Lessons Learned

[John Poelstra]

Jonathan Blandford wrote:
> Saying that we always slip seems to be a self fulfilling prophesy for
> Fedora.
> 
> The fact that we always slip leads to us slipping more, as people worry
> about the next release.  If they don't know exactly when the next one is

Interestingly the stats show that the slip rate is not increasing 
dramatically between releases. However, we have only been able to meet a 
6 month schedule once (see attached spreadsheet).

> and worry about it being delayed as well, they're much more inclined to
> rush to put things in.  Thus, we get something like the MustHaves, which
> has two laudable but ambitious goals in it, and us running around trying
> to achieve them.  FC6 had similar goals, as did FC5, both of which
> slipped.  There are always more features to be had, and we have probably
> slipped at least one six month period over the past couple releases.
> 

My calcs show approximately 3.5 months of combined slippage over the 
past 2 releases.

I would agree with Max that it is not unusual for software projects to 
slip, however if we never meet our original schedule or do not follow a 
predictable schedule, then it would seem reasonable to consider how more 
accurate goals might be set for the next release.  The large standard 
deviations are interesting to consider.

John
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