Join Us for Open Office Hours with Team Violet: A Deep Dive into Hyku

Every Wednesday, Team Violet from Notch8 hosts an open office hour for the greater Hyku community. This event is a unique opportunity for repository managers, developers, and curious observers to drop by. Participants can ask questions, share experiences, or simply listen and learn about Hyku.

For Team Violet, these office hours serve as a virtual co-working space. We hear directly from users, gaining insights into how they interact with Hyku. We learn about the features they rely on and the frustrations they encounter. These conversations are invaluable. They help guide our development and improve the product.

What We Talk About

The topics we cover during office hours vary widely. From troubleshooting errors when launching a local app to discussing future feature development, there’s always something new. Here’s a snapshot from our recent sessions:

Hyku 6.2 Release Updates

The Hyku community is eager to know about the status of the 6.2 release. This update will include flexible metadata. The entire community has been working hard to make this feature a reality. We’re excited to announce that a release candidate is now available on the main branch of the Hyku repository.

Bulkrax Questions

Bulkrax, our import/export engine, often sparks engaging discussions. We’ve addressed how to delete records and heard about recent user issues. Additionally, we uncovered an edge case with authority validation that led to a new bug report. These discussions are crucial for improving our tools.

Single vs. Multi-Tenancy

At Notch8, we typically run Hyku in a multi-tenant format. However, a recent question involved an error when spinning up a single-tenant Hyku instance. While we couldn’t resolve it immediately, we provided a workaround. This conversation deepened our understanding of single-tenancy quirks. It also prompted us to consider whether we had overlooked testing single-tenancy and possibly introduced a bug.

Account Settings

A recent documentation sprint inspired questions about the settings in the Hyku admin dashboard. We collaborated and worked asynchronously to understand what each option does. We also discussed how these selections can impact the user experience. This collaborative effort is essential for enhancing our documentation.

Feature Feasibility and Wish Lists

Office hours provide a unique space where we can navigate between the technical details in the code and the high-level user interactions in the application. We get to ask questions and observe user workflows while assisting those with specific code issues. This blend of technical and user-focused discussions is vital for our development process.

And of course, some folks just come to listen and hang out with us—which we absolutely love!

Samvera Connect

Our enjoyment of office hours has led us to consider hosting an in-person session at the next Samvera Connect in Mexico City. We asked attendees what they would find useful for a conference office hour. They suggested:

• A breakfast booth for casual Q&A.

• Stickers that signal “Ask me about Hyku!” in the hallway.

• Perhaps even bringing the famous inflatable rubber duck from Ruby Conf for photo ops.

  
  

We’re thrilled to report that the idea has been warmly received by the conference organizers! P.S. - We’ll be sure to bring along Notch8 rubber duckies for all attendees, so you’ll always have us by your side.

Why We Host

We are a product-minded, community-oriented engineering team. Our goal is to ensure that Hyku users receive the best experience possible. We work diligently to achieve this by making ourselves available as often as we can.

Office Hours serve as a space where:

• Everyone can ask questions and receive answers in real time.

• We learn about real-world workflows, roadblocks, and user wish lists.

• We gather feedback on upcoming features.

• We observe how community members use Hyku and related Samvera technologies.

• Even when we can’t solve a problem on the spot, we leave with new insights and sometimes new GitHub tickets!

  
  

How to Join

If you haven’t stopped by yet, consider this your invitation. Whether you have a pressing problem or just want to pop in and say hi, we’d love to see you and learn from you.

Fill out this form to join the Samvera Slack, then head over to the Hyku channel!

The Importance of Community Engagement

Engaging with the community is vital for the growth and improvement of Hyku. It allows us to understand user needs better and adapt our development accordingly. By participating in office hours, users contribute to the evolution of the platform.

Looking Ahead

As we look to the future, we are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. The feedback we receive during office hours will continue to shape our development roadmap. We encourage everyone to join us and share their thoughts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Team Violet’s open office hours are a fantastic opportunity for collaboration and learning. We invite everyone to participate, whether you have questions or simply want to engage with the community. Together, we can make Hyku even better!