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Re: wheezy postmortem re rc bugfixing



On Fri, 10 May 2013 10:03:46 -0400
Scott Kitterman <debian@kitterman.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, May 08, 2013 04:51:14 PM Ian Jackson wrote:
> > So I would like to suggest that we should have a thread where we:
> > 
> >  * Try to identify the main ways in which bugs can be "hard" (which
> >    might be technical, political, or a mixture)
> > 
> >  * Try to think of workflows which might overcome these problems
> 
> Currently there are formally two classes of RC bugs relative to a release, 
> ignored and not ignored.  Informally not all RC bugs without the $RELEASE-
> ignore tag are not the same and I think this ambiguity has been a source of 
> uncertainty about where people should focus time (this applies both potential 
> RC bug fixers and the release team, as I see it).  
> 
> Stated non-rigorously, active (not ignored) RC bugs can fall into several 
> bins:
> 
> 1.  Things that definitely must be fixed for release

A lot of these determinations could be assisted by some simple metrics.
From the sidelines of two releases, I've observed that release team
decisions on this kind of tag would likely involve things like the
Priority of the affected package, it's involvement in existing
transitions, the implications of `dak rm -Rn $package` on ries and the
history of the package (e.g. if this is going to lead to the fourth NMU
on this package since the freeze started). All of that data can be
automatically generated as part of the summary of the RC bug or the
package itself, then fed into the information visible to developers
reviewing the RC bug list.

The more of this triage process that can be automated, the more
developers can see a standard process being applied and the less work
the release team needs to do for every individual RC bug.

The release team need the ability to override the calculations but that
isn't a problem. The aim, IMHO, would be to reduce the workload by only
putting in an override where required or on explicit request by a
developer to investigate a particular bug/package. I'd like it to be
that only the release team can set the overrides, unlike BTS severity
or tags which requests people avoid ping-pong but cannot prevent it.

> 2.  Things that must either be fixed or the package removed

Quite possibly falls out of the triage data for 1.

I'd also like this to be tied to some automated removal process, just
like the one which was used towards the end of the wheezy freeze.
Maintainers ping'd about individual problems with a clear warning that
the package is at risk of removal if nothing is done, followed by
removal from testing if the bug isn't downgraded or fixed.

Again, obvious time limits, clear decisions and processes.

> I've stayed away from suggesting any tag names.  I think we can adequately 
> bikeshed that if there's some agreement the added granularity would be worth 
> the added complexity.

I think it would be a useful addition and something which does not need
to be restricted to solely within a freeze. We need more of this kind
of stuff running constantly (or at least starting a few weeks after the
previous stable release), with the time limits being adjusted as we
get closer and closer to freeze and then release.

-- 


Neil Williams
=============
http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/

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