Committee:Product & Technology Committee Charter: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 19:39, 22 November 2021

Purpose

The purpose of the Product and Platform Committee is to assess and explore current and future product development efforts to continuously improve the value that Wikipedia as a platform, as well as the other Wikimedia projects, delivers to its communities and users around the world.

Membership and Organization

Committee Members

The Board shall appoint at least three trustees to serve as Committee members. The Board may also appoint one or more additional trustees to serve as alternate Committee members, to act in the place and stead of any absent Committee members. Committee appointments are for a term of one year; however, they shall automatically renew for additional one-year terms unless the appointed trustee is replaced as a Committee member or has their committee membership terminated by the Board. The Board shall appoint one trustee to serve as Committee Chair for a term of two years of office. The term of the Committee Chair shall automatically renew and continue until replaced by the Board or resignation.

The Board shall seek to appoint as a voting Committee member at least one trustee who has experience with large-scale product development or technology platform management.

Volunteer Advisory Members

The Committee may appoint volunteer advisory members to participate in Committee meetings and deliberations. The volunteer advisory members shall be formally nominated by the Committee Chair based on their qualifications and expertise (as determined by the Committee Chair in their sole discretion) and approved by a majority of the Committee. Volunteer advisory members shall be appointed by the Committee for renewable one-year terms. All volunteer advisory members must comply with the same disclosure and certification requirements required by the Board under the Foundation’s Conflict of Interest Policy. No volunteer advisory members may be voting Committee members.

Foundation Staff

The Chief Product Officer, the Chief Technology Officer, and the Office of the Chief Executive Officer shall provide staff support to the Committee as needed to allow it to function effectively. The Committee Chair may invite Foundation staff to attend the meetings as necessary. No staff members may be voting Committee members.

Responsibilities

Overall, the Committee is responsible for advising the Product and Technology departments on high-level strategy to ensure the Foundation has the infrastructure and interfaces needed to enable its mission. In addition to the specific responsibilities listed below, the Board may designate further responsibilities to the Committee that are needed to further the Committee’s purpose.

Consult with product developers and designers on their plans for product and platform feature innovation;
Consult with engineers and architects on their roadmap for Wikimedia’s platform architecture;
Collaborate with staff to explore efficient ways to address community growth, diversity, and sustainability through creative ideas and mechanisms; and
Provide Board input and oversight for the Foundation’s enterprise services.

Procedures and Processes

Unless specified otherwise in this Charter, the Committee shall follow the same rules and practices as the full Board follows for its meetings, decision-making, and recordkeeping.

Meetings

The Committee shall meet at least once per quarter, and otherwise as deemed necessary by the Committee Chair. The required attendees are the Committee members and the relevant staff members as determined by the meeting agenda. Trustees serving as alternate Committee members (if any) are not required attendees; they may not vote unless appointed by the Committee Chair to act in the place and stead of an absent regular Committee member. A quorum is a majority of the voting Committee members, and a majority of voting members present shall decide any question brought before the Committee. A meeting may be in person, by telephone, or videoconference so long as all participants are able to hear one another and participate in simultaneous deliberation.

Reporting

At each regular Board meeting, the Committee Chair shall report to the full Board on the Committee’s activities since the last regular Board meeting. Each meeting will have an agenda and minutes, which will be available to the Board and relevant staff.

Self-Evaluation

On an annual basis, the Committee will perform a self-assessment, and will review and reassess this charter. The result will be reported to the full Board and include any recommended changes to the Committee activities or its charter.

External Advisors

The Committee may engage outside consultants to facilitate its ability to fulfill its responsibilities. The Committee shall oversee the relationships with any outside consultants.

The Committee has the authority, at the expense of the Foundation, to retain independent accountants, lawyers, or other advisors as it deems appropriate to carry out its duties. All expenses and costs shall be reasonable and be subject to the review of the Audit Committee.

