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Contest Description and FAQ
Note: This FAQ is designed to supplement the Official Contest Rules and provide Eentrants with additional perspective on the nature of the Contest. In the case of any conflict, the terms in the Official Contest Rules shall prevail. Please direct any questions you have to contests@birt-exchange.com.Overview
The purpose of the Get BIRT-y with Flash and Flex contest is to encourage developers to create cool and useful integrations between BIRT and Adobe technologies, and to share or sell what they create through the BIRT Exchange Marketplace. A $5,000 prize will be shared among contest finalists who complete an implementation of an accepted proposal. No more than 10 finalists will be selected – so finalists who complete a proposal implementation will receive a prize of at least $500, and possibly more, depending on the number of finalists who complete implementations.
FAQ’s: General
Q. What’s the prize?
A: $5,000 will be shared equally among all winners (up to 10).
Q: How do I win the contest?
A: You enter the contest by submitting a proposal. If your proposal is chosen as a finalist, you must implement the proposal and submit it to the BIRT Exchange Marketplace (Marketplace). If you complete your implementation within the contest timeframe, you win.
Q: How do I get started?
A: Review the Rules and write your proposal that integrates Adobe and BIRT technology. If you want to get better acquainted with BIRT or Adobe technologies, we have made some resources available for you here (for BIRT) and here (for Adobe technologies). You should also sign up to receive email updates regarding the contest at the bottom of the contest home page.
Q: Who is eligible for the contest?
A: Individuals or teams of up to 5 people from the United States or other countries approved for the contest.
A: Actuate wants as many developers as possible to participate in the contest, however, some countries have laws and/or restrictions which make the administrative and/or financial costs of running a contest there prohibitive. Residents of the United States are eligible and residents of other countries may be eligible as well. To inquire about your particular country, please email us at contests@birt-exchange.com.
Q: When will the winners be announced?
A: On or about June 22, 2010.
Q: Can I receive a list of winners?
A: The list will be published on http://www.birt-exchange.org on or about June 22, 2010.
Q: Are there any submission fees?
A: No.
Q. How can I access Actuate software if I’m planning a submission that involves integrating Adobe technologies and Actuate’s commercial products?
A: You can get started by downloading 45-day trial versions of Actuate products here. We’ll be sending out information on how to access software during the Project stage to the finalists.
Q: I have a question not answered in this FAQ. Who can I contact?
A: Please direct all questions to contests@birt-exchange.com.
FAQ’s: Proposal Stage
Q: What is the deadline for submitting a proposal?
A: March 10, 2010
Q. What should my proposal include?
A: Please read the Rules for the full proposal criteria. Briefly your proposal should include:
- A written description in English that includes
- What the software does
- The BIRT, Adobe and Actuate (if any) products/technologies used
- Details on dependencies and features/interfaces (see Rules)
- Benefits the software will provide
- Completion criteria
- Your technical experience and/or qualifications
- The full names, e-mail addresses and current countries of residence of you and your teammates (if any)
Q: How do I submit my proposal?
A: All proposals are due via e-mail to contests@birt-exchange.com by March 10, 2010.
Q: What criteria will be used for judging proposals?
A: Proposals will be judged as follows:
- Originality of idea and design
- Relevance as a showcase of BIRT and Adobe technology
- Usefulness to the BIRT community
- Qualifications and prior experience of the entrant(s)
Q: Can I submit more than one proposal?
A: Yes, however only one finalist proposal will be selected by the judges per individual. This includes individuals who are members of a team.
Q: How many finalists will be selected?
A: The judges will select at most 5 proposals from each of two categories:
- Integrations between Eclipse BIRT and Adobe technologies
- Integrations between Actuate’s BIRT-based products and Adobe technologies
Q: When will finalists be notified?
A: March 29, 2010
Q: Can I submit a proposal for an existing product or an update to an existing project?
A: No. Only proposals for a new and original work or combination of software can be submitted.
Q: Why do I have to provide my technical qualifications to enter the contest?
A: The judges will use this information to help choose proposals most likely to succeed. Knowledge of BIRT and Adobe technology is not essential; however, hands-on experience in general software development and project management skills will likely be very important to complete your project within the timeframe available for the Project Stage.
Q: Is my project still considered an "original work" for the purposes of the contest rules if, for example, I use third party libraries or open source code in my implementation?
A: Yes. As long as you have the necessary legal rights to use such material in your implementation you may include it. Your project implementation cannot, however, be solely comprised of material that is not your own or just simple modifications to an existing implementation.
Q: What is meant by "completion criteria" and "complete implementation?"
A: A project must be fully implemented and ready for listing in the BIRT Exchange Marketplace. Partial implementations and buggy, poor quality (alpha level) products will likely be disqualified by the judges as incomplete. Your "completion criteria" describes what you mean by a fully complete implementation and will be used by the judges to determine, 1) whether or not to accept the proposal, and 2) that the final project implementation achieves its goals. In all cases, the determination as to whether a work is complete is left to the judges' sole discretion.
Q: Why do I have to sign the Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability and Publicity Release?
A: The Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability verifies that you understand the contest rules and are eligible to participate. The Publicity Release allows Actuate to use your name, photos (if provided) and the particulars of your proposal/project for promotional purposes.
FAQ’s: Project Stage
Q: What should I do if my entry is selected as a finalist?
A: Write code and then submit it to Marketplace before the close of the Project Stage.
Q: What is the deadline for submitting my code?
A: May 19, 2010
Q. Do I retain the ownership rights to the code I develop for the contest?
A: Yes.
Q: Are there additional requirements for submitting proposals and projects to the contest?
A; Yes. All submissions must comply with the BIRT Exchange Terms and Conditions and you must obtain all necessary third party licenses required to do your work.
Q: Do I have to submit my code to the Marketplace or can I submit a pointer to my project or company web site?
A: You can use a pointer as long as you follow the Marketplace submission requirements for apps hosted remotely.
Q: How will a Finalist project be qualified to win?
A: At the completion of the Project Stage, each finalist project submitted to the Marketplace will be checked to ensure it is complete and meets the Marketplace submission requirements. All finalist projects successfully fulfilling these conditions will be declared winners and each will receive an equal share of the $5,000 prize.
Q: Will there be further judging once it is declared to be a winner?
A: Yes, all finalist projects will be ranked based on originality, relevance, usefulness and quality (see Rules for bragging rights, etc.).
FAQ’s: Submissions by Teams
Q: Must I include every team member in my proposal? What if I want to add or drop someone later?
A: You can change the membership of a team up to the last day in the Proposal Stage by informing us via e-mail. Teams may not be modified after finalists have been selected.
Q: Can two proposals be selected as finalists if I submit one as an individual and another as part of a team?
A: No. If this situation was to occur, you would be asked to choose one of the selected proposals for the contest (e.g., you could drop your name from the team proposal).
Q: If my team submits a winning project, how will the prize money be divided?
A: The portion of the prize money will be divided equally among all team members. For example, if 5 projects successfully complete the Project Stage and your team of 4 individuals is one of the winners, each team member will receive $250. ($5,000 / 5 winners) / (4 team members) = $250.
Q: What happens if one of my team members drops out or is declared ineligible?
A: A team member who is ruled ineligible or is non-responsive to the notification that he or she has won will be disqualified and the remaining team members will divide the entire team's portion of the prize money. If an eligible team member stops working on a project, that member can still collect prize money if he or she acknowledges the winning notification. The reason for this is that Actuate is not in a position to arbitrate who did or did not do their share of work on a project – so don't pick team members who won't follow through until the end.
