[wp-meta] [Making WordPress.org] #7251: Add a Preview in Playground button to the plugin directory

[Making WordPress.org]

#7251: Add a Preview in Playground button to the plugin directory
-----------------------------------+-------------------------
 Reporter:  tellyworth             |       Owner:  tellyworth
     Type:  enhancement            |      Status:  accepted
 Priority:  normal                 |   Milestone:
Component:  Plugin Directory       |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  needs-design-feedback  |
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Comment (by courane01):

 How could this launch have been done better?

 == Proposal ==

 Draft a simple proposal on Meta to outline the plan. Share this proposal,
 or this Trac ticket, during our bi-weekly team meetings, and also cross-
 post it to the Plugin team.

 Active Meta team members could bring this up during meetings when teams
 ask to mention special projects.

 Detail the steps of the project, including opt-in and opt-out options.

 === Work with Plugin Team ===
 Identify potential hurdles. @ipstenu highlighted these areas:

 ''There are major use-cases that were missed, which I would think account
 for 30-40% of plugins right now…''
 * It won’t work for add-on plugins (like things for Woo) because we can't
 tell what plugins depend on others, and the sandbox won’t know to install
 the ‘parent’ plugin
 * It won’t work well for things that need a lot of custom changes (like
 WooCommerce itself)
 * It won’t work AT ALL for anything that connects to servers (like
 Memcached, Redis, etc).
 * Multisite

 === Reach Out to the Plugin Extender Ecosystem ===

 Ask for feedback on the proposal post. If no feedback is received,
 directly contact active plugin developers/owners.

 Use the same email methods we use to notify plugins about new WordPress
 versions to connect.

 === Work with Marketing Team ===

 The Marketing team asks for feedback through a [GitHub
 Issue](https://github.com/WordPress/Marketing-
 Team/issues/new?assignees=sereedmedia%2Crobinwpdeveloper%2Ceidolonnight&labels
 =amplification-request&projects=&template=request-for-amplification-
 template.yml&title=%5BAMPLIFY%5D%3A+) to help spread the word about the
 different projects within the broader WordPress Project.

 Marketing can propose content to the WordPress.org social media team and
 draft communications for news outlets, podcasts, and other media places
 asking for feedback and sharing information before the launch. They can
 also assist in drafting an email to the plugin maintainers that receive
 notifications about the changes at releases.

 == Pre-Launch Testing ==

 Introduce a beta version of the feature to a select group of developers
 and users for testing and feedback. Establish a clear process for
 reporting and tracking bugs.

 Host Online Workshops with the Training team on Learn.WordPress.org as
 part of the user testing process. Also host workshops here with the
 Developer Maintainers inviting them to provide feedback.

 == Documentation ==

 Create user guides and developer documentation to help users and
 developers understand how to use and adapt to the WordPress Playground
 demo feature.

 == Put into Action ==
 With feedback collected, potential hurdles identified, and clear
 communication with everyone, commence Phase 1. Select a small group of
 perhaps recommended or most popular plugins that have opted into this
 experiment. Evaluate feedback from users, plugin maintainers, as well as
 the review team.

 === Meta ===

 Share project progress and learnings on the team site. Provide updates on
 deploying to the rest of the Plugin Repo.

 === Plugins ===

 Team can share updates on how the installation impact is going and
 additional requests.

 === Marketing ===

 Promote the updates and facilitate communications around the next stage.

 == Additional Insights ==

 * '''Landing Page''': Adopt a dynamic landing page approach - direct users
 to the plugin configuration page if available, else to `/wp-
 admin/plugins.php`.
 * '''WP/PHP Version Logic''': Utilize the current WP version and the
 recommended PHP version for better performance and compatibility.
 * '''Plugin Inclusion''': Include all plugins to avoid favoritism, with an
 opt-out mechanism for those incompatible with the Playground.
 * '''Download Mechanism''': Implement a URL parameter to prevent the
 Playground downloads from affecting the plugin download statistics.
 * '''Button Implementation''': Commend the initial implementation of the
 simple button, while encouraging further refinements to allow
 customization by plugin developers for enhanced user experience.

 == Suggested Action ==

 Based on the observations and feedback, it is wise to temporarily
 deactivate the WordPress Playground feature. This pause will provide an
 opportunity to address identified concerns and refine the feature. A
 detailed relaunch proposal, encompassing the insights from the community,
 should be crafted to ensure a more successful and well-received rollout in
 the future. This will build trust with the Plugin Extender ecosystem and
 demonstrate transparency that is so foundational to an open-source
 project. Also detailing the relaunch will foster further cross-team
 collaboration.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/7251#comment:39>
Making WordPress.org <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/>
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