This session is about evolving the system that allows us store and deliver our content. It's about the architecture of not just MediaWiki core, but also extensions, APIs, underlying services (like databases and job queues) as well as public services, such as RESTbase and the Wikidata Query Service.
This is one of the 8 [[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Developer_Summit/2018 |Wikimedia Developer Summit 2018]] topics.
Goals:
* Identify risks to and need* Urgent Focus for sustainScaling and scaling our current capabilities (aka services)Sustaining
*** Identify opportunities, requirementsrisks to and costneeds for supportstaining (anticipated or planned) future capabilitiesand scaling our current capabilities (aka services)
* Identify key questions that need to be answered in order to develop a strategy for evolving the MediaWiki architecture. Such answered should come from the product strategy process in the course of the year.Strategic Direction for Improvement
* see also [[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Developer_Summit/2018/Purpose_and_Results|DevSummit purpose and results]] for guidance* Key Questions blocking Development Decisions (decision tree)
** Strategic Direction and Technological Visions (with justification and dependency on key questions)
* Strategic Planning Process
** Define further process and responsibility for decision making for each focus area / key question
** Define convergence points that ensure product and tech strategy match
Structure (rough draft):
* Discuss overall scopeefine session scope, clarify desired outcomes, present agenda
* Urgent Focus for Scaling and Sustaining:
** Propose 3 Focus Areas, along with blocking questions
** Discuss and Adjust
** Propose process and responsibilities for answering the blocking questions and specifying solutions
* Identify unanswered questions that block technical decision making. Make educated guesses as what the answers could be. (collect and cluster, be brief)Strategic Direction for Improvement
* Identify planned or anticipated future features and products that we will have to support with tech in the future. (collect and cluster* Propose 3 technological visions, be brief)along with blocking questions
* Identify key risks to sustaining and scaling current operations, including resource drains (collect and cluster)** Discuss and Adjust
*** Propose ways to support future needs; concrete solution, technologies to explore, etc (collect and cluster)process and responsibilities for answering the blocking questions and specifying solutions
* The session will NOT be used to discuss any of the topics in-depth. Concrete engineering questions are not in scope.* Wrap up
Things to discuss on this ticket before the event:
* What planned or anticipated future features or products should be taken into account when discussing the future of our technology stack?
* Which important questions that impact the technology strategy are unanswered to date?
Background reading:
* **[[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_Platform_team/Simplifying_the_Wikimedia_Foundation_technology_stack|Simplifying the WMF technology stack]]** (position paper by Tim Starling)
* **[[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Audiences/Needs_from_APIs |Audiences needs from APIs]]** (Audiences)
* **[[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DDtO5v5GAtNSRiKHyii8Kv-kNsar25Ac5Z0WIrU_Mt4/|Problem Grouping]]** (Audiences Technology Working Group) (accessible to WMF staff, public access has been requested).
* **[[https://wikifarm.wmflabs.org/devsummit/index.php/Session:2|Related position statements from summit participants]]**
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Cscott/2030_Vision|CScott’s 2030 Vision ]]
* [[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Tgr_(WMF)/Turn_MediaWiki_core_into_an_embeddable_library|Turn MediaWiki Core into a Library]] (Gergo)
**Session notes**:
* https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/devsummit18-evolvingmediawikiarchitecture
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**Topic Leaders** (@daniel) , please
[x] Add more details to this task description,
[x] Coordinate any pre-event discussions (here, IRC, email, hangout, etc),
[x] Outline the plan for discussing this topic at the Developer Summit.
[x] Optionally, include what it will //not// try to solve.
[] Update this task with summaries of any pre-event discussions.
[x] Include ways for people not attending to be involved in discussions before the summit and afterwards.
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Post-event Summary:
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Action items:
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