[teampractices] Please help define the term "core work"

[Kevin Smith]

Summary:
Please visit this wiki page[2] to help define the term "core work".

Long form:
The WMF annual planning process[1] is being revised this year in several
ways. One is to attempt to categorize work as "Core", "Strategic", or
"Other", which should help us communicate our work externally, and to
improve our internal budget and strategic planning processes.

As Lila mentioned in a recent update, we need to define these terms. The
Team Practices Group was asked to help the stakeholders reach agreement on
these definitions, so we have created a wiki page[2] about "core". It
contains a draft (strawdog) definition, along with rationale and examples.
Through the discussion there, the definition will be refined so it can be
used throughout the foundation. Note that this will not be limited to
product development teams--it will be org-wide.

Early planning for FY 2015-2016 will start next week, and that will benefit
from having a working definition. So if you have any strong feelings about
this, please voice them as soon as possible. However, I envision this as
being a living definition which can continue to evolve over time. So even
if you can't participate this week, please visit the page when you can, and
share your ideas then.

This work relates to various discussions and pilots last year related to
"maintenance fraction", and "interrupt" or "unplanned" work. However, this
conversation has a tighter focus, along with (hopefully) a clear rationale
for the categorization. It also relates to the "New/Reactive/Maintenance"
categorization that have been used recently in the Quarterly Reviews, but
is distinct from that as well.

Aside from annual planning, we believe that categorizing this work will
help teams themselves. For example, it might help them realize when they
are getting pulled into doing work that is neither core nor strategic, or
it might help identify opportunities to invest in improvements that would
greatly reduce the ongoing effort required to keep existing features
working smoothly.

Please continue this discussion on wiki, or email me (or just the Team
Practices list) if you have process questions or concerns.

[1]
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/2015-2016_Annual_Plan/Questions_and_Answers
[2]
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Team_Practices_Group/Tracking_core_and_strategic_work

Kevin Smith
Agile Coach, Wikimedia Foundation
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