backlog bonanza post

Author: nikomatsakis

posts/inside-rust/2020-10-15-Backlog-Bonanza.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Lang team Backlog Bonanza and Project Proposals"
+author: Nicholas Matsakis
+team: the lang team <https://www.rust-lang.org/governance/teams/lang>
+---
+
+A month or two back, the lang team embarked on a new initiative that
+we call the "Backlog Bonanza". The idea is simple: we are holding a
+series of meetings in which we go through every pending RFC, one by
+one, and try to reach some sort of determination about what to do with
+it.  Once we've finished that, we can start in on categorizing other
+forms of backlog, such as tracking issues.
+
+### Possible outcomes for each RFC
+
+When we look at an RFC, we're typically deciding between one of the following outcomes:
+
+* **Close** the RFC, if we think that this problem is a good fit for the moment.
+* Close, but **suggest a [project proposal]**, if we think that the we might like to see the problem solved, but we aren't sure if the RFC has the design right, or we're not sure who would be a good liaison.
+* **Merge** the RFC, if we think the RFC basically nailed it and we have a lang team liaison in mind.
+
+[project proposal]: https://lang-team.rust-lang.org/proposing_a_project.html
+
+### Wait, what is a project proposal?
+
+I'm so glad you asked! The lang team is experimenting with a new
+process for extending the language. Instead of starting out by writing
+an RFC, the idea is to start with a **[project proposal]**. This is a
+lightweight description that you do by [opening an issue] on the
+[lang-team repository] using the "Project proposal" template. That
+will create an issue and a corresponding stream on Zulip.
+
+[lang-team repository]: https://github.com/rust-lang/lang-team/
+[opening an issue]: https://github.com/rust-lang/lang-team/issues/new/choose
+
+In our [weekly triage meetings], we go over each new project proposal
+and try to provide feedback. Project proposals generally result in one
+of a few possible outcomes:
+
+* **Close**, if we feel like the idea isn't a good fit right now.
+* **Suggest implementing**, if we feel like the idea is simple or obvious enough that an RFC isn't really needed. In that case, folks can just write a PR and we can use the fcp process to approve the PR.
+* **Charter a project group**, if we feel like the idea is good, but we'd like to see the design spelled out. To do this, there has to be some lang-team liaison who wants to help see it through (though that liaison doesn't have to be a member of the team; [serving as a liaison is a good way to get more involved in the lang team][path]).
+
+[weekly triage meetings]: https://lang-team.rust-lang.org/meetings.html
+[path]: https://blog.rust-lang.org/inside-rust/2020/07/09/lang-team-path-to-membership.html
+
+### Chartering a project group
+
+A "project group" is basically just a group of people working together
+completing some idea. Project groups are often pretty small, just 1 or 2
+people, though they can get significantly larger.
+
+Creating a smaller project group is meant to be lightweight. We
+basically convert the project proposal into a charter that states the
+general goals and create an associated zulip stream where folks can
+chat. Each project also gets a tracking issue that shows up on
+our [lang team project board].
+
+[recent example]: https://github.com/rust-lang/lang-team/tree/master/projects/declarative-macro-repetition-counts
+[Rust team repo]: https://github.com/rust-lang/team
+[lang team project board]: https://github.com/rust-lang/lang-team/projects/2
+
+In the early stages of an idea, project groups work to draft an
+RFC. This RFC is then taken to the lang-team for feedback. Once the
+lang-team is basically happy on the direction things are going, we'll
+encourage the group to open the RFC on the main RFC repository, where
+it'll get feedback from a broader audience.
+
+Once the RFC is **accepted**, the hope is that project groups stick
+around. If desired, the same folks can try to implement the feature
+(in collaboration with the compiler team) or we can find new people.
+But this way, as those people try to implement, they'll become a part
+of the same group that was designing the feature so that we can
+iterate more readily. The same logic applies to the other aspects of
+shipping a feature, most notably writing documentation.
+
+### Tracking projects: the lang team project board
+
+I mentioned the [lang team project board] off-hand in the previous
+paragraph. This is our attempt to track the ongoing efforts. It breaks
+down the various projects into stages, with the things that are closest
+to shipping coming first:
+
+* **Stabilization** -- projects that we are ready to stabilize, or in
+  the process of stabilizing.
+* **Evaluation** -- projects that are fully implemented but where we are
+  seeking feedback on how well the design works.
+* **Implementation** -- projects that are currently working on implementation
+  (and sometimes concurrent design iteration).
+* **Pending RFC** -- projects with an RFC that is pending public comment
+* **Design** -- projects actively iterating towards an RFC
+* **Shortlisted** -- project ideas that we might want to take up once we
+  find a suitable liaison or people have enough bandwidth
+  
+### Ways to get involved
+
+If you like, you are welcome to attend backlog bonanza meetings. They
+are open for anyone and take place during our [design meeting slot]
+most weeks. We haven't setup a very good process for announcing our
+design meeting schedule, though, that's something that we need to get
+better at.
+
+[design meeting]: https://lang-team.rust-lang.org/meetings.html
+
+Alternatively, if you have ideas you'd like to float, please feel free
+to open a [project proposal].