Hi Nemo, No, nothing is on hold. The Board and I were really explicit about this when we talked together about the transition: we're going to continue with everything as-is -- nothing will go on hold purely due to the transition.
That doesn't mean I won't change plans or make adjustments on a case-by-case basis because I think the circumstances warrant it: I might. But the default assumption should be that everything continues as planned, unless I make a specific decision otherwise. Thanks, Sue Sue Gardner Executive Director Wikimedia Foundation 415 839 6885 office 415 816 9967 cell Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! https://donate.wikimedia.org/ On 2 April 2013 01:50, Federico Leva (Nemo) <nemow...@gmail.com> wrote: > Erik Moeller, 06/11/2012 04:03: > >> FYI >> > > Is it safe to assume that, until <https://meta.wikimedia.org/** > wiki/ED_Transition_Team<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ED_Transition_Team>> > ends, all this is on hold? > > Nemo > > > >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: Erik Moeller <e...@wikimedia.org> >> Date: Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 5:38 PM >> Subject: [Tech/Product] Engineering/Product org structure >> To: Staff All <wmf...@lists.wikimedia.org> >> >> >> Hi folks, >> >> consistent with Sue's narrowing focus mandate, I’ve been thinking & >> talking the last few weeks a fair bit with a bunch of different people >> about the future organizational structure of the engineering/product >> department. Long story short, if we want to scale the dept, and take >> seriously our identity as a tech org (as stated by Sue), it’s my view >> that we need to split the current department into an engineering dept >> and a product dept in about 6-8 months. >> >> To avoid fear and anxiety, and to make sure the plan makes sense, I >> want to start an open conversation now. If you think any of the below >> is a terrible idea, or have suggestions on how to improve the plan, >> I’d love to hear from you. I’ll make myself personally available to >> anyone who wants to talk more about it. (I'm traveling a bit starting >> tomorrow, but will be available via email during that time.) We can >> also discuss it at coming tech lunches and such. >> >> There’s also nothing private here, so I’m forwarding this note to >> wikitech-l@ and wikimedia-l@ as well. That said, there’s no urgency in >> this note, so feel free to set it aside for later. >> >> Here’s why I’m recommending to Sue that we create distinct engineering >> and product departments: >> >> - It’ll give product development and the user experience more >> visibility at the senior mgmt level, which means we’ll have more >> conversations at that level about the work that most of the >> organization actually does. Right now, a single dept of ~70 people is >> represented by 1 person across both engineering and product functions >> - me. That was fine when it was half the size. Right now it’s out of >> whack. >> >> - It’ll give us the ability to add Director-level leadership functions >> as appropriate without making my head explode. >> >> - I believe that separating the two functions is consistent with Sue’s >> recommendation to narrow our focus and develop our identity as an >> engineering organization. It will allow for more sustained effort in >> managing product priorities and greater advocacy for core platform >> issues (APIs, site performance, search, ops improvements, etc.) that >> are less visible than our feature priorities. >> >> A split dept structure wouldn’t affect the way we assemble teams -- >> we’d still pull from required functions (devs, product, UI/UX, etc.), >> and teams would continue to pursue their objectives fairly >> autonomously. >> >> It’s not all roses -- we might see more conflict between the two >> functions, more us vs. them thinking, and more communications >> breakdowns or forum shopping. But net I think the positives would >> outweigh the negatives, and there are ways to mitigate against the >> negatives. >> >> The way we’d get there: >> >> I’m prepared to resign from my engineering management responsibilities >> and to focus solely on my remaining role as VP of Product, as soon as >> a successor for VP of Engineering has been identified. We would start >> that hiring process probably in early 2013. I’m recommending to Sue >> that we seriously consider internal candidates for the VP of >> Engineering role, as we have a strong engineering management team in >> place today. >> >> So realistically we'd probably identify that person towards the end of >> the fiscal year. >> >> Obviously I can’t make any promises to you that in that brave new >> world, you’ll love whoever gets hired into the VP of Engineering role, >> so there’s some unavoidable uncertainty there. I’ll support Sue in the >> search, though, and I’m sure she’d appreciate feedback from you on the >> kind of person who you think would be ideal for the job. >> >> The VP of Product role would encompass a combination of functions. >> Howie and I would work with the department to figure out what makes >> sense as an internal structure. My opening view is that Analytics and >> User Experience are potential areas that may benefit from dedicated >> Director-level support roles. (Analytics is tricky because it includes >> a strong engineering piece, but also a research/analyst piece working >> closely with product.) The new structure would therefore be as >> follows: >> >> * VP of Engineering -> Directors of Engineering >> * VP of Product -> Director of Product Development, plus new >> Director-level functions (we've discussed UX/Design as a likely new >> leadership function, and Analytics as a _potential_ area to centralize >> here because it works so closely with product) >> >> Why Product? I’m happy to help the org in whatever way I can; I >> believe I’d be most useful to it in focusing there and helping build >> this relatively new organizational function. Based on my past >> experience, Howie & I make a great team. I know how engineering >> operates, which could help mitigate against some of the aforementioned >> issues. Plus, our product priorities generally already reflect lots of >> thought and consideration, and we have no intent of reopening >> questions like "Is Visual Editor the top product priority". >> >> I look forward to hearing your thoughts & discussing this further in >> coming weeks. >> >> All best, >> Erik >> >> -- >> Erik Möller >> VP of Engineering and Product Development, Wikimedia Foundation >> >> Support Free Knowledge: >> https://wikimediafoundation.**org/wiki/Donate<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate> >> >> >> > ______________________________**_________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.**org <Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> > Unsubscribe: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/**mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l<https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l> > _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l