a self debriefing

[Aaron J. Seigo]

once the 4.2 schedule decision is worked out, i think it would be really good 
to sit back and ask some questions. this may simply re-affirm what we are doing, 
or it may indicate need for changes. either way, having a conscious awareness 
of how we are doing is undeniably better than simply making it up as we go 
along.

some questions i'd suggest asking ourselves (please add your own as well):

* what has the 6 month cycle won us in terms of real benefit thus far?

* are we getting the return in commitment promised from third parties due to 
the discipline of a 6 month cycle, or do we need to re-assess that with them?

* how long before we can disentable the development cycle from it, ala Dirk 
and Sebastian's presentation at Akademy '08?

* if that disentanglement will take more than a year, how do we deal with 
aligning our development with Qt? (our most critical and quickly evolving 
component)

* under what circumstances should we allow ourselves to alter the plan for the 
cycle we are currently in at the time?

* how do we define "useful predictability"? is it knowing that the goal in N 
cycles from now will be 6 months, or is it more important to know with 
certainty what the next 2-3 releases will actually be?

* are application developers being well served by the amount and form of 
communication thus far?

* are the libraries being well served by the amount and form of communication 
thus far?

overall, i think the release team is doing a very good job. the above 
questions are not an indictment or a measure of distrust in the process. they 
are, rather, out of respect for what is working and a desire to see this team 
remain a healthy and well-oiled machine.

-- 
Aaron J. Seigo
humru othro a kohnu se
GPG Fingerprint: 8B8B 2209 0C6F 7C47 B1EA  EE75 D6B7 2EB1 A7F1 DB43

KDE core developer sponsored by Trolltech

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