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<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?> |
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<?xml-stylesheet href="/xsl/guide.xsl" type="text/xsl"?> |
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|
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<guide link="/doc/en/management-structure.xml"> |
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|
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<author title = "Author"> |
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<mail link = "drobbins@gentoo.org">Daniel Robbins</mail></author> |
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<author title = "Editor"> |
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<mail link = "klieber@gentoo.org">Kurt Lieber</mail></author> |
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|
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<version>1.0</version> |
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<date>24 Jun 2003</date> |
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<abstract>Gentoo top-level management structure proposal, DRAFT</abstract> |
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|
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<chapter> |
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<title>GLEP Accepted and Superceded</title> |
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<section> |
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<body> |
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<note>This GLEP has been accepted, and it remains here solely |
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for historical purposes. To see the current Gentoo top-level |
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management structure, please visit |
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<uri>http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/management-structure.xml</uri>. |
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</note> |
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</body> |
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</section> |
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</chapter> |
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|
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|
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|
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<chapter> |
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<title>GLEP Header</title> |
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<section> |
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<body> |
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<table> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>GLEP:</b></ti> |
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<ti>4</ti> |
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</tr> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>Title:</b></ti> |
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<ti>Gentoo top-level management structure proposal</ti> |
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</tr> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>Version</b></ti> |
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<ti> $Revision: 1.1 $ </ti> |
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</tr> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>Last-Modified:</b></ti> |
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<ti> $Date: 2003/06/29 18:27:55 $ </ti> |
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</tr> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>Author:</b></ti> |
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<ti> Daniel Robbins <drobbins@gentoo.org> </ti> |
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</tr> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>Status:</b></ti> |
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<ti>Accepted</ti> |
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</tr> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>Content-Type:</b></ti> |
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<ti>text/xml</ti> |
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</tr> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>Created:</b></ti> |
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<ti>24-Jun-2003</ti> |
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</tr> |
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<tr> |
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<ti><b>Post-History:</b></ti> |
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<ti>30-Jun-2003</ti> |
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</tr> |
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</table> |
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</body> |
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</section> |
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</chapter> |
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|
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|
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<chapter> |
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<title>Gentoo top-level management structure proposal, DRAFT</title> |
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<section> |
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<title>What is the purpose of this proposal?</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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The purpose of this proposal is to solve chronic management, coordination |
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and communication issues in the Gentoo project. In particular, currently we |
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have no clearly defined top-level management structure, and no official, |
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regular meetings to communicate status updates between developers serving |
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in critical roles. In general, most communication takes place on irc and |
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irregularly via email. There is also little to no accountability, even |
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at a high level, to complete projects on time. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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Because of this current state of affairs, it is difficult to set goals and |
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track the status of projects. This lack of communication and coordination |
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also makes it difficult for top-level developers to manage their own |
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projects. In addition, we have the other chronic problem of not having |
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clearly-defined roles and scopes of executive decision-making authority for |
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top-level developers, which results in many top-level developers doubting |
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that they even have the authority to manage their own projects and |
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sub-projects. While this has *never* been the intention of top-level |
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developers, it is the unfortunate result of an unstructured development |
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process: no one knows what is going on, and everyone defers to the Chief |
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Architect for all executive decisions. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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Clearly, a plan is needed to swiftly and permanently address these issues by |
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increasing communication, coordination, and accountability. Roles and scopes |
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of executive decision-making authority need to be defined for top developers |
