Wikimedia Technology/Goals/2017-18 Q2/Process

Overview
Traditionally, teams have set quarterly goals. Starting this quarter, the goals will be tracked per program. Each program owner is responsible for working with team leads (or whoever else) to gain agreement on the quarterly goals for their program. Any dependencies should be aware of and agree to their responsibilities.

The goals will incrementally become more and more firm, passing through "rough draft", "final draft", "approved by CTO", and then "final" stages.

Timeline
See also: https://office.wikimedia.org/wiki/Quarterly_check-ins

Guidance for goal-setting
As you plan your goals, consider:
 * This quarter (October-December) will generally be less productive for most teams, because of fundraising campaigns, and holidays. Each is likely to slow or block deployments, and holidays will affect not only your own team, but teams and individuals that you depend on. Don't build a plan that relies on deploying new features in December.
 * Planned no (non-emergency) deployment weeks: Week of Nov 20th (Thanksgiving), December 18th and 25th (End of year holidays).
 * Each goal should tie to an annual plan outcome and one or more of its objectives (or milestones). In rare cases, the work on a goal might serve multiple outcomes, so that can be handled on a case-by-case basis.
 * By the end of Q2, we will be halfway through the fiscal year. Look at all the annual plan objectives for your program, and consider how well you are positioned to complete all the goals.
 * Speaking of the annual plan, look ahead to work that will happen in Q3, and make sure any preparatory work is planned, to avoid bottlenecks and blockers later.
 * Talk to your dependencies early and often! Don't assume they know what you are expecting of them. When appropriate, account for reviews by Security, Performance, Legal, etc.
 * Team leads need to balance all the demands on their team's time. In addition to various program goals, the team may have its own internal work, as well as unexpected emergencies.