[REC] Key Meeting - Engineering (Public Stream)

Summary

In a meeting at Get Lab, Eric Johnson proposes splitting the engineering key review into four departmental reviews to enhance visibility and objectivity. The team discusses the rotation of department reviews and addresses issues with the current MR rate KPIs, suggesting a simpler metric to track community contributions. They also tackle a data lag issue, plan to improve defect tracking, and discuss the importance of security metrics. The meeting concludes with updates on SUS scores, MR rates, and the need to balance productivity with quality and security.

Takeaways

• 🗓️ The meeting is taking place on February 18, 2021, and is focused on engineering key reviews at GitLab.
• 🔄 Eric Johnson proposes splitting the current engineering meeting into four department key reviews to increase visibility and objectivity.
• 🔁 A two-month rotation is suggested for the department key reviews to avoid overwhelming stakeholders with additional meetings.
• 📈 There's a discussion about the complexity and potential issues with the current KPIs for engineering, specifically around the wider MR rate.
• 👥 The team acknowledges the importance of community contributions and the need to ensure GitLab does not outgrow its wider community.
• 📊 A proposal is made to simplify KPI tracking by focusing on the percentage of total MRs that come from the community.
• 🚀 There's a recognition of the need for infrastructure improvements, particularly in the area of database replication.
• 🐞 The team is working on improving defect tracking and meeting SLOs, with a current focus on S1 and S2 defects.
• 📉 There's a concern about the decline in SUS (System Usability Scale) scores, but there's optimism due to a smaller decline in the most recent quarter.
• ⏱️ The meeting also addresses the issue of MR (Merge Request) rates, with a focus on balancing productivity with quality and security.

Q & A

What is the main proposal discussed in the meeting?

The main proposal is to break up the current engineering key review meeting into four department key reviews, focusing on development, quality, security, and UX, to increase visibility and allow for deeper discussions.

Why is a rotation proposed for the department key reviews?

A two-month rotation is proposed to avoid adding three new meetings to stakeholders' calendars, with the idea that different departments would present during odd and even months.

What are the benefits of the proposed rotation according to Eric Johnson?

Eric Johnson suggests that the rotation would increase visibility, allow for deeper discussions, enhance objectivity in managing groups, and free up his time to focus on new markets and adopt a more questioning role in meetings.

What is the concern regarding the current measurement of R&D wider MR8 and R&D overall MR rate?

The concern is that the wider MR rate, which includes both internal and external MRs, may be duplicative of the overall MR rate, and it's unclear how community contributions are being counted versus internal contributions.

What is the suggested solution to the issue with R&D wider MR8 and R&D overall MR rate?

The suggested solution is to simplify the measurement by tracking the percentage of total MRs that come from the community over time, which would be a more straightforward and less manipulable KPI.

What is the current issue with the data team's metrics update?

There is a lag issue with the data team's metrics update, where they have not received updates for four days, which is problematic and under investigation.

What is the purpose of tracking the average open box age for defects?

Tracking the average open box age for defects is intended to give a clearer picture of the backlog, with the idea that if the age goes up or down, it would reflect improvements or declines in managing the defect backlog.

What is the suggestion made regarding the measurement of S1 and S2 bugs?

It is suggested that instead of measuring the S1 and S2 bugs based on closed bugs, the measurement should focus on the percentage of open bugs that are within the SLO time, to more accurately reflect the status of bug resolution.

What is the current status of the SUS (System Usability Scale) according to the script?

The SUS has shown an improvement with the smallest decline in Q4, dropping by only a tenth of a point compared to previous quarters, which saw larger declines.

Why is the narrow MR rate below target and what is the plan to address it?

The narrow MR rate is below target due to factors like vacation days and potential power outages in Texas. The expectation is for a rebound in productivity during release week and in the following months, with a focus on maintaining the target rate while improving other indicators like quality and security.