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so that they have a clear mandate as well as accountability to manage their |
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projects and thus ensure their projects complete their appointed work |
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efficiently and on-schedule. |
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</p> |
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|
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</body> |
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|
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>How do we fix this?</title> |
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|
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<body> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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This proposal suggests fixing this issue by creating an official top-level |
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management structure. This management structure will consist of the chief |
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architect and a group of developers that will be given the title of |
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"Top-level managers." Top-level managers will be accountable for the |
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projects they manage, and be responsible for communicating the status of |
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their projects to the rest of the top-level managers and chief architect, |
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among other things detailed later in this document. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> All the top-level projects in the Gentoo project will be clearly |
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defined, including with goals, sub-projects, members, roadmap and schedules. |
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The "Hardened Gentoo" page at |
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<uri>http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/hardened/</uri> is an excellent example of |
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such a top-level project definition. </p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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Certain executive decision-making authority will be granted to these |
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projects, as agreed upon by the top-level managers and project members. |
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Then, a top-level manager or managers will be officially adopt projects. |
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These managers will be responsible for tracking the status of the project, |
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ensuring that the project meets targets and is generally managed properly. |
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Manager responsibilities are described in detail later in this document. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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The operational manager of each top-level project will also be responsible |
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to report the status of the project in regular weekly status meetings in |
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which all top-level managers will participate. This regular communication |
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will allow proper coordination, goal-setting and scheduling to take place. |
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</p> |
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>Types of management</title> |
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<body> |
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<p> |
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For top-level projects, there are currently two possible types of managers. |
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Each project must have at least one manager of each type, although one |
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person may serve both roles. The first type of manager is the operational |
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manager, who is granted executive authority for the day-to-day running of |
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the project. Because this person is directly involved in the day-to-day |
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running of the project, this person has the responsibility to communicate |
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project status to the rest of the top-level management team. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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The other type of manager is the strategic manager. The tactical manager has |
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executive decision-making authority over the long-term strategic direction |
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of the project. This manager's involvement in the day-to-day operations of |
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the project is limited. Both strategic and operational management are equally |
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important for a successful project. |
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</p> |
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>Management team</title> |
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<body> |
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<p>Proposed initial top-level management team is as follows (in no |
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particular order):</p> |
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<ul> |
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<li>Seemant Kulleen (seemant)</li> |
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<li>Jay Pfeifer (pfeifer)</li> |
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<li>Joshua Brindle (method)</li> |
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<li>Kurt Lieber (klieber)</li> |
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<li>Nick Jones (carpaski)</li> |
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<li>Pieter Van den Abeele (pvdabeel)</li> |
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<li>Jon Portnoy (avenj)</li> |
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</ul> |
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<p>In addition to Daniel Robbins, serving as Chief Architect.</p> |
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>Management charter</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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1) Constructive, professional communication: All communication should be |
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focused on improving the management of Gentoo projects, should be |
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constructive in nature and should be shared in a friendly, professional |
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manner. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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2) Accountability to peers: Allow fellow members of this list to hold us |
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accountable to follow-through on projects and meet deadlines. Keep fellow |
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members accountable. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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3) Management of projects: empower managers to have the authority and |
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strategic direction necessary to properly manage thier projects and efforts |
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to ensure projects complete their appointed work on time. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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4) Results: our expectation is that our efforts, when properly executed, |
