SpecSpec

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 * '''See also''': SpecTemplate
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This specification decribes the way we would like Ubuntu specifications to be written. It takes the form of a specification itself.


The better your spec, the better the chances that your ideas will clearly understood by the review team.

See also SpecTemplate, which is recommended as a template for your own specifications in this system.		 This specification describes the way we would like Ubuntu specifications to be written. It takes the form of a specification itself.
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As we develop new ideas for features in Ubuntu it's important to have a
clear idea of the exact status of each idea. Putting this content in the
wiki gives our community a chance to participate in the discussion and
design of a feature, and increases the chance that community members will
feel confident enough to start work on the implementation of the feature. A
good specification allows community members who were not physically present
at meetings discussing a topic to participate in the implementation of the
spec.		 As we develop new ideas for features in Ubuntu, it's important to be able to communicate them clearly. This serves the purpose of making it clear what the feature is about, and allowing people to evolve an implementation strategy for it.

Putting this content in the wiki gives our community a chance to participate in the discussion and design of a feature, and increases the chance that community members will feel confident enough to start work on the implementation of the feature.

A good specification also allows community members who were not physically present at meetings discussing a topic to participate in the implementation of the spec.

Bottom line: the better your spec, the better the chances that your ideas will clearly understood by the review team.
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  * Bob is the maintainer for the boot process for Ubuntu. In the Dapper cycle, he would like to work on getting the boot time down to two seconds from boot manager to GDM screen. He creates an entry for the specification in Launchpad, proposes it for the UBZ sprint, and starts writing out a braindump of it in the Ubuntu wiki. Magnus, who is in charge of UBZ scheduling, thinks it sounds fishy but approves it to make sure that the change is discussed and documented properly. He marks it as priority Medium because he isn't sure Bob will have time free for implementing it during Dapper.

  * Pedro works on Malone, in Launchpad. Before UBZ, he remembers that the dependency handling in the bug tracker is really not optimal. He writes out a Summary and Rationale in a Launchpad wiki page, registers it as a specification in Launchpad, and suggests it for UBZ. Monica, Launchpad manageress, thinks that this is really not the time to be talking about it and rejects the application for UBZ. He then indicates it for the next conference, UBB, and marks its priority is Low.

  * Jason is an Ubuntu and Rosetta user. He has noticed that changes made to translations are making their way into language packs but not to the upstream versions, and adds a specification that describes a way for getting upstream to use language packs. Monica also has a plan for this but hadn't described it in a spec, so she adds it to the UBZ spec list, and adds Carlos, Rosetta maintainer, as drafter for it.
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This specification covers feature specifications for Ubuntu and Launchpad. It is not meant as a more general specifical format.
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The spec is broken into a number of sections and sub-sections. We describe
each of these in turn:

  1. '''The title'''. A short heading for the spec, no more than 12 words.

  1. '''The status metadata'''. This section contains some well-defined
     metadata for the spec. It's important to put in as may flags and tags
     as possible that accurately describe the state and scope of the
     specification. These flags are used to generate reporting pages
     automatically. Please use as many flags as make sense for this spec
     from the following list: HighPriority, LowPriority, MediumPriority,
     UduBof, UbzSpecification, BrainDump, DraftSpecification, ApprovedSpecification,
     ImplementedSpecification, DistroSpecification, LaunchpadSpecification,
     CommunitySpecification, UbuntuTrack, KubuntuTrack, EdubuntuTrack, LaunchpadTrack.
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== Implementation ==
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== Implementation == To implement a specification, the assignee should observe the use cases carefully, and follow the design specified. He should make note of places in which he has strayed from the design section, adding rationale describing why this happened. This is important so that next iterations of this specification (and new specifications that touch upon this subject) can use the specification as a reference.

The implementation is very dependent on the type of feature to be implemented. Refer to the team leader for further suggestions and guidance on this topic.
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The specification process requires experienced people to drive it. More documentation on the process should be produced.

