What does OpenNMS do?
I’ve often stated that documentation is the bane of all software development. Well, that statement certainly rings true for OpenNMS developers and this year I intend to help fix that.
A couple of years ago, The OpenNMS Group created a Wiki for the OpenNMS project so that the community could contribute documentation in the form of HowTos, FAQs, and examples of cool configuration found using the software. While this provides a good resource for users that are looking for answers to questions they have about a specific feature for function of the software, the Wiki really isn’t as comprehensive or as digestible as something like a well organized users guide.
A few contributors have undertook the huge effort of reorganizing the the wiki into a format that is easier to navigate. This is a difficult project, yet, one that can be successful provided there is continued leadership and the Wiki is well maintained. These attempts are helping, however, they still not only have a significant amount of work ahead, I personally don’t think of a wiki as a substitute for a software’s user’s guide.
The Wiki will always be more up to date with the latest and greatest and contain more details and examples than a guide. However, when I’m introduced to something new, I really want to be able to brew some coffee, snuggle up to a comprehensive and well organized text, and start gettin some learnin!
So, what fueled my fire to get moving, again, on this project? Did I wake up on the Jan 1, 2008 with nothing to do and say, “Hey Dave, let’s write some documentation?” Well, for reasons other than being busier than ever, those that know me also know this couldn’t be farther from the truth… I love to hate writing.
And yet, here I am, blogging this year and planning for a year in hell writing documentation. The fuel for this effort was provided a couple of days prior to the new year when an inquiry came to our sales mailbox.
“Please provide information about the features of OpenNMS.“
Now, we get inquires like these everyday to this mailbox asking about the services The OpenNMS Group provides as well as requests for demos of the software. We also get the random requests, “Please be telling me how I do this?”, or “I have this problem with configuring thresholds, please help.”
Well the biggest problem with those inquiries is that someone would actually write to “SALES” for technical support!… but, I digress. What we usually do is kindly respond by pointing them to the public forums and sometimes even a link relative content on wiki. We also explain the aspects of our commercial support agreements.
This inquiry seemed to be one of those, “give them a quick link and some info about commercial support and send them on their way”, kind of replies. What stopped me? There isn’t a quick link. So, I immediately started two projects, an article titled “Project OpenNMS” for just such inquiries and the beginnings a new user’s guide.
Here is an Abstract to the article and I’ll keep you posted on its completion and when drafts are available for the user’s guide.