[RFC - 21] DAO Organization Working Group Season 1

Proposals Requests for Comment [RFC]
1

  1. SUMMARY

    This proposal seeks to continue operation of the DAO Organization Working Group for a three month “season” from February 1st through April 30th 2023 (referred to throughout this proposal as Working Groups Season 1). The documentation below provides a review of the group’s Pilot Phase and the plan for evolving their work based on both the ongoing needs of PopcornDAO and its emerging priorities.

  2. Links to previous discussions
    [PIP-3] - PopcornDAO Working Groups

  3. DAO Organization Working Group Pilot review

    The DAO Org Working Group’s stated objectives and the results of each are summarized below. A more granular list of individual tasks accomplished can be viewed on the DAO Org Dework board

    • Pilot Objective 1: Support the WGs pilot - Organize and manage regular meetings with WG Leads. Actively seek and respond to the needs of the groups.

      The DAO Org Working Group organized and managed weekly syncs with the Leads and Core Team Liaisons of all Working Groups, actively addressing needs of each and fostering coordination to achieve each group’s objectives. Details on all weekly syncs held can be seen on the meeting database Notion page.

    • Pilot Objective 2: Develop a set of DAO tools and practices - Source and create DAO resources in response to WG needs and the latest innovations in DAO management and operations.
      The DAO Org WG, while learning the needs of the DAO and contributors in terms of operating practices and DAO tools to help in efficient running and executing of objectives, have adopted the following tools:

      • Karma

      • Catapult

      • Sesh Discord bot for managing events.

      • Craig Recording Bot for recording discord meets.

      • Bot for forum activity integration with discord

      • Snapshot Bot for snapshot <> discord activity integration

    • Pilot Objective 3: Build relationships with other DAOs - Foster connections with other DAOs to share knowledge, find talent and develop mutually beneficial relationships.

      Members of the DAO Org WG leveraged their relationships within other DAOs to bring value to Popcorn in several ways, including:

      • DAO best practice sharing (example: Colony’s DAO Club program)
      • Tool sourcing and usage (example: Dework task and bounty management)
      • DAO operations & management (example: Aragon tasks & KPI dashboard)

  • Pilot Objective 4: Develop DAO roadmap - Create and execute a plan to progressively decentralize Popcorn in collaboration with the core team and community contributors

    A draft framework for the DAO Roadmap inspired by The OS Canvas was created and can be accessed on Miro here.

  1. Proposal for Working Groups S1 (Season 1 - FEB - APR 2023)

    Building on what has been accomplished during the pilot phase, the DAO Org Working Group will take on the following objectives, with key work streams and KPIs outlined below:

  • S1 Objective 1: Create, source and implement DAO tools and practices in response to community and contributor needs.

    Work streams and KPIs:

    • Create a Sobol profile for PopcornDAO to provide a detailed map of the DAO’s operations. Sobol case study.

      • Sobol profile completed by March 1.

    • Develop vlPOP vote delegation tools and design the delegate / delegator experience

      • Propose options (in a RFC) for continuing work with Karma to build upon our current platform and develop our delegation experience by Feb 7.
      • Move selected option forward through governance process with final PIP Snapshot vote by Feb 21.
      • Create project scope and timing for delegate / delegator experience based on vote results by March 15 (assuming it moves forward).

  • S1 Objective 2: Continue development of DAO Roadmap

    Work streams and KPIs:

    • Gain alignment from contributors and core team on DAO Roadmap development plan

      • Project plan completed and approved by Feb 15

    • Host workshops and facilitate asynchronous participation to complete Roadmap

      • First workshop completed by March 1 with schedule of remaining workshops in place
      • Draft roadmap completed by April 30 with workstreams outlined to meet Roadmap milestones

    • Scope and execute research to inform Roadmap

      • Research scope completed with input from first workshop by March 8

  • S1 Objective 3: Onboard new members on the community and contributor levels into the DAO.

    Work streams and KPIs:

    • Host a weekly Onboarding Sync
      • Onboarding Syncs started by March 1 and hosted weekly through the end of S1.
    • Develop and run “onboarding tasks” to make Popcorn’s community onboarding experience more engaging and assess potential contributors
      • Onboarding tasks defined by March 1 in collaboration with other Working Groups.
      • Tasks posted on Crew3 and/or Dework by March 15.

  • S1 Objective 4: Develop and execute research projects to inform DAO strategy, management and operations.

