Masakari team process

Masakari is always evolving its processes, but it’s important to explain why we have them: so we can all work to ensure that the interactions we need to happen do happen. The process exists to make productive communication between all members of our community easier.

OpenStack Wide Patterns

Masakari follows most of the generally adopted norms for OpenStack projects. You can get more details here:

If you are new to Masakari, please read this first: How to get (more) involved with Masakari.

How do I get my code merged?

OK, so you are new to Masakari, and you have been given a feature to implement. How do I make that happen?

You can get most of your questions answered here:

But let’s put a Masakari specific twist on things…

Overview

Flow chart showing the Masakari bug/feature process

Where do you track bugs?

We track bugs here:

If you fix an issue, please raise a bug so others who spot that issue can find the fix you kindly created for them.

Also before submitting your patch it’s worth checking to see if someone has already fixed it for you (Launchpad helps you with that, at little, when you create the bug report).

When do I need a blueprint vs. a spec?

To understand this question, we need to understand why blueprints and specs are useful.

But here is the rough idea:

  • if it needs a spec, it will need a blueprint.

  • if it’s an API change, it needs a spec.

  • if it’s a single small patch that touches a small amount of code, with limited deployer and doc impact, it probably doesn’t need a spec.

If you are unsure, please ask PTL or one of the other masakari-core on IRC.

How do I get my blueprint approved?

So you need your blueprint approved? Here is how:

  • if you don’t need a spec, please add a link to your blueprint to the agenda for the next masakari meeting: https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Meetings/Masakari

    • be sure your blueprint description has enough context for the review in that meeting.

  • if you need a spec, then please submit a masakari-spec for review.

Got any more questions? Contact samP or one of the other masakari-core who are awake at the same time as you. IRC is best as you will often get an immediate response, if they are too busy send him/her an email.

How do I get a procedural -2 removed from my patch?

When feature freeze hits, any patches for blueprints that are still in review get a procedural -2 to stop them merging. In Masakari a blueprint is only approved for a single release. To have the -2 removed, you need to get the blueprint approved for the current release (see How do I get my blueprint approved?).

My code review seems stuck, what can I do?

First and foremost - address any -1s and -2s! A few tips:

  • Be precise. Ensure you’re not talking at cross purposes.

  • Try to understand where the reviewer is coming from. They may have a very different perspective and/or use-case to you.

  • If you don’t understand the problem, ask them to explain - this is common and helpful behavior.

  • Be positive. Everyone’s patches have issues, including core reviewers. No-one cares once the issues are fixed.

  • Try not to flip-flop. When two reviewers are pulling you in different directions, stop pushing code and negotiate the best way forward.

  • If the reviewer does not respond to replies left on the patchset, reach out to them on IRC or email. If they still don’t respond, you can try to ask their colleagues if they’re on holiday (or simply wait). Finally, you can ask for mediation in the Masakari meeting by adding it to the agenda (https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Meetings/Masakari). This is also what you should do if you are unable to negotiate a resolution to an issue.

Eventually you should get some +1s from people working through the review queue. Expect to get -1s as well. You can ask for reviews within your company, 1-2 are useful (not more), especially if those reviewers are known to give good reviews. You can spend some time while you wait reviewing other people’s code - they may reciprocate and you may learn something (Why do code reviews when I’m not core?).

If you’ve waited an appropriate amount of time and you haven’t had any +1s, you can ask on IRC for reviews. Please don’t ask for core review straight away, especially not directly (IRC or email). Core reviewer time is very valuable and gaining some +1s is a good way to show your patch meets basic quality standards.

Once you have a few +1s, be patient. Remember the average wait times. You can ask for reviews each week in IRC, it helps to ask when cores are awake.

Bugs

It helps to apply correct tracking information.

  • Put “Closes-Bug”, “Partial-Bug” or “Related-Bug” in the commit message tags as necessary.

  • If you have to raise a bug in Launchpad first, do it - this helps someone else find your fix.

  • Make sure the bug has the correct priority and tag set.

Features

Again, it helps to apply correct tracking information. For blueprint-only features:

  • Put your blueprint in the commit message, EG “blueprint simple-feature”.

  • Mark the blueprint as NeedsCodeReview if you are finished.

  • Maintain the whiteboard on the blueprint so it’s easy to understand which patches need reviews.

  • Use a single topic for all related patches. All patches for one blueprint should share a topic.

For blueprint and spec features, do everything for blueprint-only features and also:

If it’s not a priority, your blueprint/spec has been approved for the cycle and you have been patient, you can raise it during the Masakari meeting. The outcome may be that your spec gets unapproved for the cycle, so that priority items can take focus. If this happens to you, sorry - it should not have been approved in the first place, Masakari team bit off more than they could chew, it is their mistake not yours. You can re-propose it for the next cycle.

If it’s not a priority and your spec has not been approved, your code will not merge this cycle. Please re-propose your spec for the next cycle.