diff --git a/doc/source/gui/theory.rst b/doc/source/gui/theory.rst index e3b09c8c..8062eeeb 100644 --- a/doc/source/gui/theory.rst +++ b/doc/source/gui/theory.rst @@ -2,67 +2,82 @@ Things that StoryBoard does differently ========================================= +StoryBoard has been custom-designed to support collaboration within an `open +community `_ +with the following characteristics: + +- The community manages a large number of projects, and some + initiatives will span multiple projects. + +- There are a variety of sponsors; no single organisation or person is + in control of the community's direction. + +- Everyone is equally empowered to contribute. + +- There are many stakeholders, who need to track diverse sets of + requirements for each project. + +- Even when requirements overlap, priorities can differ widely. + +Consequently StoryBoard has several features built specifically around +these needs. + If you've been using Launchpad on your project, by now you're probably aware of its norms and idiosyncracies. It can be hard to envisage different ways of doing the same tasks when thinking in terms of -things that are possible in Launchpad, so this post aims to give an -overview of some of the interesting new features in StoryBoard that +things that are possible in Launchpad, so this document aims to give +an overview of some of the interesting new features in StoryBoard that don't have a Launchpad equivalent. -StoryBoard has been custom designed to fit the OpenStack use-case, and -so has several features built specifically around the OpenStack -community's needs. This post explains some of the key new things, so -that you can get familiar with the terminology, and construct -workflows that suit you -- hopefully by the end, you'll be as excited -as we are! -The REST API -============ +Moving beyond universal priorities +================================== -StoryBoard has been developed with an API-first approach. What does -this mean? Well, at its core, StoryBoard has a python API. This then -plugs into a database, and can get information from it (or transmit -information to it). The StoryBoard API can then be accessed from -various clients, so that users can interact with some given database. +In StoryBoard, it's possible for different people to say 'this is a +priority for us', so that a task can have different priorities, +tailored to different audiences. -This means StoryBoard's features are first built on the API side, and -are then expressed in various clients. You can do more in the API than -in any given UI, since the UI just expresses the API. +So, why is this useful? -Why does that matter? +Traditional bug / task trackers have often modelled the concept of +priority as a single, shared attribute field. For example, anyone +could change a task's priority, and this would be seen by everyone +viewing the task. Typically there has been no way to say 'you can +only change this priority if you have discussed this on IRC and it has +been agreed among the project team', etc. This has meant that people +with no context could alter global priority of tasks. Also, two +different groups might prioritize tasks differently, and this could +result in long prioritization sessions, where the real question was +'whose priorities matter most?' (and often the answer was 'it depends +on who the audience is', so these arguments would result in a +stalemate). -Custom scripts! Custom UIs! If you can express it in a script, you can -fetch the data from StoryBoard. You don't have to rely on features in -any current UI if you have a niche request, and it's possible to build -your own new UI (or dashboard) if you want. You can also get info from -the commandline on the fly with a tool like curl. +So, StoryBoard provides a way to say 'this task matters to *me*' or +'this task matters to *my team*', without trying to force that point +of view on everyone else. We use worklists to express priority: if +you manually add tasks to a worklist, you can drag and drop them in +order of priority. This has the side effect that you can see how +prioritizing one task affects the priority of other tasks; you can +only have one item at the top, and putting anything high on the list +will push other things down. It is possible for others to subscribe +to the worklists of those individuals or teams whose priorities they +care about; then, whenever they browse to a prioritised story, they +will see if any of the tasks are on those lists, and what position the +tasks are on the list. -There are some docs to illustrate usage here: +Worklists have permissions, so it is possible to set up a project team +list on which items can only be moved by contributors selected by core +reviewers, etc. This stops everyone changing the priority of tasks +without discussion. -https://docs.openstack.org/infra/storyboard/webapi/v1.html +This is still relatively new, and we're excited to see how people use +it. We've lost some ease in assigning priority in favour of finer +grained representation of priority. In the past, StoryBoard did show +lots of different people's priorities, it just didn't offer any way of +tracking whose priorities were whose. So this makes things more open +and explicit. We hope to tailor the implementation based on user +feedback, and these are the first steps! :) -Moreover, as our API is generally RESTful, it's straightforward to -guess how to do things, and compatible with a lot of other tools with -minimal tinkering. Here are some