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will result in the Gentoo project's ability to meet deadlines, have much |
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better communication and coordination throughout the entire project, higher |
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overall quality and a more positive experience for all. |
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</p> |
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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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|
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<section> |
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<title>Manager responsibilities</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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Every top-level Gentoo project will have a clearly defined scope, and |
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clearly defined and explicit executive decision-making authority that will |
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be granted to managers of the project to exercise and/or delegate as they |
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see fit. Both the scope and any necessary decision-making authority must be |
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agreed upon by both the chief architect and project members. The scope and |
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executive authority of a project can be expanded over time as required as |
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approved by the top level managers. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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In addition to decision-making authority, managers have the following |
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responsibilities: |
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</p> |
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|
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<ol> |
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<li>Keep a complete list of all projects and efforts you are managing, |
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and associated gentoo.org project page up-to-date |
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</li> |
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|
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<li> |
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Manage and track the status of these efforts. This includes active |
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direction as well as passive tracking of progress. |
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</li> |
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|
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<li> |
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Define clear goals, roadmaps and timelines (preliminary if necessary) for |
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every effort. |
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</li> |
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|
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<li>Proactively identify efforts that have problems and need help. |
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</li> |
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|
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<li>Ensure that your efforts are completed on-time, or that any efforts that |
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are behind-schedule are reported in a timely manner.</li> |
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|
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<li>Remain focused. Make sure that you are not managing more than you can |
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handle.</li> |
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|
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<li>Fulfill formal communication and coordination responsibilities required by |
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top-level managers (weekly meetings, etc.)</li> |
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|
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<li>Fulfill formal communication and coordination responsibilities required |
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by individual efforts (project meetings, communication with project members, |
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etc.) This is *important* -- our management of projects means that we |
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have the responsibility not only to communicate with our peers but |
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also those who we are managing. This communication should be frequent, |
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have a formal component (planned meetings, official status updates, |
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etc.) and model good management practices to members of our teams. |
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</li> |
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|
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<li> |
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<b>RECURSIVE FUNCTIONALITY</b>: At an appropriate time, implement these management |
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practices for *sub*-projects (define managers, clear sub-project goals, |
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grant executive authority) with you serving as primary authority. |
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</li> |
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</ol> |
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>gentoo-managers list</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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The gentoo-managers list will be created as the official email communications |
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channel for all top-level Gentoo Linux managers. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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The tenative plan for top-level management coordination is as follows: |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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<b>Monday full status email:</b> |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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Every Monday afteroon, every member of this list posts a status summary of |
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projects/efforts that they are managing, as well as any items that they |
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would like to discuss "live" on IRC in the upcoming "live" meeting. |
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If you are unable to attend the "live" IRC meeting, an email to this |
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list mentioning your inability to attend should be posted by Monday |
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afternoon or before. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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The goal of the Monday afternoon email is to get every other top-level |
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manager up to speed on the status of your efforts and any efforts |
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managed by you, and to have a tenative meeting agenda in place for the |
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"live" IRC meeting. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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<b>Monday IRC chat:</b> |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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On Monday evening, we convene on irc for a "live" meeting. |
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The goal of this meeting isn't to provide status updates on our |
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projects, but to work out any outstanding hands-on issues relating to the |
