Re: New-Maintainer - Some Facts
At 03:52 PM 01-16-2001 +0000, Dale Scheetz wrote:
I'm not sure what these stats tell me (and yes, I have looked at the page
where this information is coming from).
First of all there are a total of:
543 applicants registered in the nm database
Of these:
193 have completed the process and are currently Debian Developers.
(maximum process time for this group is 546 days) (141 avg.)
99 applicants have been put on hold by their AM.
52 applicants are waiting on DAM approval
(maximum process time for this group is 190 days) (29 avg.)
But how meaningful is this process time and average? If nothing happens
today, will tomorrow the figures be max of 191, average of 30? If 20
people complete the application process today, will tomorrow the average be
21 days? If so, what is this figure supposed to tell me. If my waiting
time is more than the median, all I know is that more people applied after
me than before me. I still don't have a clue as to how long it should take.
What I'd like to know is not the stats for people currently waiting on the
DAM, but rather the stats for people who have been processed by the DAM. I
think it would be easier to compare my[1] personal waiting time against
past history than against others still waiting.
The same question follows for all the other stages, as well.
152 are currently working through the application process
(maximum process time for this group is 365 days) (43 avg.)
8 applicants are waiting for their AM to confirm
(maximum process time for this group is 100 days) (2 avg.)
40 applicants are waiting for AM assignment
(maximum process time for this group is 307 days) (34 avg.)
First, note that this list has one more member than the total database.
I'm not sure why...
The only part of the process that is faster than DAM approval is the
"waiting for AM to confirm" step, which is normaly trivial and for some
AMs is automated.
Except for some poor NM who has been waiting 100 days, I see.
In every other case, whether you use maximum, or average waiting times,
DAM approval is markedly faster than any other step. In comparison to the
total time of application using maximum waiting times, the DAM step is
less than half of the total time. When comparing averages it is less than
1/5th of the total time.
I'm not sure the figures relating to those who are currently waiting are
sufficient to conclude this. I might agree if this were a steady-state
process, but I don't think it's there yet.
What I do find interesting is that I believe in the past I've heard
complaints about the time it took for AM assignment and AM contacting -- or
all the process stages that don't directly depend on the NM to work
on. The processing, especially with the tasks and skills checks, is
heavily dependent on the individual NM, and I haven't heard too much
grumbling about it.
Since the complaints have been following the NM process, it isn't
surprising that most of the problems with the initial stages of the NM
process have been found and worked out by now -- and that problems with the
later stages are just showing up.
Given that we started this process after the process had been stalled for
almost a year, much of the reported delays result from the load of this
large backlog, not flaws in the system.
And, as I think I've seen, the flaws that were there were highlighted by
the rush of backlogged applicants and addressed, making those stages
smother and faster for those following the rush.
Last week there were over 70 applicants waiting for the DAM, and had been
waiting since before Christmas. Since I am still trying to get
re-organized after the recent holidays, I'm impressed that the DAM has
been able to process over 20 applicants in the last few weeks.
That is impressive. Any idea what their waiting times were?
Luck,
Dwarf
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