Sample Project Template

Project Resources

Project Overview

Overview

Summarize the basic function of the new feature in a few sentences.

• For example, an overview for a new "Declining Balance" feature might be: "This feature would allow MFIs to create loan repayment schedules with equal installments and interest based on the declining balance formula."

Background and Business Need

Try to provide some useful context for the new feature for those that might not be familiar with your microfinance methodology. Here you can explain how Mifos currently handles or doesn't handle the issue and explain how the new feature would fit into microfinance methodology. The intent of this section is to help those who might not be familiar with microfinance or how Mifos currently works to better understand the issue.

• For example, the background on the "Declining Balance" feature would first explain that Mifos currently only supports flat interest calculation, then it would explain what flat interest calculation is because it is an unfamiliar concept many people in the US and finally it would explain how the declining balance calculation works.

Briefly explain, use 2-3 sentences, why the new feature is important or necessary. Use this section to get votes & support - the second goal of writing a feature request. This is your opportunity to convince the community how important your new feature is, get other implementers to support it and show the core engineering team the need to include the feature in the product road map.

• For example, the business need for the "Declining Balance" feature might be: "This feature is needed for deployment of Mifos in Nepal because many MFIs use this method to calculate interest. The rationale behind this is: the simple nature of calculating interest in this way allows clients to see that the principal they are paying is actually reducing their interest."

Try also to provide the business processes or products and services the new feature would support as well as step-by-step instructions for how it would be used.  You can write out a few different user scenarios about how this feature will be used.  

Fill out as much detail as possible but more can be added later when the functional specification is written. To learn more about how to write out detailed user scenarios, refer to our page on how to write a functional specification.

Also see our feature request process for more on providing a good description of the feature you need built. 

Project Supporters(s)

List the names of the organizations along with staff person that have requested the project.  If your organization also needs this project, please list yourself here. 

It's very important for our developers and community to understand who has a need and will benefit from the work being done. 

Project Details

Assigned contributor for the project will include details of how they plan to implement the feature.  Feel free to supplement as needed with additional child pages of detail. 

Project Status

Include an initial timeline and estimate of the work needed to complete the feature. As work continues on the project, you can provide a weekly update on status and major milestones. This will be used to deliver weekly updates on active projects. 

Additional Information

Please link to any wiki pages, issues, mailing list discussions, similar projects, or external websites, articles that provide more background on the project or implementation of this feature.