IGDA Elections – Eric Francksen
February 14th, 2010 by Macguffin in UncategorizedIf you’re coming to this post without having seen the lead-in, you can find that post here. It links to all the other assessments I’ve posted. You can also find my disclaimer there – I’m on the Boston IGDA chapter’s board and support the candidacy of Darius Kazemi.
UPDATE – Mr. Francksen came by and answered the questions I was asking – they’re below.
Mr. Francksen is the president of the Wisconsin chapter of the IGDA. His statement is well written, and he comes across as very committed, but the whole thing lacks specifics.
It begins with, “The IGDA currently has many strong programs to help its members reach out to colleagues all over the world.” What are these programs, and how are they effective? One of the things I’ve heard repeatedly is that the IGDA doesn’t do a great job of reaching out and working with non-USA chapters, so I’d like more detail here.
He later says, “As a Board member, I intend to help focus our mutual efforts towards strengthening both our local and remote communities with specific initiatives geared at taking advantage of the IGDA’s corporate resources to help support the needs of local chapters.” Again – specifics, please. Which efforts? What specific initiatives? Also – how would these be funded? From reading the 2008 Annual Report, the IGDA lost around $90,000 in 2008. I can’t imagine 2009 was any better, given the economy.
In the Q&A, he cites Quality of Life as the biggest obstacle in front of the dev community, but says he intends to help “collaborate, as a community, and help establish best practices which we can bring back to our workplaces in order to help reduce burnout.” Are we not at a point already where we know those practices, and it’s more about getting the bad apple companies to care about them?
Questions for Mr. Francksen:
Before getting into these questions, I’d like to address a comment you made in the second paragraph. You bring up a very good point regarding the IGDA’s outreach to non-USA chapters. I am not only concerned about accessibility for these groups but other IGDA members who can’t afford the money or time to make it to conferences or chapter meetings. This is why I intend to support web-based networking resources, such as the webinars, which have the ability to tighten our entire community with limited cost to the organization.
Can you describe some of the international IGDA programs you find effective, and tell us why you find them so?
If the IGDA’s goal is to help better our industry through communication and awareness, we can take a look at several effective programs. In particular, we can discuss the summits which pool together professionals from across the globe, the leadership forum which allows our decision-makers to be better prepared to face industry needs and changes, and of course the chapters and SIGs. All of these initiatives directly serve the IGDA’s goal of strengthening the game development community and bettering our crafts.
Can you give us some details on the “specific initiatives” you want to strengthen if elected?
If elected, my focus would be to see initiatives which reach the greatest number of members strengthened. Specifically, I see room for growth within our online resources. For years the Wisconsin chapter has posted videos of their meetings online and I’m sure other chapters have done the same. One improvement I envision is the creation of an online resource where we can organize meeting videos on our group websites and in one general location where they can be accessed by subject, chapter, or date so that all of our members can benefit from the speakers at our local meetings. We are all required to post our meeting minutes to our websites to share with the community. Adding video, not as a requirement, but as an option would be a great use of our resources. Another initiative, which I mentioned in my Q & A, would be to broaden the use of our webinars to host round table discussions as well as the guest speakers we already host. These ‘borderless’ initiatives can be used to network local and remote chapter communities with one another no matter where they are located, geographically.
What “corporate resources” do you wish to use for local chapters? Can you elaborate on this with details?
What I refer to when I talk about “corporate resources” are less financial and more social. The IGDA Board of Directors has a unique opportunity to represent us, as a community, to other groups which may help strengthen our chapters and groups. Jane Pincard, an IGDA member who is also running for a Board position, mentioned the MacArthur Foundation as a good example of the sort of organization the Board can network with on behalf of the IGDA and its members. Another example would be the Project Management Institute, which has many software developers as members. A partnership with the PMI could help our producers network with other software project managers and discuss how to better their craft from a perspective outside of games, thus enriching both communities. As an individual chapter coordinator, I have been able to negotiate sponsorships and resources for my chapter with groups such as ATI/ AMD. As a Board member, I intend to continue this work at the corporate level in hopes that sponsorships and corporate relationships can further help benefit local chapter members, worldwide.
Putting aside the question of establishing best practices, can you discuss how you would want to try to get bad apple studios to pay attention to them?
Simply put, I hope to increase communication on the subject. In the ‘bad apple’ studios I have seen or heard of, it should come as no surprise that I have also noticed major communication problems. In situations like these, when important issues such as quality of life or role identity are not safe topics, it can be the role of the IGDA to offer a forum where thoughts from all sides can come together and be discussed. Whether this is done on a case by case basis or as a running discussion would have to be addressed by the community, but the idea of the IGDA as a mediating group for these issues would be one means of safely re-opening communications. We do, however, have an opportunity to reward affiliated studios with recognition for outstanding business ethics. For example, we could offer ethics certification to studios who apply for it. The studio could then be reviewed and, if IGDA standards are met, could then be awarded this recognition. Likewise, a studio’s recognition could also be challenged if issues were to arise. Thus, the IGDA can help support studios which excel at upholding the values of the IGDA.
What do you think the IGDA’s role in the industry-wide Quality of Life discussions should be?
I have a great appreciation for the work that the Quality of Life SIG continues to do to support sustainable business practices. I do know that the IGDA receives some criticism for not having any muscle to back up its beliefs, such as some sort of excommunication power. I, on the other hand, support the IGDA’s commitment to inclusiveness. Remaining open to studios and professionals who may violate quality of life standards is a greater good than chastising them. In this way, I hope to see the IGDA help mediate and resolve these issues in a non-hostile manner.
What are you bringing to the table here that makes you a better candidate than the other nominees?
We have some great candidates running for the Board and I would be privileged to serve with any of them, so let me rephrase your question by answering what makes me unique, as a candidate. Although I’ve worked in production and QA positions for the past several years, it is my experience as a chapter founder and president that will make me a strong addition to the Board. I have seen and experienced, firsthand, the needs and benefits of local chapters. If we are to reach out to the world on behalf of our members, it is critical that the Board have an understanding of just what their members would like to see from the organization. I have a great deal of experience and passion for supporting this sort of grass roots leadership and I look forward to the opportunity to express this as a Board member.
Do you think the IGDA’s dependence on studio sponsorships for money is a bad thing? If yes, what will you do to begin changing this? If no, why not?
I believe the studio affiliation program is a good resource for studios, their members, and the IGDA. I do not think it is inappropriate for studios to sponsor the IGDA if they find benefit within the organization for themselves and their employees. To answer your question regarding the dependence, I think it’s standard for the beneficiaries of an organization to pay the dues of that organization and, because there are services within the IGDA which need to be financially maintained, I do not find this to be a bad thing.
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