The drafting of a specification requires english skills and a very good understanding of the problem. It must also describe things to an extent that someone else could implement. This is a difficult set of conditions to ensure throughout all the specifications added.

There is a lot of difficulty in gardening obsolete, unwanted and abandoned specifications in the Wiki.
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We'll have a first public session on this on the first Monday in UBZ.

Summary

This specification describes the way we would like Ubuntu specifications to be written. It takes the form of a specification itself.

Rationale

As we develop new ideas for features in Ubuntu, it's important to be able to communicate them clearly. This serves the purpose of making it clear what the feature is about, and allowing people to evolve an implementation strategy for it.

Putting this content in the wiki gives our community a chance to participate in the discussion and design of a feature, and increases the chance that community members will feel confident enough to start work on the implementation of the feature.

A good specification also allows community members who were not physically present at meetings discussing a topic to participate in the implementation of the spec.

Bottom line: the better your spec, the better the chances that your ideas will clearly understood by the review team.

Use Cases

  • Bob is the maintainer for the boot process for Ubuntu. In the Dapper cycle, he would like to work on getting the boot time down to two seconds from boot manager to GDM screen. He creates an entry for the specification in Launchpad, proposes it for the UBZ sprint, and starts writing out a braindump of it in the Ubuntu wiki. Magnus, who is in charge of UBZ scheduling, thinks it sounds fishy but approves it to make sure that the change is discussed and documented properly. He marks it as priority Medium because he isn't sure Bob will have time free for implementing it during Dapper.
  • Pedro works on Malone, in Launchpad. Before UBZ, he remembers that the dependency handling in the bug tracker is really not optimal. He writes out a Summary and Rationale in a Launchpad wiki page, registers it as a specification in Launchpad, and suggests it for UBZ. Monica, Launchpad manageress, thinks that this is really not the time to be talking about it and rejects the application for UBZ. He then indicates it for the next conference, UBB, and marks its priority is Low.
  • Jason is an Ubuntu and Rosetta user. He has noticed that changes made to translations are making their way into language packs but not to the upstream versions, and adds a specification that describes a way for getting upstream to use language packs. Monica also has a plan for this but hadn't described it in a spec, so she adds it to the UBZ spec list, and adds Carlos, Rosetta maintainer, as drafter for it.

Scope

This specification covers feature specifications for Ubuntu and Launchpad. It is not meant as a more general specifical format.

Design

  1. Introduction. A brief introduction to the topic or spec. This

    • should not attempt to tell why the spec is being defined, just what is being specified.

  2. Rationale: a summary of why this spec is being defined.

  3. Scope and Use Cases. The use cases are not always required, but

    • in many cases they bring much better clarity to the scope and scale of the specification than could be obtained by talking in abstract terms.

  4. Implementation Plan. This section is usually broken down into

    • subsections, such as the packages being affected, data and system migration where necessary, user interface requirements and pictures (photographs of drawings on paper work ell).

Implementation

To implement a specification, the assignee should observe the use cases carefully, and follow the design specified. He should make note of places in which he has strayed from the design section, adding rationale describing why this happened. This is important so that next iterations of this specification (and new specifications that touch upon this subject) can use the specification as a reference.

The implementation is very dependent on the type of feature to be implemented. Refer to the team leader for further suggestions and guidance on this topic.

Outstanding Issues

The specification process requires experienced people to drive it. More documentation on the process should be produced.

The drafting of a specification requires english skills and a very good understanding of the problem. It must also describe things to an extent that someone else could implement. This is a difficult set of conditions to ensure throughout all the specifications added.

There is a lot of difficulty in gardening obsolete, unwanted and abandoned specifications in the Wiki.

BoF agenda and discussion

We'll have a first public session on this on the first Monday in UBZ.

SpecSpec (last edited 2010-05-30 17:13:07 by dsl-185-83-10)