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Difference between revisions of "Project Management Infrastructure Redesign 2011"

(Themes)
(Technology)
 
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Current infrastructure (i.e. The Developer Portal) is inadequate.
 
Current infrastructure (i.e. The Developer Portal) is inadequate.
  
Multiple, separate data sources.
+
Data concerning projects, people, organizations, members, and more is spread across multiple, separate data sources. This makes querying across data challenging. In some cases, data is replicated from one database to another to facilitate some queries while providing an added layer of protection. The database that contains committer information, the so-called "Foundation" database, is kept separate from other systems to provide an added layer of protection against private data being compromised. Bits of that database are replicated into an "Eclipse" database for access from the public website.
  
Portal is separate from the the resources being managed. Requires a context switch to use. Most committers have difficulty (or outright refuse) to make that context switch.
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Portal is separate from the the resources being managed; this requires a context switch to use. The content displayed in the project summary pages, for example, comes from the portal. When a committer notices that the data in the project summary is incorrect, they must switch into the portal to make the change. Most committers have difficulty (or outright refuse) to make that context switch.
  
Some management tasks are spread out. Specifying a description for a project, for example, requires that an HTML file be created in the project directory (requires CVS check-in), and then the specification of a URL in the portal. Very difficult to maintain. Very separated from where and how the description is used. As a result, descriptions tend to be poorly specified, and maintained.
+
Some management tasks are spread out. Specifying a description for a project, for example, requires that an HTML file be created in the project directory (requires CVS check-in), and then the specification of a URL in the portal. This is very difficult to maintain as it is separated from where and how the description is used, and requires multiple steps with multiple tools to complete. As a result, descriptions tend to be poorly specified, and rarely maintained.
  
Too much information is not included in or managed by the portal. Project proposals, review documentation, IP logs, are all separate.  
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Too much information is not included in or managed by the portal. Project proposals, review documentation, IP logs, are all separate.
  
 
=Technology Choices=
 
=Technology Choices=
  
Project management is essentially a document-management and workflow problem. Several solutions exist in this area.
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Moved to [[Project Management Infrastructure/Technology Choices]].
 
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The Eclipse Foundation currently uses Drupal for [http://markeplace.eclipse.org Eclipse Marketplace], [http://live.eclipse.org Eclipse Live], and the [http://www.eclipsecon.org EclipseCon Website]. Several Eclipse Foundation employees are already well-versed in Drupal development, and finding temporary resources with the necessary skills in the local area should be relatively easy and cost-effective. Drupal is based on PHP, a language that is known to most of the Eclipse Foundation staff, and is currently in wide deployment by the Eclipse Foundation.
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Perhaps one of the features that weighs most heavily in Drupal's favour is the size of the community behind it (which measures in the hundreds of thousands) and the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of plugins that are available to extend it. The availability of plugins, combined with the relative ease with which Drupal can be extended means that the overall amount of custom code that needs to be maintained should be relatively small (as compared to other solutions that may require more customization).
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There are several other options that have been considered, including a handful of Eclipse-based solutions (which would allow us to "eat our own dogfood"). After careful consideration, however, we have determined that we do not have the resources to implement these solutions.
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{|  border="1" cellpadding="2"
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|+Technology comparison
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|- style="vertical-align:top;"
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!   !! Pros !! Cons
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|- style="vertical-align:top;"
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! Drupal
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|
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* Skilled resources within existing Eclipse Foundation staff
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* Large number of skilled resources available
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* Very large community of developers, adopters, and users.
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* Deployed by 1,000s of organizations
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* Hundreds of plug-ins available to leverage in favour of writing custom code
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** Integration with Facebook, Twitter, etc.
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** Access information via RESTful webservices
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* Build-in (no-brainer) database support
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* Integrated Development tools + Eclipse/PDT
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* Existing IT Infrastructure support
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|
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* Drupal-specific data structures and formats.
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* Not dogfooding; perception in the community
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|- style="vertical-align:top;"
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! [http://www.eclipse.org/skalli Skalli]
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|
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* Java based: Some Java skills on staff
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* "Dogfooding" solution
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* Eclipse-based development tools available
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* Leverage existing Eclipse technologies (EMF, workflow projects, SOA, EclipseLink, etc.)
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* Project developers have expressed interest in implementing some Eclipse Foundation processes (though with no specific commitments)
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* Opportunity to fully control the database structure
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|
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* New project, very small community
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* Limited availability of skilled resources
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** Ramp up time for new developers is relatively long.
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** Good quality Java-savvy developers are relatively difficult to find.
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** Virtually impossible to find developers familiar with Skalli itself
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* Integration opportunities with existing Eclipse technologies remain largely unexplored
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* No existing IT Infrastructure support
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|- style="vertical-align:top;"
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! [http://www.eclipse.org/aprcot Apricot]
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|
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* Java based: Some Java skills on staff
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* "Dogfooding" solution
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* High-quality, established project with several high-volume consumers
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* Eclipse-based development tools available
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* Leverage existing Eclipse technologies (EMF, workflow projects, SOA, EclipseLink, etc.)
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|
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* Community size is unknown
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* Unknown availability of skilled resources
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** Assumed to be no skilled Apricot developers available in the local area.
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** Ramp up time for new developers is relatively long.
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** Good quality Java-savvy developers are relatively difficult to find.
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* Availability and usefulness of extensions is unknown
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* No existing IT Infrastructure support
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|}
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=Roles=
 
