Goals for FY2006

Goals in Progress

The following are my specific goals and deliverables:

• PROGRESS Creation of an update channel mechanism within the Satellite Server to offer updates to IS&T supported and supplied Linux Applications.

  We are slowly coming to an understanding of how to do this. At some point Andrew Boardman will implement a channel on the Satellite server with which we can experiment with offering this service.

• PROGRESS Assist with the review of present packages and helping craft a project plan to recast the integrated release into a set of separately installable services. (Additional outcome desirable to IS&T and MIT: Find ways to reduce the effort of software integration by eliminating services of little importance to customers, and by appropriately re-crafting development and nuances of functionality offered.)

  This effort has been one of rich conversations. My role has been primarily an advisory one. Greg Hudson is doing an excellent job of being the primary leader and implementor of this work.

Goals Met or Changed

• DONE Lead a Software Release Effort to go live with IS&T support of the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 4 and updated applications and services. (Also involves crafting a sunset plan for RHEL version 3.)

  Started on 4/7/05, went live on 6/16/05, team follow-up and closeout 7/28/05.

• DONE Lead a Software Release Effort to migrate customers of the MIT Red Hat Network via a "Proxy Server" to the more powerful and robust "Satellite Server."

  Approved as part of RHEL 4 software release effort on 4/19/05, went live 6/2/05.

• DONE Work on projects related to software distribution. This will include working with SWRT, not necessarily on items already in their queue but more likely on new initiatives that SWRT has not yet been able to commit any resources to.

  To satisfy a loud request for an IS&T recommended and supported office suite on Linux, I led a software release effort to make OpenOffice.org a recommended and supported product. This involved getting the document, "Using OpenOffice" completed (and merging two separate attempts to write the document), providing testing and pointers to documentation for interoperability with Microsoft Word, helping set up how application help would be done via Athena Consultants who had experience with Athena OpenOffice, and then doing a formal Software Release process which included publishing a Product Front Door, and various other documents.

• CHANGED Beginning a long-term process of migration from MIT-invented Zephyr to a more common protocol by deploying a jabber service at MIT with appropriate clients on Windows, Mac, Solaris, and Linux (both Athena and non-Athena) platforms.

  Project Pre-planning begun 3/15/05, project now in progress led by Joanne Hallisey, with some advisory assistance from me.

• CHANGED Work with Ginny Williams to try to bring the various separate hardware recommendations (Athena desktop, stand alone Linux desktop, etc.) together into a more unified set that is simpler and more useful for customers.

  Began on 3/1/05. Desktop Linux recommendation for Athena is done, and includes a windows option. Laptop recommendation for Linux is proving to be extremely challenging. Ginny left MIT. Work to unify hardware recommendations proceeds with me as a participant.

• CHANGED Work with the team and the Leadership to add visibility and accountability to the Development process. This means going beyond getting team members to use GForge. It involves identifying of real requirements by the IS&T Leadership and Customers as well as the Development staff, and assembling the appropriate collection of tools and processes to get the job done.

  Various different approaches to measuring our customer impact, and making goals set/met/changed explicit are being tried. Also the role of SDIT is evolving, so production of things like web pages to describe the role and goals has been a moving target.

• CHANGED Work with Dave Tanner and others to create an improved process for testing SDIT developed and maintained code.

  Dave has been able to move some test plans forward by himself. My focus has been more on Software Release efforts, and helping understand goals and roles than on testing.

• DELAYED Facilitate conversations amongst IS&T Leadership, Support Personnel, and customers to identify appropriate advanced functionality available with the RHN Satellite Server to offer to customers with full and/or partial IS&T Support.

  Other activities (additional Linux Applications, and modularization of Athena) have been given higher priority than this effort.

Overarching Goals

1. SDIT (Software development and Integration Team) Project Manager role. Assist project planning, organization and execution. Help organize the efforts of SDIT to have a sensibly prioritized portfolio of projects with appropriate status displayed to customers and the MIT Leadership.
2. Serve on projects related so software distribution, including role as Linux Platform Coordinator. Look for other opportunitities to work with SWRT.
3. Serve in a vendor liaison role to help negotiate contracts and to identify and qualify appropriate hardware configurations.
4. Continue to work with the MIT Libraries on Digital Library work in an advisory and liaison role.

Goals Archive

• Goals for FY2005
• Goals for FY2004
• Goals for FY2003
• Goals for FY2002
• Goals for FY2001