MinD-Chat Project Lead

Overview

Mensa in Deutschland e.V. (MinD) needed a privacy-compliant, self-hosted communication system for all members. As project lead I clarified requirements with all stakeholders, built the infrastructure, and have since run operations and support solo. Since the official launch in March 2024, over 2,000 members have joined the system, and the work led to an invitation to join the organisation’s leadership team.

How mChat came about and has evolved since, can be read in an interview in MinD-Mag 161.

Responsibilities

Project management and coordination

Sole ownership of the project’s direction and delivery, with regular alignment with the board, SIGs, end users, and Legal.

Infrastructure and architecture

Designing and evolving the system architecture, managing the budget, provisioning and maintaining the servers, and integrating and unifying interfaces. Separate test and production environments plus continuously verified backups keep the service reliable.

End-user support

Writing and maintaining application- and audience-specific documentation, supporting members directly at events and in person, and growing adoption through networking and promotion.

Further development and documentation

Creating value through features such as a live ticker and the chat integration with the annual-gathering app (JT-App), with ongoing technical and operational documentation of the system.

Stack

Matrix (Synapse), Docker, Ansible, Linux server on Hetzner, Borgbackup.