Improving the Project Module - Funding Worthwhile Projects with Collective Bounties

Drupal Project Module History and Future

The Drupal Project Module is one of the oldest non-core modules that is still in active development and use on sites around the world. The core developers of Drupal are committed to using this module as the controller for "projects" hosted on Drupal itself. There are many people who like Drupal and want to use it to create a system for hosting projects. Two such projects that I'm aware of include the QCodo QForge and the future plans for JQuery.com as mentioned in the Lullabot podcast 21: interview with JQuery founder John Resig.

Help the Project Module Move Forward

Because the Project module is so old, it did things in ways that are not standard for Drupal. This makes it relatively unpopular for use on other sites as it lacks several important features. There are several particularly nasty bugs and Derek Wright (dww) has signed up to maintain Project module and tackle these bugs so that the Project module will get more attention and use around the world. More attention means more improvements, which means that one of the key pieces of Drupal's infrastructure can really start to shine and enable development rather than being a "I guess we have to use it" kind of feature.

So, if you use Drupal you should want to help the project module. It's important. It's a feature that lots of people want, and it has someone interested in making it better. Derek has setup a page explaining this in more detail and you are encouraged to give him more money. Read more about his plan and follow the link to donate. As of writing, Derek is at a little over $1000. That's a great start, but still pretty far from the desired end point.

Growing Venture Solutions, LLC gave funds thing to help with the process and to make sure that this module moves forward. Won't you do the same?

Other Projects that Need Funding

There have been several situations in the past where developers or companies have used bounty systems to get projects completed. Other times a Development shop will do work and release it for free, effectively funding development. However, several people have identified a need to improve the communication on this subject. If you are interested in getting funding for your module or would like to give money to developers of other modules, consider reading the Projects Needing Financing group on Drupal Groups.