[OPEN-ILS-DEV] Evergreen and QA

Wed Feb 13 19:39:24 EST 2013

I'm going to look at how SCLENDS could contribute to this and make some
recommendations.  I'm leaning towards $1 per staff member.  I
can guarantee that my own library, York County Public Library, will do that
if I have to pay it out of my own pocket in our name.  It won't be a lot.
 We aren't that large but I feel like we should pay something for each one
of us that hands on really uses Evergreen.  Actually, I will do that with a
smile.

If we start adding up staff time ultimately saved by QA, speeding up code,
etc... I think a $1 levy is pretty cheap.  I'll be glad to call it a tax.
 Taxes are meant for the common good and I wish everyone felt like they had
to pay into the pool.  I'd like to believe that a kickstarter could raise a
good bit of cash just off frustrations of front line staff.  (I'm not
suggesting a kickstarter, it's just to illustrate the point of who often
feels the greatest pain but heck, maybe it would work.  If I
could guarantee a certain speed I'd probably have funding for a new staff
client within days.)

So, let me say, thank you Equinox.  We need movement and direction made on
these big ticket tasks like QA.  I remember spending a fair bit of time
talking about this last  year at the conference, then regularly since and
we're almost at the next conference!  I'm going to be blunt and say that
while I'm always gladdened to see efforts by individual community members
or small groups funding new features, I don't think we're headed in the
right direction on the big things - really big features, fundamental
changes that we can build off of, big revisions to code bases like the
optimization we talked about at the last developer meeting, quality
assurance processes, etc...  I know no one wants to put any one vendor in
too central or strong a role and I'd rather QA came out of a community
effort, but there hasn't been a community led effort and I care about
results.

I'm not talking about the theory of community or the principles of open
source.  I do believe in those things by the way, but  I have circ and
reference staff report directly to me.  I man those desks and use it
myself.  Results matter and if ESI will lead the way I'll gladly buy my war
bonds ... er, send them my money.

<start sandbox rant>

And I'm really, really interested in having a dialogue about other things.
 I want the community to be more aware of things like the web sockets
conversations and potential of a browser loaded staff client and need for
optimization and I want to hear the community's feedback and who they think
should be leading this up.  I think in open source there is a certain
ethical mandate to take direction from the community and if you're willing
to spend time on it to go that direction.  As a member of the Oversight
Board I want us to be more aggressive about helping big things happen but
do we have the backing of the community to do that or do they not want a
central body in the at role?

I'll be honest, I don't think the listserv is the best place for these
conversations.  I hope to have them a lot more at the conference,
especially at the close where I'll be doing some talking about community
engagement.   I'll hold Google Hangouts.  Heck, I'm willing to hold
regional meetings and if I can reasonably drive to it attend.  I'd rather
have a thousand people talking and make sense of overload than nothing.  I
want us to look forward years ahead and be ambitious but that's me.  And
that's also kind of the great thing about open source.  ESI can lead this
because they're willing to.  And one guy can stand around and be loud and
folks can agree or ignore him but if enough agree ... well, that's open
source.  And I love open source and results.

</end sandbox rant>

On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 2:38 PM, W. Brad LaJeunesse <brad at esilibrary.com>wrote:

> Fellow Evergreeners:
>
> At the "future of the staff client" developer meeting Quality Assurance
> (QA) came up repeatedly. This is a serious issue that affects every one of
> us. It obviously affects all users of Evergreen, whether staff or customer,
> but it also greatly affects Equinox in that bugs and other software defects
> increase our support load and also decreases overall satisfaction with the
> Evergreen product. It's an issue we've been deeply concerned about for some
> time.
>
> A few years ago, there was a formal and concerted QA effort. GPLS was
> generous to fund it, and we were making good headway with nightly builds,
> tests, etc. However, with funding cuts and other issues becoming priority,
> QA has largely been ignored and we've all felt the result. As a community,
> we need to correct this.
>
> Equinox would like to be part of the solution and we very much want to
> re-launch and lead the QA effort, but we need the community's help and
> support. We have a formative plan and we have resources we can devote, but
> we need funding to make it happen.
>
> We propose that Jason Etheridge will be responsible for the QA project and
> will direct and manage appropriate Equinox resources. Jason will have
> authority to pull in any Equinox developer (or any other
> personnel/resources), as needed, to get the job done. We propose that
> Equinox devote a total of one FTE to the QA effort as well as any
> server/hardware required. Jason will work closely with community
> stakeholders, coordinate, and make sure Equinox's efforts are in line with
> community needs. We expect, in the least, to have nightly builds and
> increased automated test coverage.
>
> We believe that a 3-month period is enough to get started and see if this
> effort is fruitful. We're looking for $30,000 to fund a 3-month effort. If
> we're successful, then we'll search for further funding to keep rolling.
>
> I understand budgets are tight and we're all looking for ways to make
> everything fit, but QA is an important and worthwhile project and we need
> your help to make it happen--to make Evergreen better for all of us.
>
> If you're interested in making a pledge, just let me know.
>
> Thanks for your consideration.
>
> --
> W. Brad LaJeunesse
> | President
> | Equinox Software, Inc. / The Open Source Experts
> | phone: 1-877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457)
> | email: brad at esilibrary.com
> | web: http://www.esilibrary.com
>

-- 

Rogan Hamby, MLS, CCNP, MIA
Managers Headquarters Library and Reference Services,
York County Library System

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit
me."
-- C.S. Lewis <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis>
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