Summary: this RFC changes TPA-RFC-2 to formalize the triage and office hours process, among other minor support policy changes.
Background
Since we have migrated to GitLab (~June 2021), we have been using GitLab dashboards as part of our ticket processing pipeline. The triage system was somewhat discussed in TPA-RFC-5: GitLab migration but it seems this policy could use more visibility or clarification.
Also, since April 2021, TPA has been running an unofficial "office hours", where we try to occupy a Big Blue Button room more or less continuously during the day. Those have been hit and miss, in general, but we believe it is worth formalizing this practice as well.
Proposal
The proposal is to patch TPA-RFC-2 to formalize office hours as a support channel but also document the triage process more clearly, which includes changing the GitLab policy in TPA-RFC-5.
It also clarifies when to use confidential issues.
Scope
This affects the way TPA interacts with users and will, to a certain extent, augment our workload. We should, however, consider that the office hours (in particular) are offered on a "best-effort" basis and might not be continually operated during the entire day.
Actual changes
Merge request 18 adds "Office hours" and "Triage" section to TPA-RFC-2: support. It also clarifies the ticket triage process in TPA-RFC-5 along with confidential issues in TPA-RFC-2.
References
- TPA-RFC-2 documents our support policies
- TPA-RFC-5 documents the GitLab migration and ticket workflow
- this book introduced the concept of an "interruption shield": Limoncelli, T. A., Hogan, C. J., Chalup, S. R. 2007. The Practice of System and Network Administration, 2nd edition. Addison-Wesley.
- tpo/tpa/team#40354: issue asking to clarify confidential issues
- tpo/tpa/team#40382: issue about triage process