DjangoCon Sprints (Fri/Sat Sep 5/6)
Only twice a year is such a crowd of Django expertise gathered anywhere in the world, and since DjangoCon EU is over until next year this could be your last chance to meet and work with them in 2014.
WHERE ARE THEY?
The sprints this year are kindly being hosted by Urban Airship, at 1417 NW Everett St.
What's a Sprint?
When a group of programmers get together, usually in person, to work intensively on a specific project, and often towards specific goals for the project, this is known as a sprint.
Sprints are also a great time for beginners to join in and learn at a very high rate from skilled practitioners. Another great benefit is that you can get almost any technical question answered quickly by people who know what they are talking about. This can speed project progress immensely.
We really do encourage you all, if you have time, to take part in one or more sprints.
Who Runs the Sprints?
The sprints are organized by the Django Software Foundation, the group charged with maintaining Django's good name and standing. They need your help, since they too are busy people, and will be delighted if you suggest topics for sprints or just indicate which areas you would be interested in learning about and/or working on.
How Many Sprints are There?
As many as needed. Some teams will be quite small (1-4 people), others will be larger. All you need is a sprint leader to provide information about the sprint at the end of the traditional conference session. You should let the DSF know in advance if you'd like to lead a sprint, so they can keep a handle on space requirements.
How Do I Get My Sprint Going?
It's best to recruit at least some members in advance of the conference to be sure that you will have a core group who can work together even if nobody else joins in (hey, what can we tell you. sometimes it happens). If you are happy to just work on your own anyway, that's fine. You will at least have the company of dozens of other Django developers.
At the conference, talk to people about your sprint. Maybe even put your name down to give a lightning talk to draw attention to it and attract potential sprinters and contributors. If you pitch it right and can interest people in your goals DjangoCon is a great place to grow your open source team.