I think it is better to have an improved website that removes out of date information and increases people’s understanding of the ODK project. We have been through multiple iterations of different websites using different platforms, designs, etc. I am worried we have ended up in a situation where “Perfect is the enemy of good” as there is always a list of content improvements that can be made to the website. We have been working on a revised website for over a year and the need for a restructured website has only gotten worse since I first raised this in my transition announcement in August 2016.
The confusion between ODK 1 and ODK 2 is greatly exaggerated. The differences between the two can be described easily on project pages. Both of these systems are targeting moderately sophisticated users – and the bottom line is that people should understand the software that they install and deploy. As ODK 1 and ODK 2 are deployed across multiple devices there needs to a system manager who knows what is going on. Also, this is not a scenario where there is an “automatic upgrade” across versions of the system.
Historically the Open Data Kit project has had multiple efforts to explore different aspects of mobile data collection and management. This goal of creating multiple tools to handle various needs is a very important component of the work to understand how mobile devices could help people around the world. One of the early projects – ODK 1 – has turned out to be very successful – and no one denies its impact. Gaetano and the many members of the ODK team made the decision to develop a new project – named ODK 2 (perhaps an unfortunate name) – to explore a different set of scenarios from ODK 1. ODK 2 has reached the point where it is fulfilling its mission to cover a different set of use cases, and I am impressed with the technical work of the team to get it to this stage.
I completely disagree with the suggestion of jettisoning ODK 2 from the Open Data Kit brand – this completely undercuts Gaetano’s legacy and the efforts of the many people who made ODK what it is over the years. My goal is simply to see the project transition outside of the University of Washington as an Open Source, Global Good Software project. We have been planning the transition of ODK for what seems to me like a very long time – and there have been a number of frustrating (and to me unnecessary delays). We have an overall structure with the PMC managing the cross cutting issues – and separate technical groups managing the individual projects. I would like to see the website finally released as I believe renaming is a separate issue.