sample, heavily commented scripts for -one simple example (commandline) interface, a python client: - -https://review.openstack.org/#/c/371620/ - -There is also a much more fully-featured and interactive commandline -StoryBoard interface named boartty in progress over here, that jeblair -wrote on a plane: - -.. image:: _assets/boartty-3.png - -The long and short of it is, if you know how to display data from a -REST API, you can display data from a StoryBoard instance. - -You can do some fun things with this. For example, you could use -pygame if you wanted to depict stories as moving platforms or -something (I have publically said I'll try this, so I guess I've got -to follow through at some point). On that note, if anyone feels like -hacking something up, please tell us; we'd love it. Our irc channel is -irreverent and procrastinatory. You can find us in #storyboard. Worklists and Boards ==================== @@ -116,49 +131,50 @@ description). For documentation on how to create boards, add users/owners, etc :doc:`that can be located here`. -Complex Priority -================ -We already wrote a massive email on this, intended as a thorough -overview, so we are going to shamelessly copy and paste it here. The -crux is that in StoryBoard, it's possible for different people to say -'this is a priority for us', so that a task can have different -priorities, tailored to different audiences. +The REST API +============ -So, why is this useful? +StoryBoard has been developed with an API-first approach. What does +this mean? Well, at its core, StoryBoard has a python API. This then +plugs into a database, and can get information from it (or transmit +information to it). The StoryBoard API can then be accessed from +various clients, so that users can interact with some given database. -Previously, StoryBoard allowed users to assign one priority to each -task ('high', 'medium' or 'low'). The implementation meant that anyone -could change a task's priority, and this would be seen by everyone -viewing the task. There was no way to say 'you can only change this -priority if you have discussed this on irc and it has been agreed -among the project team', etc. This meant that people with no context -could alter global priority of tasks. Also, two different groups might -prioritize tasks differently, and this could result in long -prioritization sessions, where the real question was 'whose priorities -matter most?' (and often the answer was 'it depends on who the -audience is', so these arguments would result in a stalemate) +This means StoryBoard's features are first built on the API side, and +are then expressed in various clients. You can do more in the API than +in any given UI, since the UI just expresses the API. -So, StoryBoard now has a way to say 'this task matters to me'. We use -worklists to express priority: if you manually add tasks to a -worklist, you can drag and drop them in order of priority. This has -the side effect that you can see how prioritizing one task affects the -priority of other tasks; you can only have one item at the top, and -putting anything high on the list will push other things down. It is -possible for others to subscribe to the worklists of those individuals -or teams whose priorities they care about; then, whenever they browse -to a story, they will see if any of the tasks are on those lists, and -what position the tasks are on the list. +Why does that matter? -Worklists have permissions, so it is possible to set up a project team -list on which items can only be moved by contributors selected by core -reviewers, etc. This stops everyone changing the priority of tasks -without discussion. +Custom scripts! Custom UIs! If you can express it in a script, you can +fetch the data from StoryBoard. You don't have to rely on features in +any current UI if you have a niche request, and it's possible to build +your own new UI (or dashboard) if you want. You can also get info from +the commandline on the fly with a tool like curl. -This is very new, and we're excited to see how people use it. We've -lost some ease in assigning priority in favour of finer grained -representation of priority. In the past, StoryBoard did show lots of -different people's priorities, it just didn't offer any way of -tracking whose priorities were whose. So this makes things more open -and explicit. We hope to tailor the implementation based on user -feedback, and these are the first steps! :) +There are some docs to illustrate usage here: + +https://docs.openstack.org/infra/storyboard/webapi/v1.html + +Moreover, as the API is generally RESTful, it's straightforward to +guess how to do things, and compatible with a lot of other tools with +minimal tinkering. Here are some sample, heavily commented scripts for +one simple example (commandline) interface, a python client: + +https://review.openstack.org/#/c/371620/ + +There is also a much more fully-featured and interactive commandline +StoryBoard interface named `boartty +`_ written by Jim Blair: + +.. image:: _assets/boartty-3.png + +The long and short of it is, if you know how to display data from a +REST API, you can display data from a StoryBoard instance. + +You can do some fun things with this. For example, you could use +pygame if you wanted to depict stories as moving platforms or +something. On that note, if you feel like hacking something up, the +Storyboard team would love to hear from you! Come and say hello on +the ``#storyboard`` channel on Freenode IRC.