    Work streams and KPIs:

    • DAO contributor engagement & compensation

      • Research scope completed by Feb 15
      • Profiles of 10 DAOs completed by April 1

    • Progressive decentralization - when and how to decentralize key aspects and functions of a DAO

      • Research scope completed by Feb 15
      • Actionable findings completed by March 8 (will be used to inform DAO Roadmap workstream)

    • DAO-wide surveys to collect feedback from community members and contributors

      • Research scope completed by Feb 7
      • First monthly surveys sent out by March 1

    • Develop a library of completed and ongoing research accessible to DAO contributors and community members

      • Notion page created by March 1 with access to all research completed to date and info regarding research in progress

  • S1 Objective 5: Continue support of all Working Groups through Season 1

    Work streams and KPIs:

    • Hold weekly WG leads sync to discuss work plans, progress, blockers and opportunities to collaborate.

      • Meetings are consistently hosted every week.

    • Manage and support execution of timely PopcornDAO contributor payments.

      • Payments for the prior month consistently made within the first week of the following month.

    • Creating a system for tracking and measuring the WGs progress and success - developing a centralized KPI dashboard. See Pilot phase KPI dashboard for reference.

      • Develop centralized KPI dashboard for all WGs by Feb 15

  1. Team Structure and Budget

    We are moving away from the Coordinape + Core Team Liaison scoring system for engaging and evaluating WG contributors and determining their monthly pay. The WG pilot revealed several challenges with this system:

    • Tasks remaining unclaimed or incomplete
    • Perceived lack of fairness related to pay received for work done
    • Difficulty judging relative value of different types of contributions
    • Cumbersome and lengthy process, leading to lag time between evaluations and payments

    We aim to solve these challenges by implementing a bounty-based system for WG contributions, wherein contributors will be able to work on defined tasks for defined pay. Mission-critical tasks will be assigned to approved contributors only, while other tasks will be available to a broader community through Dework. This will allow us to leverage certain bounty tasks to engage and evaluate new talent and potentially onboard new approved contributors. Ideas for new tasks will be added to the group’s Dework suggestions board, reviewed weekly, and developed as tasks if approved by the Working Group Lead and Core Team Liaison.

    Team

    • Core Team Liaison: Joey N
    • Working Group Lead: ifun
    • Current approved contributors: umq, Hamzat, Charlie F, Mettodo

    Budget

    • Working Group Lead: $7,500 USD (paid in POP) for Season 1
      • Approximately 80 hours per month
      • $2500 USD per month paid in the POP, based on the 30-day MA of POP on the last day of the month
      • Key responsibilities of the WG lead are defined here
    • Contributor bounties: 12,000 POP for Season 1
      • This is based on an estimate of running costs based on the workstreams outlined above
      • Monthly reports on all work done and budget used will be posted on the Forum thread for this proposal

    Next Steps

    No additional infrastructure or tools beyond those currently in use will be needed to execute the work outlined above. If approved, the DAO Org WG will continue operations as specified starting February 1.

Edits (2/2/23)

Due to budget constraints as Popcorn invests in software development and navigates the bear market, we need to scale back our expenses significantly for the Working Groups program overall. To do this, the recommendation is to put Growth & Comms on pause for now as a stand-alone WG. Key activities from that group will be added to the DAO Org WG’s proposal here, including moderation and limited content development (see Objective 6 below).

In addition, bounty budgets will be consolidated, and proposed Lead salaries for the DAO Org and Social Impact WGs will be reduced. For the DAO Org WG, the proposed Lead salary is $6,000 USD ($2k per month) and the bounty budget is $3,600 USD ($1,200 per month). Both will be paid in POP using the 30-day MA methodology outlined above.

Given resource constraints and the delayed start of Season 1 as we adjust our plans, the KPI timeframes will need to shift and some work streams may need to be reduced or eliminated for now. These changes will be reflected in the PIP version of this proposal (to be posted in the next 24 hours).

S1 Objective 6: Community Moderation and Engagement

Work streams and KPIs:

  • Moderate PopcornDAO Discord server and Telegram group.

    • Develop program to drive traffic and engagement within Discord and Telegram communities by March 1
    • Ensure server rules are always followed, actively moderate against spam, FUD and scam links.
    • Spark conversations, encourage discussion, and respond to questions and in a timely manner.
    • Share relevant updates and generate excitement about new events, developments, features and products.
    • Direct users to appropriate channels, team members and sources of information.

  • Develop content to foster community engagement and clarity.

    • Develop a FAQ sheet on PopcornDAO and its products by March 1 and continually update it in response to new developments.
    • Respond to additional Popcorn community content needs as they arise by scoping and executing projects in collaboration with the core team.
3 Likes
2

This proposal provides great detail about the goals of this WG and the appropriate plan of action. However, I am left deeply concerned with the budgeting. The current price of $POP has the WG Lead earning more than three times more than the total compensation of all the contributors combined. Despite the ample tasks asked of our WG Leads, this is definitely not an accurate reflection of work done and compensation earned. Furthermore, WG Leads are guaranteed compensation in a dollar value whereas contributors are left with much higher volatility. Given that the WG program is undertaking an entirely new “season,” please suggest an alternative budgeting solution.

2 Likes
3

Nice! Ambitious plan.

