What:
SOFT is at a pivotal moment in its growth trajectory, seeking to open discussions around ideating on product and feature development. The project will be best served to expand its capabilities and enhance its offering through innovative feature development. Additional features will also enable SOFT to create additional revenue streams for its Treasury.
In an expanded effort to better democratize product planning and development, SOFT should call upon its community of thinkers, developers, and supporters to contribute their respective expertise.
Why?
To date the project has done a formidable job of laying groundwork for new on-chain developer tools via Soft Enhancement Proposals (SEPs). There are also some upcoming SEP ideas which the Foundation is looking forward to sharing. But a large portion of SOFT’s resources and potential remain untapped: The amount of underutilized skills, talent, and creativity within the community should be sought out and leveraged better to help SOFT reach its full potential.
It would best serve the project to open discussions to the wider community around feature development and enhancement proposals that best align with SOFT’s mission and values. Collaborative input could help spark innovation and ideas more quickly, and would also open up new lines of sight to revenue creation which would help the viability of the project.
Why Democratizing Feature Development Matters:
An added benefit of democratizing feature development will ensure that SOFT evolves in a way which truly reflects the needs, desires, and greater good of the community.
Encouraging vast and varied input around development initiatives will help SOFT tap into an exceptionally talented and diverse global talent pool. This will help expedite innovation, ensuring the project remains at the forefront of on-chain tooling and cross-chain innovation. It will also deepen community engagement, while adding a needed sense of ownership, value, and purpose for the community.
Benefits of Sourcing from the Community:
- Diversity of Ideas: Leveraging the collective intelligence of our community can uncover unique insights and approaches that might otherwise be overlooked.
- Increased Engagement: Involving the community in the development process enhances engagement and loyalty, as members see their contributions come to life.
- Rapid Iteration and Feedback: Community-driven development allows for faster iteration and immediate feedback, enabling agile adaptation to user needs.
- Strengthened Ecosystem: By empowering community members to contribute, we strengthen the entire SOFT ecosystem, building a more resilient and adaptable platform.
Proposal Submission Guidelines:
Both new and qualified developers, as well as community members are encouraged to bring forward development ideas to the forum discussion which should include some of the following:
- Enhancement Overview: A brief description of the idea or proposed feature, including its purpose, benefits, and how it aligns with SOFT’s goals.
- Value-driven Approach: Submissions with revenue-based incentives will be given priority, please indicate how the aforementioned feature will help deliver value to the SOFT bottom line and treasury.
- Qualifications: Highlight any qualifications, previous projects, or relevant experience if you’d like to help with planning and/or development as a contributing member to bring the proposed feature to market.
- Impact and Benefits: Explain the potential impact of your idea and how it will benefit the SOFT ecosystem, including any ideas around enhancing tooling, the community, or the wider on-chain ecosystem.
- Suggested Timeline and Milestones: Provide your best estimate regarding timeline for development, including any potential milestones and deliverables.
Submission Process:
Please reply to this post with ideas for enhancement from community or as proposals, adhering to the guidelines outlined above. Ensure proposals is clear, concise, and demonstrates a deep understanding of SOFT’s mission and community-driven ethos.
All community members are encouraged to apply even if they don’t plan on managing or developing a vision or idea into a fully developed product feature or primitive.
Deadline for Submission:
April 17th, 2024
Evaluation Criteria:
Proposals will be evaluated based on their innovation, feasibility, alignment with SOFT’s goals, potential for community engagement, budgeting and ability to enhance the SOFT treasury. Pending preliminary approval from the foundation, all ideas will then be community reviewed via pre-proposal/on-chain vote, after which a group of initiatives will be mapped out and subsequently put to an on-chain vote.
Conclusion:
Forum discussions like these should serve as an open, unbiased opportunity to help develop the future of SOFT.
By democratizing ideation and development, SOFT and its community can explore new ideas to ensure that SOFT thrives as a vibrant, community-driven project which meets the evolving needs of its users and the wider on-chain ecosystem.
We look forward to your suggestions, ideas, and innovative proposals that’ll help strengthen SOFT together.