minikube enhancement process

First proposed: 2019-09-25 Authors: tstromberg

Reviewer Priorities

Please review this proposal with the following priorities:

• Does this fit with minikube's principles?
• Are there other approaches to consider?
• Could the implementation be made simpler?

Please leave the above text in your proposal as instructions to the reader.

Summary

A design review process for non-trivial enhancements to minikube.

Goals

• Facilitate communication about the "how" and "why" of an enhancement before code is written
• Lightweight enough to not deter casual contributions
• A process applicable to any roadmap-worthy enhancement

Non-Goals

• Coverage for smaller enhancements that would not be represented within the minikube roadmap.
• Reduced development velocity

Design Details

The minikube enhancement process (MEP) is a way to propose, communicate, and coordinate on new efforts for the minikube project. MEP is based on a simplification of the Kubernetes Enhancement Process.

Proposal Workflow

1. Copy template.md to proposed/<date>-title.md
2. Send PR out for review, titled: Proposal: <title>
3. Proposal will be discussed at the bi-weekly minikube office hours
4. After a 2-week review window, the proposal can be merged once there are 3 approving maintainers or reviewers. To keep proposals neutral, each reviewer must be independent and/or represent a different company.

Implementation Workflow

1. In your PR that implements the enhancement, move the proposal to the implemented/ folder.

Alternatives Considered

Kubernetes Enhancement Process

KEP's are a well-understood, but lengthier process geared toward making changes where multiple Kubernetes SIG's are affected.

Pro's

• Easily facilitate input from multiple SIG's
• Clear, well understood process within Kubernetes, shared by multiple projects

Con's

• Invisible to casual contributors to a project, as these proposals do not show up within the GitHub project page
• Lengthy template (1870+ words) that prompts for information that is not relevant to minikube
• Time commitment deters casual contribution

Google Docs Proposal Template

Rather than maintaining Markdown documents in the minikube repository, we could use a Google Docs template, and then a Google Sheet to track proposal status.

Pro's

• Easier editing for trivial proposals

Con's

• Authors may waste unnecessary time styling output
• Styling may be inconsistent between proposals
• Invisible to casual contributors to a project, as these proposals do not show up within the GitHub project page