User:Grondemar/Essays/FAC

On the subpages listed below I plan to write several essays analyzing the Featured Article Candidates process from a systematic perspective, in an attempt to enact significant and real process improvement. FAC was a major reason I started editing Wikipedia in the first place. I believe it is one of the most critical processes in the entire Wikipedia as Featured Articles serve as an aspirational goal to all article writers: to have their contributions be recognized as part of Wikipedia's very best work.

The scope of the below essays is intended to be limited to the Featured Article Candidates process. Specifically, it does not address any other Featured Content process such as Featured Lists. It also does not address Good Articles or WikiProject reviews. I also do not intend to discuss the following issues:


 * General editor decline on Wikipedia. While this is very important and a contributing factor, it is also a much larger problem than just FAC.
 * Individual editor priorities on what articles are being nominated at FAC. Part of Wikipedia's inherent design is that individual editors can choose to work on whatever articles they wish.  Since I don't consider any FA to be "undesirable", no matter how many page views they garner or how core a subject they cover, and also any change to how editors select articles to work on would require a radical change in Wikipedia's editing model, this particular issue will not be further discussed.
 * The actions of individual editors in the FAC process, whether they be reviewers, nominators, or Directors. I firmly believe that most issues in processes are caused by process design, rather than people.

New essays will be added as I have time to prepare them:


 * /Customer expectations and process capability
 * /Why do FACs fail?