Will that be enough?

I think those are all key objectives.

:raised_hands:

Can you share those estimates?

What is the thinking behind this :point_down: ?

4

@umq @mettodo thanks for your comments and questions. I want to address the point about Lead pay vs. contributor pay. No one is totally shielded from volatility, but the Lead pay and bounty systems proposed are both designed to mitigate the effect of POP price fluctuations in different ways.

Lead pay is based on the 30-day moving average of POP on the last day of the month. The pay Leads actually receive may be higher or lower than the USD target at the time of distribution, but this method guards against sudden spikes or drops in POP price that could happen on the day of a price snapshot.

Pay for individual bounties will be set as tasks are available. This allows us to take POP price action into account on an ongoing basis. For example, if we know a certain task should be around $50, the bounty for the task can be set at around $50 worth of POP at that time. One overall risk is that the price of POP drops so much that the bounty budget runs out before Season 1 is over. If it looks like we’re heading towards this scenario, we can request additional funds through governance.

This is quite different from how WG member pay works now. That was set in the WG Pilot proposal from the start and became inadequate as the pilot progressed without any structure to make adjustments.

Another option: Since bounties will likely be paid at the beginning of every month for the prior month’s work, we could propose a USD budget for bounties and denominate individual bounties in a USD amount that would be paid in POP in the same way as Leads are paid (based on the 30-day MA of POP). This would allow Lead pay and contributor pay to operate the same way. But it would also introduce complexity and potential confusion for contributors, especially as we open some tasks up to a wider community.

What do you think would be better?

  • Option 1: Budget for bounties denominated in POP
  • Option 2: Budget for bounties denominated in USD, paid in POP based on the 30-day MA of POP on the last day of the month.
1 Like
5

Hey @umq there may seem to be a conflict in your comment here as the current price of $POP sets 12000 at about $3500 (you can accurately do a conversion over at CoinMarketCap) which is not less than three times what is budgeted for the WG Lead.

1 Like
6

From experience during the pilot phase, the number was gotten.
However, there are situations when we need to work over hours and get more stuff done–aim is to get all objectives delivered.

7

Hey, a quick question. According to this conversation on Discord…

None of the working groups are accepting any more members (at least for now).
Why then do we need a weekly onboarding sync if the positions to be onboarded into are not readily available?

8

Makes sense!

I´d go for option 2, because I do not understand what confusion it creates :sweat_smile:

3 Likes
9

Hey @hamzat_iii, since we’re moving to a bounty system for contributions, membership to WGs will be more fluid than it was in the WG Pilot. This part of the proposal explains more:

Mission-critical tasks will be assigned to approved contributors only, while other tasks will be available to a broader community through Dework. This will allow us to leverage certain bounty tasks to engage and evaluate new talent and potentially onboard new approved contributors.

The goal of weekly onboarding syncs and tasks is help us gain both community members and talented contributors to help us meet our objectives.

3 Likes
10

Good question here, thanks!
We are moving away from the current structure of WGs (where the numbers are limited to the WG lead + a max of 6 contributors in each WG).
The proposed onboarding system will give room for more diversity and inclusivity - we open contributions to whoever is interested - will need to go through the onboarding process. Later on, there may be plans to fully onboard contributors into a role.
Details on onboarding process will be communicated across to the community on or before the first week of Season 1.

3 Likes
11

Thanks, I understand now.

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12

I’ve added edits at the end of the proposal based on recent budget developments. Please review and reply with questions / comments.

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13

Summary of Work done in February is detailed below

It is important to note we had a late start of the Season and shifted some due dates.

  1. Create, source and implement DAO tools and practices in response to community and contributor needs.
  • Implemented Combot on Telegram to automate responses and looking into a similar discord automation
  • Began implementation of Sobol Bot. Aim is to have the page completely built before the end of S1. Bpetes from the Sobol team will be on our Twitter space on March 9th to discuss Sobol on a high level.
  1. Onboard new members on the community and contributor levels into the DAO.
  • Successfully onboarded four (4) moderators with shifts spread across 7days/24hours after a trial mod phase.
  • Successfully defined onboarding tasks and the process will run through Crew3 and will be posted by March 15
  1. Continue support of all Working Groups through Season 1
  • Hosted weekly WG leads syncs
  • Supported the execution of timely PopcornDAO contributor payments
  • Developed high level KPI and goals to track deliverables. Centralized KPI board pending.
  1. Community Moderation and Engagement
  • Launched initiative to begin Crew3 collab with other related projects. We have an ongoing quest line collab with Origin Protocol.
  • Developed FAQ for moderators’ guide. Aim is to automate responses on FAQ on discord as have been done on Telegram.
  • Published guides on how to bridge POP across the four main blockchains (Ethereum <> Optimism, Arbitrum <> Ethereum & Polygon <> Optimism)
1 Like