Take the 2012 Jenkins Survey

Just like the last year , we are running a survey this year , to get some objective insights into what our users would like to see in the project. Obviously, the developers in the project deal with individual bug reports and feature requests all the time, but sometimes those day-to-day issues distract you from a bigger picture.

This year, we kept some of the questions the same, so that we can see the trend. But we also discussed what we wanted to ask among ourselves and revised some more.

The tricky thing about being an open-source project is that it's not like some of us can actually decide what we'll be working on — in the end it's up to individual contributors to decide what they want to work on. So I can't make promises, but in a way, that's precisely why we'd like to get these objective, measurable, quantitative feedbacks. It lets us discuss how to solve the problem, instead of spending time discussing what the problem is.

Last year, we've heard loud and clear that people wanted to see some UI improvements. So a bunch of us sit down at FOSDEM , picked up several key UI improvements, and we've actually delivered on those . This year I hope to do the same.

The survey will close at the end of October, and if you participate, you'll get to see the results first. As an added incentive, CloudBees had pitched in a $100 Amazon gift card. So please let your voice be heard .

Fine print

Here is last year’s blog – the rules are basically the same this year. I’ve rewritten some of the relevant parts for this year below.

1. The survey will be open from September 28 to October 31. If you submit a completed survey, we will enter you to win a $100 Amazon gift certificate! And yeah, you can only enter the contest once, so please don’t over-stuff the survey box. After the survey closes, we’ll draw a name to choose the winner… and maybe it will be you!

2. If you do not supply your name and email address, you are not eligible to win. Think about it – we have no way to contact you. If you do supply your name and email address, we’ll send you the survey results.

3. Eligibility stuff:

   • The Amazon Gift Certificate can only be won by someone who lives in a country where you can buy from Amazon. If you live in a country without Amazon access, we will send you $100 via Pay Pal. If you live in a country under U.S. embargo, we’re sorry, but there’s not much we can do here.

   • You must be 18 years old or older (20 or older in Japan).

   • You must use Jenkins or be affiliated with its use.

4. The winner is responsible for any federal, state and local taxes, import taxes, and fees that may apply. We have to say this, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

5. This survey is administered by CloudBees, Inc., 400 Trade Center, Suite 4950, Woburn, MA 01801, +1 1.617.500.7547, info AT cloudbees.com. If you’d like to send us feedback or have questions, please email us at juc-oc-ext AT cloudbees.com. And no, we do not accept bribes to rig the contest. :)

6. Regardless of whether you win the Amazon gift card, you can be rewarded with the knowledge that you’re providing knowledge that will help make Jenkins even better. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts with the community!

Oh, and No purchase necessary !

-- Kohsuke Kawaguchi
Founder, Jenkins CI & Elite Developer, CloudBees
cloudbees.com

UPDATE: Survey results are now available here .