Road map for the next few months

Now we've got the barebones of x-dash in place we're going to be focusing on a few areas.

• Foundations
• Help others build shared x- components.
• Help others add shared x- components to some apps
• Help build x-dash inspired JSX components in next apps
• Work out how to measure and track progress and success

Let’s describe what each of those mean....

Foundations

This includes figuring out common things like state and interactivity; where to put stylesheets; handlebars adapters; changes to the data layer in ElasticSearch; build tooling etc.

It also includes making documentation and code examples. Documentation should not only be well written but also kept up-to-date so we’re making a system to encourage everyone to keep it top notch.

We will also have to decide and communicate stuff like release management and project governance.

Once we have these foundations in place and people seem to be happily using x-dash then we can disband the team (probably).

Help others build shared components

So far we’ve built only one component and we’ve not really put our ideas to the test in a number of real world use cases. We haven’t validated our decisions beyond a very small team so the next step is to see it if all works. If we watch how developers get on building components we’ll be able to see what works and what doesn’t and turn that into actions for our “foundations” track of work. In the near future we want people to do this unassisted so our docs and examples need to be good enough to do that, guiding people through the process of building some components will help us know how to improve these.

Because we wanted to be closely involved in building these components (which will take a lot of time) we'll keep the number to a minimum so we can iterate in a controlled way. We have a list to begin with

• MyFT follow button (to be built by the Tailored Experiences team)
• Gift article (to be built by the Journey Optimisation team
• Topper (to be built by the App team)

Help others integrated shared x- components into some apps

It should be easy to use an x-dash component (if you didn’t build it yourself). This includes integrating one into existing ft.com apps. For example, we’ll need to add x-teaser to a number of apps fairly soon.

We’ll need tooling and guides to help make this painless so if we work closely with those doing this the first few times then we can refine those as we go.

Help build x-dash inspired JSX components in next apps

x-dash is all about building shared components for the App and FT.com. Having a component in the x-dash repo means that’s the intention. Not everything needs to be shared though and people will want to build x-dash inspired component into ft.com apps. We plan to support this in the near future, we just need to figure out how best to do it and then write docs about it.

Work out how to measure and track success and progress

To do

Frequently asked questions

Who are you?

• Matt Hinchliffe @i-like-robots
• Matt Brennan @quarterto
• Luke Kavanagh @kavanagh

How do I get in contact?

• Slack channel is #x.
• Swing by our desks for a chat.
• Raise issues in Github including questions.

Is there documentation?

Yes!

The docs site is under development at the moment.

There is also a github wiki (which can mostly be ignored) for the team to document stuff about the project as well as temporary things like the page you're reading.

Do you have a Trello board?

Glad you asked.

Names, prefixes, repos etc

To do

I’m an FT.com dev when can I use x-dash?

It’s still early days so we want to keep this manageable. We have a list of components we’d like to see being made and some ideas about a few more after that (eg lots of MyFT UI and article body components). If you just want to make x-dash inspired components in an Next app then we’re up for that but not quite ready for it at the moment - but please talk to us about what you’re thinking you’d like to do.

I want to use a component in the x-dash repo, but not in ft.com or the App. Is that allowed?

Please speak to us becuase we want to understand what you’re trying to do. Right now the answer is probably no, but that’s just because we want to keep the project manageable and the code simple.

I want to build x-dash inspired components in my project and I’m working in another team (eg IP; IG; O&R). Can I do that?

We’re interest to talk about your needs. Right now x-dash is intended for more limited use (shared code for ft.com and the App) but we’re definitely open to some of the core reusable tools being reused elsewhere.

It's very possible that you can simply copy what we’re doing - that may be a better, simpler solution. X-dash is the result of a lot of thinking; googling; trying stuff and deciding one approach over another… you can skip a lot of that work by just cribbing. If you ask we'll help you copy.