Product Council Review

Owned by Former user (Deleted)
Last updated: May 14, 2010Version comment
3 min read

Background

The Product Council was provisionally established in April of 2009, along with a new, managed approach to the Sakai development lifecycle. The initial charge included a promise to review progress following the next big release. It's time.

Product Council Structure and Governance
SPC Report for January 2010

Objectives

Review the premise, structure, goals, authority, responsibility, timeliness and deliverables of the Product Council to assure optimal management of the Sakai product. This evaluation is to be done with consideration of ongoing Sakai 2 and upcoming Sakai 3 products.

Deliver recommendations to the Sakai Foundation Board of Directors, the community, and to the Product Council.

Reviewers and Contributors

  1. Contributors: those providing feedback on the questions below
    • each member of the product council
    • Foundation reviewers
      • Clay Fenlason
      • Lois Brooks
      • Alan Berg
      • Anthony Whyte
    • Community reviewers
      • Zach Thomas
      • Steve Swinsberg
      • Karen Watkins
      • John Bush
      • Others from peer working groups may be added

Process and Timeline

  • Commence May 5
  • Internal evaluation in the form of written reflections (May 5-13)
  • External review and draft recommendations developed (May 14-June 2)
  • Probably a meeting or two to discuss and develop recommendations
  • Final recommendations developed June 2-10
  • Completion June 11 - report to the Board

Sharing your reflections

This is an open process, with all comments available for review. Each responder should add a child page to this site with his or her comments. 

Evaluation questions

Guidelines

  • Each contributor can respond to all or some of the questions in the areas for reflection below, as he or she chooses. Say as much as you need to say, but it's fine to be very brief.
  • We agreed to open comments to all members of this process (and in the community?)
  • Responses might vary between the established Sakai 2 product and the emerging Sakai 3. If so, just note which product you're discussing in your comments.
  1. State of community product management functions
    • What do you think of the product development lifecycle (have you looked at it)?
    • What are the critical functions that the community needs in the context of managing the product?
    • For which of those critical functions, if any, do you think a product council is needed?
    • How does the product council relate to other groups working on these critical functions?

      Self-description of groups

      Rather than have the PC attempt to describe or determine relationships between the key groups for managing Sakai products (the Maintenance Team, Release Management, i18n, and the kernel team, for example), it would be useful to have these groups describe themselves:

      • What community function is served by this group? What are the boundaries of its responsibilities?
      • Who is in this group, and how did they get there?
      • Is there anyone who can speak for this group or facilitate its work? If so, who are they, and how did they acquire that role?
      • How does it get its work done?
      • What other groups does this group rely on, and for what?
    • Which of those functions are missing from current activity or processes?
  2. The mission and charter of the Product Council
    • When you heard about the product council, what did you hope the product council might achieve?
    • How close to your hopes did the product council charter come (have you read it)?
    • What would you change about the charter?
    • What impression, if any, do you think the product council has on people looking at Sakai from outside the community?
  3. Membership
    • Have we got the membership right? What constitutes the right mix of people on the Council? How should members be selected?
    • Should Board members be on the Council?
    • What expectations should there be on council members?
  4. What the Product Council has done
    • What do you think the product has focussed its attention and energy on?
    • What do you see as the successes of the product council so far? What are the disappointments?
    • What has been the net pay-off of the product council thus far. Is the Sakai 2 product better off? Sakai 3?