To create a new problem definition: 

• Open this page in EDIT mode using the EDIT tab above
• COPY the template below onto the clipboard
• Click CANCEL at the bottom of the page so the template remains intact
• CREATE  A NEW PAGE by clicking the link in the upper righthand side bar
• PASTE the contents of the clipboard
• NAME your page and begin filling in the template with the problem you want to define

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

• Problems must be related to transparency, openness of data and information, and accountability.  Problems that do not fall into those areas may be out of scope for this Codeathon, even if they are great problems.  
• Problems must be relevant to Russia, the United States or both countries.  
• Problems selected for the Codeathon will be those that have all the necessary components to create a strong solution during the Codeathon, including all necessary data and ownership by an individual or organization that has an interest in moving forward any good solutions developed to implementation and impact.  
• If your problem is not selected to be featured at the Codeathon, or is not chosen by coders as a project, that does not mean it is not a great problem that we can continue to refine and develop to showcase at a future Code4Country event.  

TEMPLATE

Owner

Who proposed and "owns" the problem?  This can be an organization that has a need for a specific solution, or a person who has a good idea they want to implement for their community.

Proposed by: name of organization or individual

Contact (name, email, phone, skype):

Best way and times to contact during

Summary

Give a short summary of your problem, and any major restrictions.  You can either be precise (helpful if it's an existing project that you want extensions on) or broad (if you want innovation on a general problem).

Example

Can you give a real world example of when this would be useful? 

Video

It is often very helpful to see a problem or project described by the person proposing it.  With that in mind, we invite you to make a quick (1 or 2 minute) pitch introducing your project that we can show to participants at the Codeathon if you are unable to attend in person, and help to get people excited about your idea.  Some tips:

• Use a webcam, no need to get professional
• Speak to camera, individual or teams are fine – get personal
• Talk about what you need, and why it matters
• Include graphics and photos if you want
• Upload it to the Internet
• Link to it from this wiki page

Use Case/User Story/Scenario

Outline one or more short (one paragraph) user stories/use cases/scenarios that describe how someone would use a solution to solve the problem. Alternately outline the scenario for someone confronted by a problem, and provide some options/thoughts for how technology or a hack might help them.

Description and Constraints

What else do they need to know? What constraints?

e.g. No AC power. Must cost less than $0.001/unit.  None of the end users will have smartphones.  

Extra Credit

Great extensions to this idea, for now or in the future.

Similar projects and Resources

Links to similar projects, background reading, research, designs, existing work, data standards etc.

e.g. A team of developers started a project like this at a past coding event but development stalled, their code is here [link]

What next and Sustainability

How will this work be taken to real users, or further developed? Will this be an ongoing team? Is there a NGO/group that's sponsoring it as an ongoing project? Who/how/when?  This part is very important.