Retrospective notes 2022.11.23

Chair	Timekeeper	Note Taker
Lilith Cole	Freddie Akeroyd	Thomas Lohnert

Items from last retrospective:

Windows 11 builds:

Perhaps just test squish and system tests on win11 with a win10 built client

• FA: correction - we should rather have a win11 built client talking to win 10 build server

Laptops and desktops:

• If current laptops die, they are likely to be replaced with a desktop machine and more lightweight laptop for remote desktop access & more mobility (easier to bring to halls)

Cake with Mantid:

• Still keen to do this, but delay until the new year. Starting a new meeting series in December is unlikely to capture a lot of attendance

previously running column:

• Jack was the person who brought this up, lets have this discussion when he is involved in a separate meeting

Items from this retrospective:

How should we deal with support calls asking for help with work that could have been planned work if scientists told us about it?

• Issue: this sometimes means we would have to drop other urgent work to assist with these tasks which affects other customers. Do we need to put our foot down more?

• Things to consider:

  • Will not doing this cost beam time? If not, we can justifiably not do it and just write it up as a ticket.
  • Will doing this task be a rabbit hole and take up an unreasonable amount of time? We should at least have a go and try to fix it in 1-2 hours rather than ignore the request completely. If the work extends beyond that, we should be justified to say "sorry we don't have enough resource to spend on this right now, you should have told us earlier"
  • If you are uncomfortable doing this, consider looping in Kathryn Baker as Project Manager

• Further action:

  • Should we bring this up at the next SAG?
    • SAG has switched focus so not all of them might be present. We could bring it up with group leaders separately
  • Peter: Similar situations from Culham, solution was to go to team leader and let them prioritize the work
    • It may be difficult to find a person with the power to make that decision, e.g. if groups are in different divisions
  • Can we monitor how often this actually happens?
    • Happens infrequently enough but annoying when it does.

  --> We will keep an eye out for more of these situations but take no further action for now.

Items from Post Cycle Washup Meeting:

Reflectometry - HTS is working well now - thanks Tom

Reflectometry - Plotting is improved (thanks Tom), but they do want the functionality to do things like zooming back [Editor's note: already implemented at time of meeting]

Reflectometry - The slits logic changes are looking good where they are in use - thanks Freddie

• Just mentioned for retrospective as it is nice to highlight positive feedback esp. from reflectometry group, who to experience a lot of snags

Is "Previously Running" Column on instrument overview useful?

• Posted something on technical to discuss this but people who could answer were not around at the time
• Discuss this offline, just give the post on technical a bump

Should we push back on overly complicated requirements that spiral in scope?

• Example: RIKEN requesting very specific GUI behaviours that add a lot of complexity
• There is only so much pushing back we can do, otherwise it will discourage migration to IBEX.
• Pushing back should be done at the point of gathering requirements. This can look like:
  • Offering a simplified version of the functionality that is being asked for. Try to get to the heart of what problem we are trying to solve
  • Ask for precise answers of what is needed now & what will be needed later so we can prioritize more effectively
  • Kathryn: If you feel uncomfortable pushing back, put me in the loop - this is my job

General encouragement to pick up reflectometry tickets:

• Thomas L: I have ended up giving reflectometry tickets to Nikola since they were suitable and no one had picked them up late into the sprint. This is ok but not ideal from a perspective of passing on / retaining specific knowledge
• People may be busy with other things that demand attention which is absolutely fine
• If you are a bit intimidated by reflectometry and that is a factor, always feel free to talk to Thomas to pair up. These tickets have been selected for being well scoped and not too nasty as an introduction!