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On or before 2015-10-03, a decision was made to write the yunity platform code-base from scratch (herein: rewrite) instead of adapting the existing foodsharingFoodsharing.de code-base (herein: refactor). This decision has endured the test of time despite being made badly.
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At the beginning of the first WuppDays, optimism was very high with several members of the group - including developers - having high hopes that a basic, working version of the proposed platform could be functional by the end of the 4 weeks. The first meeting of the developers was fairly relaxed and the open discussion of about 90 minutes resulted in an informal consent to use an AnularJS write from scratch using an AngularJS front-end, Django back-end and Postgres database.
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- Being able to immediately open-source the code-base (release of the FoodsharindFoodsharing.de code-base at present could present data risks to users)
- Moving away from PHP has benefits (easier security, cleaner code)
- Starting from scratch could produce a clearer and better designed platform
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Now two weeks into the WuppDays and with the 'refactor/rewrite' question being a major block in the workflowwork-flow, the realisation that launching a working model by the end of the period was unlikely. Frustration grew and enthusiasm dropped as no clear decision had been made as to how the development should continue. On or before 2015-10-03, meeting was called to try and reach a decision the group could have confidence in. Approximately 15 minutes of debate in support of refactoring and rewriting was provdided provided before having a vote. The voting system was of the 'systemic consensus' type, but more specifically;
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The decision to write from scratch has been honoured and no one has further investigated the Foodsharing.de code-base to date (2015-01-17). Nothing prevents anyone from trying to explore the code base except for it not being open-source. The decision to write from scratch comes into discussion on a relatively frequent basis not because the decision is still a question, but because it was a great example of where the project could have used a better process and we must learn from it for future.
Learning outcomes
- Setting lower expectations may reduce stress.
- Providing as much relevant information at the outset is very important.
- Decide on product specifications before creating products.
- Use an improved systemic consensus method within a decision making framework (as outlined here -> link to framework).