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management of Gentoo Linux. These issues can include: |
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</p> |
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|
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<ol> |
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<li>Assignment of unmanaged projects</li> |
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<li>Resolving critical, time-sensitive problems</li> |
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<li>Trying to "fix" projects that are having trouble staying on-target</li> |
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<li>Sharing new ideas about how to coordinate our efforts better</li> |
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<li>Finding ways to improve our management of projects</li> |
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</ol> |
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|
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<p> |
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The goal of this live IRC chat is to provide a regular forum to resolve |
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tricky issues that benefit from real-time, "live" discussion. Generally, |
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this meeting should last no more than one hour if possible. Generally, |
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new ideas and practices should be discussed in this live meeting, with |
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the list being used for status updates and coordinated resolution of |
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critical issues. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<note> |
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Inability to attend due to time zone can be addressed by posting |
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the full IRC log to gentoo-managers and allowing non-attending members |
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to post ideas, comments and follow-ups. |
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</note> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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<b>Thursday update:</b> |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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Every Thursday afternoon, every member of this list posts a "status |
| 391 |
update" email, giving all members a quick, general update on any efforts |
| 392 |
currently underway. This allows for some fairly rapid feedback for any |
| 393 |
efforts that were started the previous Monday, and an opportunity to |
| 394 |
recover from any efforts that have fallen off-target since the previous |
| 395 |
Monday. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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This email need not be exhaustive, but may be if necessary. |
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</p> |
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|
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|
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<p> |
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The goal of this update is to allow any problems with our projects to be |
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discussed and shared before the weekend, so that an adequate solution or |
| 407 |
interim solution can be found before the weekend. |
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</p> |
| 409 |
</body> |
| 410 |
</section> |
| 411 |
<section> |
| 412 |
<title>Top-level metaprojects</title> |
| 413 |
|
| 414 |
<body> |
| 415 |
|
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<p> |
| 417 |
Top-level projects and <b>preliminary</b> top-level managerial assignments below. |
| 418 |
Note that <b>sub-project</b> managers are generally not listed, but will be |
| 419 |
defined in time. We are starting with the top levels first, then recursing |
| 420 |
downwards. |
| 421 |
</p> |
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|
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|
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<pre> |
| 425 |
gentoo-linux: |
| 426 |
Gentoo Linux |
| 427 |
strategic manager: drobbins, seemant |
| 428 |
operational manager: seemant |
| 429 |
back-up: avenj |
| 430 |
sub-projects: |
| 431 |
x86-stable: Gentoo Linux x86 stable branch |
| 432 |
x86-unstable: Gentoo Linux x86 unstable branch |
| 433 |
amd64 |
| 434 |
ppc |
| 435 |
alpha |
| 436 |
sparc |
| 437 |
hppa |
| 438 |
etc. |
| 439 |
|
| 440 |
kernel: |
| 441 |
Kernel development |
| 442 |
strategic manager: pfeifer (lolo?) |
| 443 |
operational manager: pfeifer (lolo?) |
| 444 |
sub-projects: |
| 445 |
x86 |
| 446 |
amd64 |
| 447 |
ppc |
| 448 |
alpha |
| 449 |
sparc |
| 450 |
hppa |
| 451 |
etc. |
| 452 |
|
| 453 |
gentoo-alt: |
| 454 |
Alternate operating system platform/special-purpose projects |
| 455 |
strategic managers: drobbins, pvdabeel |
| 456 |
operational manager: pvdabeel |
| 457 |
sub-projects: |
| 458 |
gentoo-bsd |
| 459 |
gentoo-macos |
| 460 |
livecd: Gentoo Linux LiveCD technology efforts |
| 461 |
|
| 462 |
hardened: |
| 463 |
Hardened Gentoo -- efforts related to integrated security |
| 464 |
techologies into Gentoo Linux. |
| 465 |
strategic manager: method |
| 466 |
operational manager: method |
| 467 |
page: http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/hardened/ |
| 468 |
sub-projects: |
| 469 |
selinux |
| 470 |
propolice |
| 471 |
systrace |
| 472 |
hardened-sources |
| 473 |
grsecurity |
| 474 |
|
| 475 |
tools: |
| 476 |
Useful Gentoo scripts and tools (for user or developer use, possibly |
| 477 |
Portage-related) |
| 478 |
strategic manager: pvdabeel |
| 479 |
operational manager: pvdabeel |
| 480 |
subprojects: |
| 481 |
keychain |
| 482 |
dynfw |
| 483 |
eperl |
| 484 |
|
| 485 |
devrel: |
| 486 |
General development management, developer relations |
| 487 |
strategic managers: seemant, drobbins |
| 488 |
operational manager: avenj |
| 489 |
back-up: klieber |
| 490 |
subprojects: |
| 491 |
newdev: Recruiting of developers, enforcement of recruitment policy |
| 492 |
devops: Day-to-day oversight of Gentoo development, commits |
| 493 |
|
| 494 |
releng: |
| 495 |
Managing and coordinating release process |
| 496 |
strategic manager: drobbins, seemant |
| 497 |
operational manager: avenj |
| 498 |
subprojects: |
| 499 |
build: Management of stage/package building efforts on all architectures |
| 500 |
install-doc: install documentation |
| 501 |
|
| 502 |
qa: |
| 503 |
Explicit, proactive quality control efforts |
| 504 |
strategic manager: drobbins |
| 505 |
operational manager: seemant |
| 506 |
subprojects: |
| 507 |
bugs: Overseeing bug distribution/assigment/completion and responsiveness |
| 508 |
security: Manage tracking and application of security fixes to packages |
| 509 |
policy-doc: policy documentation |
| 510 |
|
| 511 |
pr: |
| 512 |
Public relations efforts, contact with distrowatch.com, etc. |
| 513 |
strategic manager: drobbins |
| 514 |
operational manager: klieber |
| 515 |
back-up: seemant |
| 516 |
subprojects: |
| 517 |
partners: Gentoo partnerships, liaison(s) to metapkg, Gentoo Games, Inc. |
| 518 |
shows: Planning and organization for trade shows |
| 519 |
gwn: Gentoo Weekly News |
| 520 |
|
| 521 |
portage: |
| 522 |
Portage development, maintenance and new features implementation |
| 523 |
strategic manager: drobbins |
| 524 |
operational manager: carpaski |
| 525 |
subprojects: |
| 526 |
package-research: Research into new packaging technologies and capabilities |
| 527 |
managers: carpaski, drobbins, pvdabeel |
| 528 |
|
| 529 |
infrastructure: |
| 530 |
strategic manager: klieber |
| 531 |
operational manager: klieber |
| 532 |
gentoo.org Mirrors, servers, email, hosting, server security |
| 533 |
subprojects: |
| 534 |
mirrors: ftp, web and rsync mirrors |
| 535 |
web: gentoo.org Web site design and related technology |
| 536 |
doc: general documentation |
| 537 |
</pre> |
| 538 |
</body> |
| 539 |
</section> |
| 540 |
|
| 541 |
</chapter> |
| 542 |
</guide> |
| 543 |
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