Skip to content

16.9 Monthly Release Kickoff Call : January 18

Issue Tasks

  • Change the title of the issue to include the actual release number for this particular kick-off - @jennifergarcia20
  • Add a Retrospective Thread for participating team members to provide feedback in - @jennifergarcia20
  • Set the due date for when Kickoff Videos should be completed
  • Create a release specific YouTube playlist titled ##.## Release Kickoff
  • Open an MR to update keyValue = "X.Y", youTubeListID to the new playlist ID, and remove the ID referenced in youTubeKickoffVideoID on the direction page to the release we'll be kicking off. - @jennifergarcia20
  • Create a discussion thread on this issue titled {INSERT} Section Kickoff Highlights for PMs to add their highlights - Section leaders

Group Kickoff Meetings (Completed by the 16th of the month)

Note - Completing these tasks by the 16th enables the Product Leadership team to have ample time to review videos and planning issues before the 18th. Please make every effort to complete and check-off the below tasks prior to the end of the day on the 15th.

Preparation

  1. Add your planning issues so your manager has an opportunity to review [New ask based on 13.1 retrospective]
  2. Schedule a monthly, livestreamed, recorded Kickoff meeting for your group
  3. Review the upcoming releases page and ensure the current list of issues makes sense. If an issue shouldn't appear there - remove the direction label
  4. Strongly consider creating a release planning issue that links all highlighted issues
  5. Ensure the items for discussion are labeled with the direction label and scheduled for the upcoming milestone
  6. Update the issues to ensure:
    1. The description is single-source of truth (no digging through comments required)
    2. The description contains a strong Problem Statement, Use Cases and a complete Proposal
    3. The description contains proposed designs
    4. Note: It is highly recommended to write your release post item content at this time, since you've already created it for the kickoff, so you're well ahead of Key dates.
  7. Summarize 1-2 highlights for your group, including the 'why' behind the change, on your section specific thread in the discussion of this issue. Tag your manager and section leader when complete.

Meeting

  1. Consider displaying your stage or group product direction pages during this meeting
  2. Try to keep the recording of the kickoff portion of this short. Even if this is scheduled as an agenda item in a regular weekly sync, please record the Kickoff portion of the discussion separately. This way others can review the kickoff playlist for all teams efficiently.
  3. Review the direction labeled items for the milestone one-by-one, highlighting the problem statement and designs.

After the Meeting

Once your video is recorded:

  1. Post the meeting recording to GitLab Unfiltered, name it GitLab ##.## Kickoff - Stage:Group
  2. Assign the video to relevant Youtube playlists. If the playlist doesn't exist yet, please create one. Include the link to your Direction page, planning issue or issue board reviewed during the video in the video description. The following list includes the minimally required playlists to add your video to:
    1. Release specific YouTube playlist ##.## Release Kickoff - will contain all group kickoff videos for a specific release
    2. Your group's specific YouTube playlist GitLab Group Kickoffs - STAGE:GROUP - will contain all of your group's specific kickoff videos
  3. Add the link to the Planning issue (if appropriate) in the video description
  4. Post the link to the recording in your section, stage (#s_) and group (#g_) slack channels
  5. Update this issues description to include links to the video and planning issue below
  6. Add links to your "planning issue" and direct video link

Tasks

Company Kickoff Meeting (Completed by the 18th of the month)

Preparation

  1. The Product host will be the directly responsible individual for presenting and leading the meeting @ofernandez2 .
  2. The format of the meeting will be a relay -starting off with the introduction and then rolling through each section in the allotted time.
  3. The sequence of sections and the time per section is decided on prior to the call. The host seeks inputs from the team and decides on the sequence. #13036 (comment 1729068230)
  4. If a Section Leader is out of office on the day of the kickoff call, they should arrange for another Section Leader, or their delegate, to cover that section and inform the host ahead of time.
  5. Ensure that the kickoff page is pulling issues for the upcoming milestone by updating keyValue = "<milestone>" in source/direction/kickoff/template.html.md.erb

Meeting

  1. Follow the same instructions for live streaming a Group Conversation in order to livestream to GitLab Unfiltered. People Ops Specialists can help set up the Zoom webinar if not already attached to the Kickoff calendar invite.
  2. The person presenting their screen should make sure they are sharing a smaller window (default YouTube resolution is 320p, so don't fill your screen on a 1080p monitor. 1/4 of the screen is about right to make things readable.)
  3. The Product host starts the meeting by:
    • Giving a small introduction about the topic of this meeting
    • Introducing the presenters and themselves
    • Reminding anyone who may be watching the video/stream about how we plan ambitiously.
  4. During the discussion about a product section
    • Each presenter screen shares on their own so they can drive according to their rhythm. We can revisit this if presenters end up taking more time than allotted.
    • Presenters should also be sure to use display cues (highlighting, mouse pointer movement) to indicate where in the document we are, so nobody watching gets lost.
    • The presenter will explain the problem and proposal of listed items. If there is a UX design or mockup available, it will be shown.
    • The presenter should try to have one visual item that can be opened up and looked at.
    • The presenter should be sure to mention the individual PMs for the stages and groups within their section while reviewing the issues they've highlighted.
    • Be sure you're on do not disturb mode so audio alerts do not play.
  5. The Product host often ends the meeting by quickly highlighting several high impact issues and communicating our excitement for the upcoming release. Consider even using one of our popular phrases: “This will be the best release ever!”

Tasks

  • Section Leader Prep - check when you have:
    1. Reviewed issue titles and descriptions for your section
    2. Reviewed your section's group kickoffs videos
    3. Group your section's issues to the yearly product investment themes:
    4. Prepared your notes for the live Kickoff call. Leave a comment in this issue with the highlights for your section.
  • Post meeting
    • Open an MR to update youTubeKickoffVideoID = "X" and youTubeListID = "X"
      • The YouTube Video ID for the kickoff video is the 11 characters following ?v= in the YouTube URL of the video. (i.e. ?v=kgmklJVL0L4) - @jennifergarcia20 (or whoever is streaming the meeting)
      • The YouTube Playlist ID is the 34 characters following &list= in the YouTube URL of playlist. (i.e. &list=PL05JrBw4t0KpSIC-li0FvpCHqJMRgqM8s) - @jennifergarcia20 (or whoever is streaming the meeting)
    • Add the livestreamed recording to the XX.XX Release Kickoff YouTube playlist and name it XX.XX Monthly Release Kickoff (Public Livestream) - @jennifergarcia20 (or whoever is streaming the meeting)
    • Move the Release Kickoff recording to the top of the XX.XX Release Kickoff Playlist - @jennifergarcia20 (or whoever is streaming the meeting)
    • Trim the early few minutes of silence in the kick-off meeting as soon as the livestream is complete - @jennifergarcia20 (or whoever is streaming the meeting)
    • Mention the availability of the YouTube playlist in #whats-happening-at-gitlab slack channel - @ofernandez2
    • Before closing this issue ensure Retrospective Thread items have been addressed (preferably via an MR to this template or other automated issue config) - @ofernandez2
Edited by Hannah Sutor