=Roles=
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=Technology=
 
=Technology=
  
LDAP authentication
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Moved to [[Project Management Infrastructure/Technology Choices]].
* All user information stored in LDAP
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=Themes=
 
=Themes=
The following themes will guide the development of the new Project Management Infrastructure:
 
  
* Trust committers to do the right thing;
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Moved to [[Project Management Infrastructure]].
* Everything is undoable (i.e. revision tracking); and
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* Do the simplest thing that can possibly work (avoid complexity)
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=Requirements and Implementation=
 +
 
 +
Moved to [[Project Management Infrastructure/Development]].
 +
 
 +
=Overview and Design=
 +
 
 +
Moved to [[Project Management Infrastructure/Overview and Design]].
 +
 
 +
=Structure=
 +
 
 +
Moved to [[Project Management Infrastructure/Development]].
 +
 
 +
=Application Lifecycle Management=
 +
 
 +
Moved to [[Project Management Infrastructure/Development]].
 +
 
 +
=Schedule=
  
We assume that committers will always endeavour to do the right thing. Specifically, we give committers leeway to do what they think is right. This, in combination with revision tracking means that mistakes can be easily undone. A committer may, for example, make ill-informed changes to a project's scope that is later reversed by the project lead or PMC.
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April 2/2012 - Phase I beta-testing for projects.eclipse.org and PolarSys. Support for maintaining and disseminating project and release information, project proposals, and committer and project lead elections.
  
It would be easy to get mired in multiple layers of approvals for various activities, or complex logic to prevent committers from shooting themselves in the proverbial foot. But such complexity makes the cost of later change and ongoing maintenance prohibitively high.
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May 21/2012 - Phase II beta-testing for projects.eclipse.org and PolarSys. Support for user dashboard, email notification, simultaneous release tracking,
  
Note that we make a distinction between committers and general users. We do not--as a general rule--trust the general population to do the right thing. For completeness, we include with the definition of "committers" all those users with roles that permit them access to the project (including project leads, pmc members, EMO staff, etc.)
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July 2/2012 - Go-live for Eclipse.org
  
 
=References and Links=
 
=References and Links=
 
*[http://drupal.org/node/997082 LDAP for Drupal 7]
 
*[http://drupal.org/node/997082 LDAP for Drupal 7]

Latest revision as of 16:25, 17 April 2012

This effort is being tracked by Bug 243223.

Note that this document is not intended to be all inclusive. The combination of this document, the existing Developer Portal Use Cases, and the Eclipse Development Process form a more complete picture.

Problem Statement

Current infrastructure (i.e. The Developer Portal) is inadequate.

Data concerning projects, people, organizations, members, and more is spread across multiple, separate data sources. This makes querying across data challenging. In some cases, data is replicated from one database to another to facilitate some queries while providing an added layer of protection. The database that contains committer information, the so-called "Foundation" database, is kept separate from other systems to provide an added layer of protection against private data being compromised. Bits of that database are replicated into an "Eclipse" database for access from the public website.

Portal is separate from the the resources being managed; this requires a context switch to use. The content displayed in the project summary pages, for example, comes from the portal. When a committer notices that the data in the project summary is incorrect, they must switch into the portal to make the change. Most committers have difficulty (or outright refuse) to make that context switch.

Some management tasks are spread out. Specifying a description for a project, for example, requires that an HTML file be created in the project directory (requires CVS check-in), and then the specification of a URL in the portal. This is very difficult to maintain as it is separated from where and how the description is used, and requires multiple steps with multiple tools to complete. As a result, descriptions tend to be poorly specified, and rarely maintained.

Too much information is not included in or managed by the portal. Project proposals, review documentation, IP logs, are all separate.

Technology Choices

Moved to Project Management Infrastructure/Technology Choices.

Roles

  • EMO(ED) - EMO Executive Directory (i.e. Mike)
  • EMO(PM) - EMO Project Manager (i.e. Wayne)
  • EMO(LC) - EMO Legal Council (i.e. Janet)
  • EMO(IP) - EMO Intellectual Property Team
  • Proposer
  • Committer

Communication Channels

The communication channels used by the system are expected to change with time as technologies and communities evolve. Favoured technologies of the day are Twitter, RSS, and the eclipse.proposals forum.

Technology

Moved to Project Management Infrastructure/Technology Choices.

Themes

Moved to Project Management Infrastructure.

Requirements and Implementation

Moved to Project Management Infrastructure/Development.

Overview and Design

Moved to Project Management Infrastructure/Overview and Design.

Structure

Moved to Project Management Infrastructure/Development.

Application Lifecycle Management

Moved to Project Management Infrastructure/Development.

Schedule

April 2/2012 - Phase I beta-testing for projects.eclipse.org and PolarSys. Support for maintaining and disseminating project and release information, project proposals, and committer and project lead elections.

May 21/2012 - Phase II beta-testing for projects.eclipse.org and PolarSys. Support for user dashboard, email notification, simultaneous release tracking,

July 2/2012 - Go-live for Eclipse.org

References and Links

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