the team
doesn’t use anything that is not licensed appropriately (software, pictures, etc.).
2. Content Management System (CMS) – Most charities requirements are for a basic brochure
type website (home, about us, contact us, etc.). Additionally one of our main goals of GiveCamp
is to leave the charity with something they can maintain without the help of a developer. To that
end in many cases we want to implement a CMS for them. There are many CMS’s available,
however we strongly recommend using WordPress, unless the charity has a specific reason not
to. We recommend this because WordPress has thousands of modules, templates, etc. available
that will greatly speed your development time. Additionally it provides an easy to use web
interface so that the charity can maintain the site on an ongoing basis.
o Before 9/30 speak to the charity and see if they have any technical need to pick one
CMS over another. Also speak to the team to see if you have any experts about any
given CMS. Select a CMS and email your choice to pm@dallasgivecamp.org
o After a CMS is selected – email the entire team letting them know what CMS was
selected and recommend they get familiar with it prior to the event. The easiest way to
get a CMS up and running on a developer’s machine is via the Web Platform Installer
(http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx). Most of the popular CMS’s
are available via WebPi, here is a list
(http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/categories.aspx?category=ContentMgmt).
3. Hosting – Discount ASP.NET has donated a hosting plan for each of the charities forever. If your
charity needs hosting and wants to take advantage of this offer you must do the following
o Before 9/30 – email pm@dallasgivecamp.org letting us know the name of your charity
and that you need an activation code. Within a few days we will give you this code.
o Upon receipt of the activation code – go to discountasp.net and create an account. You
will need the name, physical address, email address and phone number for the charity
representative to complete the application.
o Once the account is activated – email pm@dallasgivecamp.org the User Name to let us
know that you have activated it.
o If you need a database (MySql or SqlServer) – after the account has been activated
email pm@dallasgivecamp.org the user name of the account and what type of database
you need (Database type is usually contingent on what CMS you select)
o When you build the site please put the following HTML at the bottom somewhere.
<a href=”http://www.DallasGiveCamp.org”>Site Built at Dallas GiveCamp</a> | <a
href=”http://www.DiscountASP.NET”>Hosting Donated by Discount ASP.NET</a>
4. Source Control – We need to provide the charity a backup of all the work that we do during the
event (Website & Database). You can choose any of the following techniques. After the event
the charity will retain ownership of all GiveCamp work product done on its behalf and assume
responsibility for it going forward.
o USB Stick – You can copy everything to a USB Stick and give it to the charity Sunday
evening
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Dallas GiveCamp: Project Manager Handbook
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Bit Bucket (https://bitbucket.org)
 Why to Choose
 Limited to 5 users
 To Subscribe
 Go to https://bitbucket.org
 Create a new account for the charity and follow the wizard
GitHub (https://github.com/nonprofit)
 Why to choose
 No user limit
 Requires setup PRIOR to the event
 Charity must be a 501c3
 Easy to use with GUI Tool http://windows.github.com
 To subscribe
 Follow instructions at https://github.com/nonprofit
Microsoft Team Foundation Service (http://tfs.visualstudio.com)
 Why to choose
 Limited to 5 users
 Best for use with visual studio projects
 To subscribe
 Create a Microsoft account for the charity
 Log into that account in your browser
 Navigate to http://tfs.visualstudio.com
 Click the signup button in the upper right and follow the wizard
Misc. Resources
1. AgileZen
o Email pm@dallasgivecamp.org the name of your charity and we will create you an
account. You will then need to invite the rest of your team.
2. Balsamiq
o Email pm@dallasgivecamp.org the name of your charity and we will send you an
activation code to create the account. You will then need to invite the rest of your team.
3. Elegant Themes
o Email pm@dallasgivecamp.org the name of your charity and what theme you would like
to use and we will send you a copy.
4. Rocket Theme for Joomla
o Pick what your charity needs from the website http://www.rockettheme.com
o Email you selection to cory@civiliantech.com and he will get you the theme
5. Pluralsight - They offer a free 10 day trial, this is good if members of your team need to brush up
on some new technologies
https://www.pluralsight.com/training/Subscribe/Step1?isTrial=True&failedCaptcha=False
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