I am not a dev, but I have been trying to learn how to do some simple dev work on CHDK.
What I suggest:
* Have a good look through the other articles on
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/For_Developers.
* Read the code through completely and try to understand as much as you can.
* Install everything to do a build and make chdk.
* Read through threads about porting to other cameras
http://chdk.setepontos.com/index.php/board,29.0.html - some of the threads have some excellent actual detail on what to do (plenty of questions asked by beginners and plenty of well written answers - get a feeling for who is who).
If you've done the above, visit #chdk on freenode
irc://freenode/chdk (link works in Firefox if you install the
Chatzilla plugin) during european evening and ask nicely for help. The guys are friendly, but you should get a good reception if the guys can see you have done background work, and they think you are likely to actually be productive.
I also can get hold of a A470 if you need some testing done - email me (see profile).
