# Creating the Next Generation of Brigade Project Guidance \[Brigade Congress 2019\]

**URL:** <https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/t/creating-the-next-generation-of-brigade-project-guidance-brigade-congress-2019/623>\
**Category:** Product Management\
**Tags:** brigadecongress-2019\
**Created:** [October 17, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/t/creating-the-next-generation-of-brigade-project-guidance-brigade-congress-2019/623 "2019-10-17T22:03:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tdooner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discourse.codeforamerica.org/tdooner/32/3_2.png) [@tdooner](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/u/tdooner)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/t/creating-the-next-generation-of-brigade-project-guidance-brigade-congress-2019/623/1 "2019-10-17T22:03:49Z")

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This is a thread for notes and discussion about the Brigade Congress 2019 session:

Session: _Creating the Next Generation of Brigade Project Guidance_  
Presented by: _Tom Dooner (Code for America)_

Thanks everyone for attending my session! See below for links to carry on the effort:

The canvas templates can be found here:

- Technology Project Canvas [[c4a.me/canvas-technology](http://c4a.me/canvas-technology)]
- User Testing Canvas [[c4a.me/canvas-user-testing](http://c4a.me/canvas-user-testing)]
- Discovery Project Canvas [[c4a.me/canvas-discovery](http://c4a.me/canvas-discovery)]

Also, the Google Drive folder **to upload completed/work-in-progress canvases** is here:  
**[http://c4a.me/canvas-upload](http://c4a.me/canvas-upload)**

There is also the #projects:project-canvases category in this Discourse for sharing and discussion.

Presentation:

> **[\[Presentation\] Creating the Next Generation of Brigade Project Guidance - Brigade Congress 2019-10-18](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SXAJLNC0B2oNOJ0AsO1Tv97Ojs52ilSt9EzeYAMP1BM/edit?usp=sharing)**
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> Creating the Next Generation of Brigade Project Guidance Tom Dooner, Code for America @tomdooner Hi yall, I’m Tom at CfA Network Team - we work on the organizing infrastructure to power the network I’m a Software Engineer You probably know us, we’ve...

Notes Document:

> **[\[Notes\] Creating the Next Generation of Brigade Project Guidance – Brigade Congress 2019](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zQYSSSCqXrL7cbTYjrZe_rmvl06QLjITlaH3fzQW73o/edit#)**
>
> Creating the Next Generation of Brigade Project Guidance by Tom Dooner (Code for America) – Brigade Congress 2019 Session Notes

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**Author:** ![stevenabadie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discourse.codeforamerica.org/stevenabadie/32/479_2.png) [@stevenabadie](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/u/stevenabadie)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/t/creating-the-next-generation-of-brigade-project-guidance-brigade-congress-2019/623/2 "2019-10-19T16:42:00Z")

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Tom, would you mind posting a link to the template canvases here?

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**Author:** ![tdooner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discourse.codeforamerica.org/tdooner/32/3_2.png) [@tdooner](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/u/tdooner)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/t/creating-the-next-generation-of-brigade-project-guidance-brigade-congress-2019/623/3 "2019-10-22T20:01:26Z")

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Sure thing @stevenabadie. I just updated the top post.

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**Author:** ![davidbhayes](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discourse.codeforamerica.org/davidbhayes/32/118_2.png) [@davidbhayes](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/u/davidbhayes)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/t/creating-the-next-generation-of-brigade-project-guidance-brigade-congress-2019/623/4 "2019-12-04T16:45:42Z")

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As a non-attendee of this talk, I love the format and questions. We’ve never used a rigorous structure for our projects, but I think one would be super helpful. The one question I had after reviewing the slides is: @tdooner do you think making every project do this _at the outset_ is a good idea, or would you say there’s a different “best” time to complete it?

A short follow up is: can you elaborate on the difference between the “Technology Project” canvas and the “Discovery Project” one? I’m thinking that I use the “Discovery” one when I’m not sure of a specific “Technology Project” that I’ve already outlined clearly-enough to start “writing code” on. Is that right? (I feel fairly clear that the “User Testing Canvas” is for when I’m wanting to discover how users find working with a specific tool, but if I’m mistaken about that I’d also love to learn.)

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**Author:** ![tdooner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discourse.codeforamerica.org/tdooner/32/3_2.png) [@tdooner](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/u/tdooner)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/t/creating-the-next-generation-of-brigade-project-guidance-brigade-congress-2019/623/5 "2019-12-04T18:23:09Z")

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> [@davidbhayes](#):
>
> do you think making every project do this _at the outset_ is a good idea, or would you say there’s a different “best” time to complete it?

Our thinking on this is that the format is likely flexible enough to fit in your process wherever makes sense (i.e. it is likely still helpful even for existing projects). That said, I do think that there are benefits to completing the Canvas early: it serves as documentation for new team members that come onboard, and also helps force some clarity of vision for the project team.

> [@davidbhayes](#):
>
> can you elaborate on the difference between the “Technology Project” canvas and the “Discovery Project” one? I’m thinking that I use the “Discovery” one when I’m not sure of a specific “Technology Project” that I’ve already outlined clearly-enough to start “writing code” on.

You got it. We were thinking that a Discovery project would be something like a “needs finding” process – working within the community to determine what some possible Technology projects might be.

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**Author:** ![Mari](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discourse.codeforamerica.org/mari/32/992_2.png) [@Mari](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/u/Mari)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 7:04am UTC](https://discourse.codeforamerica.org/t/creating-the-next-generation-of-brigade-project-guidance-brigade-congress-2019/623/6 "2023-07-01T07:04:09Z")

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