Re: Use Case Management and IG Process

Dear Russell,

On 04/11/2011 09:16 AM, Russell Berkoff wrote:
> Hello,
> I noticed use-cases are begining to be considered. To help manage this process I would encourage the IG to adopt a uniform _*use-case submission template*_.
> In addition it would be useful for the IG to provide a document-management facility so that use-cases can be submitted, tracked and archived.
> The attached template is based on a (non-scientific) review of Use Case templates used by various SDOs.

Thanks for sharing the template. Tracking suggestions, issues and actions is certainly useful to ensure smooth progress of group's discussions. We do not use a document-management facility as such in W3C but there are a few tools that are available and that can help organize life in the group.

In the end, the way tools will be used is up to chairs and task force moderators, so please consider the points below as possibilities. It's important that participants feel at ease with tools.


Tools:

1. Emails
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Emails remain one of the easiest tools to use for everyone and are heavily used in W3C.
Emails sent to the mailing-list are archived and indexed:
  http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-web-and-tv/
They can be searched for and pointed at to remind people of past discussions on a given topic.

Emails may not look formal, but keep in mind culture at W3C is more oriented towards informal discussions within the group. Things get formal at W3C when decisions get taken and/or when contention appears. If a suggestion appears to be falling through the cracks, just raise it again to the chairs and staff contacts. Other SDOs may have much more formal submission processes, that's usually not the case in W3C.

Templates may be used to increase readability, but please bear in mind that text should be used whenever possible (instead of email attachements) for indexation purposes.


2. Wiki
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The group has a a wiki which can be edited by participants of the IG:
http://www.w3.org/2011/webtv/wiki/Main_Page

A wiki allows participants to work together on a use case, a report, an agenda, etc and converge on a common view. Version history is preserved and it's easy to roll back on changes if there is disagreement about an update. That's the closest thing we have to a document-management facility.

If participants feel they will be using non-textual documents such as diagrams a lot, it is possible to set up a CVS or a Mercurial repository, but that's usually more for source code than for use cases and these tools may not be easy accessible to everyone.


3. Tracker
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Tracker helps track issues and actions on products (products are typically the deliverables of the group).  There is an instance of tracker for the Web and TV IG available at (member-only link):
http://www.w3.org/2011/webtv/track/

Tracker is a simple but powerful tool. Here is how things usually work:

1/ someone sends a use case, a suggestion, or a question to public-web-and-tv@w3.org.
2/ a chair or a task force moderator creates an issue on Tracker to keep track of this use case, linking the initial email. Let's say that the issue that gets created is ISSUE-38.
3/ discussion follows. Tracker monitors the mailing-list and automatically links emails that contain "ISSUE-38" to the issue in the Web interface.
4/ if something needs to be done to solve the issue, someone should be "actioned" to investigate or propose solutions. For instance, ACTION-97 could be created on you to report on the processing power needed to run typical CSS Transformations within the next two weeks (I'm totally making this up, obviously). This action would be linked to ISSUE-38. Same as with issues, tracker tracks emails that contain "ACTION-97" automatically.
5/ Once actions are done and there does not seem to be any more disagreement on a topic, the chair or moderator should issue a short call for  consensus on the mailing-list, or propose a resolution during a teleconference call (if the task force meets on the phone for instance).
6/ the chair or moderator notes the outcome of the discussion in Tracker and closes the issue and associated actions.

The power of the tool lies in the ability to keep on using emails to discuss issues and propose changes. Through "trackbot", Tracker also monitors the #webtv channel on W3C IRC server. That's very useful during teleconferences call to manage issues and actions without even having to use the Web-based interface.

The Web-based interface provides different useful views: actions you need to do, open actions, overdue actions, actions that are pending review by the rest of the group, etc. In other words, Tracker provides a formal organization on top of informal mail and chat exchanges.

Tracker features are described in:
http://www.w3.org/2005/06/tracker/

Kaz and I are here to assist with tools, so feel free to ask questions.

HTH,
Francois.

Received on Wednesday, 13 April 2011 09:55:39 UTC