[RFC] Transition tracker

[Scott Kitterman]

On Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:48:25 +0200 Luca Falavigna <dktrkranz at ubuntu.com> 
wrote:
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>Hello,
>
>Currently, Ubuntu developers us Launchpad to track transitions and
>complete tasks which involve several packages. There are two methods to
>accomplish them, both have pros and cons.
>
>* SINGLE BUG, MULTIPLE TASK
>This method was chosen for python-xml transition [1] and gfortran
>transition [2]. A single bug is filed, multiple tasks are added, one for
>each package involved.
>Pros:
>	Common location for similar tasks
>	Easy to track overall progress
>Cons:
>	Every change generates bugmail for all packages involved
>        Package-specific discussion is difficult
>	Launchpad doesn't scale well if package list is huge

As I understand it, this approach matches better Launchpad's theory of use 
and collaborative model.  Having been deeply involved in the python-xml 
transition, I can attest that the current Launchpad implementation of this 
model does not scale well.  I think that's a defect in Launchpad, but we 
have to deal with it as it is, not as we wish it would be.

>* ONE PACKAGE, ONE BUG
>This method has been chosen for Perl 5.10 transition in Intrepid. Many
>bugs are filed, a bug is linked to only one package.
>Pros:
>	No excess of bugmail
>	Launchpad handles workload perfectly
>Cons:
>	It's not so easy to track overall progress

Right.  I had no idea this wasn't done already.

>The two methods achieve the same general goal but with completely
>different approaches. Both have drawbacks which makes it difficult to
>manage transitions using Launchpad.
>
>In Ubuntu QA, we discussed to implement "transition tracker", a tool
>which tries to automate creation and management of a given transition.
>It will make use of Launchpad to file new bugs using the "one package,
>one bug" method described above, but providing a centralized interface
>which shows transition status and overall progress (how many bugs are
>fixed or open, LP status, etc).
>Preliminary code is available in a bzr branch [3] (it is a very young
>project, it's not meant to be functional right now).
>
>I would like to receive comments from other developers and Launchpad
>hackers about the tracker idea, what is preferred method to track
>transitions or any improvement we can do to the transition process.
>
>[1] https://launchpad.net/bugs/199014
>[2] https://launchpad.net/bugs/201962
>[3] https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-qa/ubuntu-qa-tools/transitiontracker
>
I think this is a good thing that we should do.  

I'd challenge Launchpad developers to make it obsolete.  I view it as a workaround for 
shortcomings in the current Launchpad.  

Personally, I'd rather they spent more effort on making Launchpad usable 
for complex actions like this than rearranging the U/I.

Scott K