Mandatory Exercise - Book at least one consultation

# Mandatory Exercise - Book at Least One Consultation Most collaborative software development projects make significant progress through remote interactions using issues and pull requests. By now, you should have some open issues and know how to work with issues based on the previous exercise **[Make and Document a Plan](https://hackmd.io/@fair4rs/SybbutV26/%2F9yl4S_7FS_mHoKy5bKAm7A)**. The general steps to book a consultation are: 1. Document your issue or issues. 2. Start a booking by going to [this link](https://www.tudelft.nl/en/library/library-for-researchers/library-for-researchers/setting-up-research/dcc/open-office-hours). 3. Check the box at the end of the form asking: "I am attending as part of the FAIR for Research Software program." 4. Share the link to your repository in the "brief description" field of the form. Refer to the issue number you would like to discuss, for example, Issue#1, #23, etc. 5. Meet with the consultant online or in person. Following these steps allows everyone to be prepared by clearly capturing your intention and goals. You can practice a similar approach later with other contributors and colleagues. At TU Delft, researchers have access to the **[Digital Competence Centre](https://dcc.tudelft.nl) (DCC)** to help implement and organize research workflows. The DCC has recently launched the "Open Office Hours" as a pilot initiative to provide consultations. We are taking advantage of this initiative for our program. In the future, you can still use the **[booking system](https://www.tudelft.nl/en/library/library-for-researchers/library-for-researchers/setting-up-research/dcc/open-office-hours)**, and follow the instructions there so an expert can assist you. ## Some Tips for Asking for Help - **Be Specific**: Clearly articulate the problem you're facing, including relevant context and steps you've already taken to troubleshoot. See: [GitHub - Creating an Issue](https://github.com/rstudio/rstudio/wiki/Writing-Good-Bug-Reports). - **Use a Descriptive Title**: Make your question or request easy to understand at a glance by providing a concise and descriptive title. See: [Stack Overflow - How do I ask a good question?](https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask). - **Provide Reproducible Examples**: Share code snippets, error messages, or any other relevant information that can help others understand and reproduce the issue. See: [GitLab - Submitting a Merge Request](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/creating_merge_requests.html). - **Respect Community Guidelines**: Familiarize yourself with the community guidelines of the platform you're using and adhere to them when asking for help. See: [GitHub Community Guidelines](https://docs.github.com/en/github/site-policy/github-community-guidelines). - **Express Gratitude**: Remember to thank those who take the time to help you, whether they provide a solution or offer guidance towards finding one. See: [Stack Overflow - How do I ask a good question?](https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask). ## References [GitHub - Creating an Issue](https://github.com/rstudio/rstudio/wiki/Writing-Good-Bug-Reports) [Stack Overflow - How do I ask a good question?](https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask) [GitLab - Submitting a Merge Request](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/creating_merge_requests.html) [GitHub Community Guidelines](https://docs.github.com/en/github/site-policy/github-community-guidelines) [GitHub - Creating an Issue](https://github.com/rstudio/rstudio/wiki/Writing-Good-Bug-Reports) [GitLab - Issue Templates](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/description_templates.html)