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PyPy: Why and how did it (not) work?
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:Authors: Bea Düring (Change Maker) & Holger Krekel (merlinux GmbH)
:Place: EuroPython 2007, Vilnius 
:Date: 10th July 2007 


Introduction: Bea´s 2cents
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- Mostly my personal views - so who am I? 
- Old school gamer (non-profit work), high school 
  teacher, education and software development 
  project management, instructor, newbie agilista  

The PyPy Long Island Ice Tea
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- If PyPy was a drink - what would it be?
- Long Island Ice Tea - why?
- Why have one alcohol base when you can have seven?
- And you do get drunk -  and confused ;-)

Recommendations:
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- What worked for us 
- Mostly parts already used by other projects
- Unique for PyPy was the blend of OSS/agile practices
  within a EU contractual environment

Automated Test-Driven Devel.
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- py.test --> supports rapid prototyping
  in a single code base
- Combined with efficient version control (svn)
- Version control and test on both code and documentation
- Automated commit mailinglists for both

---> supports open and transparent workstyle

Mobile Sprints
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- Sprints: one week (in our case) co-located
  coding sessions in different locations
- "Open and closed" sprints
- In the EU-funded project: 19 sprints
- Combined with Summer of Code/PyPy

---> supports open and transparent workstyle

Communication
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- IRC: #pypy on freenode.org (+others)
- Mailinglists: manage, technical board, dev, sprints
- Automated mailinglists (code and documentation)

---> supports open and transparent workstyle

Information/documentation
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- Sprint reports
- EU-reports written with a dual use purpose 
  (EU, industry, community)
- Video documentation (tutorials, talks, interviews, sprints)  
- All consortium involved persons could access *all* data

---> supports open and transparent workstyle

Synchronization
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- Sync-meetings: weekly dev-IRC meetings with a fixed date
- Fixed agenda: last, next, blockers
- Not more than 30 minutes
- Inspired by Canonical

---> supports open and transparent workstyle

Conceptual integrity
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- How to maintain the core developers OSS mandate 
  within EU-contract?
- Technical board driving the technical development
- GUI between EU-level and OSS community level
- Also driving management ;-) 

---> supports open and transparent workstyle

Learning by burnings:
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- Learning by doing - learning by reflection
- In japanese: learning by burning

Open and transparent is costly
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- Formal roles existed but PyPy is a "beyond the call of duty" project
- Cost in time, energy and resources to keep everyone involved

--> Main cost though was making this fit into the EU-structure

--> It was worth it ("excellent technical results"), but the price was high

Increased contribution is costly
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- Open sprints, IRC-mentoring and Summer of Code/PyPy 
  meant new core developers
- Cost in time, energy and resources to mentor and support

--> Main cost though was making this fit into the EU-structure

--> It was worth it ("excellent technical results") and new friends!

Overlapping realities is costly
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- PyPy - a practical EU OSS research project
- Is that an oxymoron?
- Goals too high and too wide (novel approaches)?

--> Main cost though was making this fit into the EU-structure
while evolving the community

--> It was worth it ("excellent technical results")  - really cool stuff ;-)

What now?
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- We continue as an OSS project: http://codespeak.net/pypy
- We sprint: welcome to the EP2007 sprint on Thursday!
- We have an Open Space session inviting PyPy users and would-be
  users to to discuss their needs on Wednesday - join us!