Making Plans

[Michael Stone]

Tomeu, 

Thanks very much for stepping up with such good questions. I'm sorry
that I haven't got more in the way of answers, but here's what I've
got:

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 02:18:33PM +0200, Tomeu Vizoso wrote:
> What is the process we are going to use to decide what should people
> be working on?

In a recent email entitled "Notes from a Planning Session" [1], I
wrote that we are soliciting feedback in order to publish a written
statement of what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and why we want
to do it. 

  [1]: http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/2008-April/012659.html

In more detail: Chris, Scott, and I are formulating a release strategy
for the next 8 or so months with detailed information about what we
hope to release in 4 months. It remains to be seen how the strategy
proposed by the Tech Team will be received by the sales team, the
deployment team, and by other interested parties; however, I am fairly
confident that, when presented, it will:
 
 * represent the diversity of views within the tech _team_ about the
   risks and opportunities afforded by the recognized paths forward, 

 * state and justify one primary path that we intend to take, and 

 * explain our fallback plan if we encounter unsurmountable roadblocks
   along our chosen path. 

In its final form, it will also explain what feedback we have received
from sales & deployment. In its draft form, it will propose a
reasonable deadline for revisions based on new feedback from those
teams. 

It is my firmly held belief that the availability of such a document,
signed by the relevant team members, would represent a major step
forward in our ability to explain what we're doing, who we're doing it
with, and why.

Is this a satisfying answer to your question?

Michael

P.S. - Thanks again for your dedication to date - we wouldn't be
able to have this conversation without the unsung efforts of you and
many others who share your dream.