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+== Purpose ==
-The purpose of the Product Committee is to assess and explore current and future product development efforts to continuously improve the value that Wikipedia as a platform, and its sister projects, deliver to its community and users around the world.
+The purpose of the Product and Platform Committee is to assess and explore current and future product development efforts to continuously improve the value that Wikipedia as a platform, as well as the other Wikimedia projects, delivers to its communities and users around the world.
 == Membership and Organization ==
 === Committee Members ===
-The Board shall appoint at least two trustees to serve as Committee members. The Board may also appoint one or more additional trustees to serve as alternate Committee members to act in the place and stead of any absent Committee members. The Board shall appoint one trustee to serve as Committee Chair. Committee appointments are for a term of one year, unless the Committee member is replaced or terminated by a majority of the Board.
+The Board shall appoint at least three trustees to serve as Committee members. The Board may also appoint one or more additional trustees to serve as alternate Committee members, to act in the place and stead of any absent Committee members. Committee appointments are for a term of one year; however, they shall automatically renew for additional one-year terms unless the appointed trustee is replaced as a Committee member or has their committee membership terminated by the Board. The Board shall appoint one trustee to serve as Committee Chair for a term of two years of office. The term of the Committee Chair shall automatically renew and continue until replaced by the Board or resignation.
+The Board shall seek to appoint as a voting Committee member at least one trustee who has experience with large-scale product development or technology platform management.
-=== Foundation Staff ===
-The Committee will invite Foundation staff including the Committee Chair to attend meetings, particularly as the Committee is designed to work in close collaboration with the Chief of Product and their team.
 === Volunteer Advisory Members ===
+The Committee may appoint volunteer advisory members to participate in Committee meetings and deliberations. The volunteer advisory members shall be formally nominated by the Committee Chair based on their qualifications and expertise (as determined by the Committee Chair in their sole discretion) and approved by a majority of the Committee. Volunteer advisory members shall be appointed by the Committee for renewable one-year terms. All volunteer advisory members must comply with the same disclosure and certification requirements required by the Board under the Foundation’s Conflict of Interest Policy. No volunteer advisory members may be voting Committee members.
+=== Foundation Staff ===
-The Committee may select internal or external volunteer advisory members to participate in the Committee on a temporary or permanent basis based upon their qualifications and expertise. In case the Committee would like to add advisory members, the Committee will share its recommendations with the Chair of the Board and involve the WMF legal team when necessary.
+The Chief Product Officer, the Chief Technology Officer, and the Office of the Chief Executive Officer shall provide staff support to the Committee as needed to allow it to function effectively. The Committee Chair may invite Foundation staff to attend the meetings as necessary. No staff members may be voting Committee members.
-* The Committee Chair may nominate volunteer advisory members to participate in the Committee on an annual basis based upon their qualifications and expertise, and will be voted on by the committee.
-* All volunteer advisory members must comply with the same disclosure and certification requirements required by the Board under the Foundation’s Conflict of Interest Policy.
-* No volunteer or advisory members may be voting Committee members.
 == Responsibilities ==
+Overall, the Committee is responsible for advising the Product and Technology departments on high-level strategy to ensure the Foundation has the infrastructure and interfaces needed to enable its mission. In addition to the specific responsibilities listed below, the Board may designate further responsibilities to the Committee that are needed to further the Committee’s purpose.
+* Consult with product developers and designers on their plans for product and platform feature innovation;
-Overall, the Product Committee is responsible for creating a space for the product team to freely consult with board members who are able and willing to provide key feedback from their own experiences technically managing online communities and platforms. These discussions have already been taking place informally in the past few years and this Committee is a way to formalize that relationship and to provide formal support within the board to the complex and vital work of the product and design teams. Specifically, these responsibilities include:
+* Consult with engineers and architects on their roadmap for Wikimedia’s platform architecture;
+* Collaborate with staff to explore efficient ways to address community growth, diversity, and sustainability through creative ideas and mechanisms; and
-# Provide a space for product developers and designers to showcase their latest efforts to the board on a regular basis for both constructive feedback, additional ideas for consideration and support.
+* Provide Board input and oversight for the Foundation’s enterprise services.
-# Regular consultations with board members serving on this Committee who have product expertise, especially as it relates to security, outreach and the international community.
-# Collaboratively exploring efficient ways to address community growth, diversity and sustainability through creative ideas and mechanisms.
-# Provide an organized way for board members to engage directly with the Chief Product Officer and their team and to assist them in communicating ongoing and upcoming work to ensure the board is best informed on key developments and strategies.
-# Create a periodic plan to help prioritize tasks and determine what the Committee should be focusing on.
-# Any others that may be delegated by the Chair or the Board to the Committee.
 == Procedures and Processes ==
+Unless specified otherwise in this Charter, the Committee shall follow the same rules and practices as the full Board follows for its meetings, decision-making, and recordkeeping.
 === Meetings ===
-The Committee shall meet at least three times per year, and otherwise as deemed necessary by the Committee and/or the Chief Product Officer. The Committee Chair must provide at least one week notice to other required attendees. The required attendees are the Committee members and the relevant staff members as determined by the meeting agenda. Trustees serving as alternate Committee members (if any) are not required attendees; they may not vote, unless appointed to act in the place and stead of an absent regular Committee member. A meeting may be in person, by telephone, or videoconference, so long as all participants are able to hear one another.
+The Committee shall meet at least once per quarter, and otherwise as deemed necessary by the Committee Chair. The required attendees are the Committee members and the relevant staff members as determined by the meeting agenda. Trustees serving as alternate Committee members (if any) are not required attendees; they may not vote unless appointed by the Committee Chair to act in the place and stead of an absent regular Committee member. A quorum is a majority of the voting Committee members, and a majority of voting members present shall decide any question brought before the Committee. A meeting may be in person, by telephone, or videoconference so long as all participants are able to hear one another and participate in simultaneous deliberation.
 === Reporting ===
-At each regular Board meeting, the Committee Chair shall report to the full Board on the Committee’s activities since the last regular Board meeting, if any. The Committee may also update the whole board on pressing issues throughout the year.
+At each regular Board meeting, the Committee Chair shall report to the full Board on the Committee’s activities since the last regular Board meeting. Each meeting will have an agenda and minutes, which will be available to the Board and relevant staff.
+=== Self-Evaluation ===
-Each meeting will have an agenda and minutes, which will be then shared with the board and relevant WMF Staff. The Committee will determine a suitable platform that will host this data and help curate its efforts.
+On an annual basis, the Committee will perform a self-assessment, and will review and reassess this charter. The result will be reported to the full Board and include any recommended changes to the Committee activities or its charter.
-=== Self-Evaluation ===
+== External Advisors ==
+The Committee may engage outside consultants to facilitate its ability to fulfill its responsibilities. The Committee shall oversee the relationships with any outside consultants.
-On a periodic basis, the Committee will perform a self-assessed evaluation of its performance based on the responsibilities laid out above. It will also review and reassess this charter as needed. The result will be reported to the full Board and include recommended changes to the Committee activities or its charter.
+The Committee has the authority, at the expense of the Foundation, to retain independent accountants, lawyers, or other advisors as it deems appropriate to carry out its duties. All expenses and costs shall be reasonable and be subject to the review of the Audit Committee.