2024-04-15 BTR Meeting Minutes

 Date

Apr 15, 2024

 Participants

• @Jorge Londoño

• @Régis Behmo

• @Peter Pinch

• @Maksim Sokolskiy

• @Farhaan Bukhsh

• @Maria Grimaldi

🎥 Recording

• Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

🤖 AI-Generated Meeting Summary (Unedited)

Quick recap

Jorge announced Régis' upcoming three-week absence, with someone handling her duties during that time, and discussed the potential implementation of a Docker Swarm for Tutor due to its simplicity and accessibility. The team also talked about ongoing projects involving cradle integration, mobile enhancement, and integrating a third-party service called Credly.

Next steps

• Régis will ensure that the Redwood planning session on April 25th is attended despite not being able to participate.

• Peter will coordinate the effort of creating a spreadsheet with Jenna and Chelsea for tracking test cases.

• Max will look into the Harmony project for potential contributions to the helm chart development.

   

Summary

Régis' Absence and Newsletter Updates

Jorge highlighted that Régis would be out of office for three weeks, starting from the next Friday. During Régis' absence, someone else would be in charge of his duties. Jorge also mentioned that he had added some items to the newsletter section. He addressed the issue of the URL not working for some participants and suggested that it might be due to recent changes. Lastly, he noted that there had been a lack of discussion in the previous meeting.

Code Cut-Off Date and Testing Spreadsheet Coordination

Jorge announced that the team is targeting May 9 for the code cut-off, with a follow-up session planned for April 25 to address identified code blockers. Régis confirmed he would not be present for the April 25 meeting, but would ensure its continuation. The team also discussed the ongoing coordination of a testing spreadsheet, with Peter and Farhaan agreeing to lead its creation. Régis proposed an open discussion about the potential of implementing a Docker Swarm for Tutor.

Discussing Kubernetes Complexity and Alternatives

Régis discussed his concerns about the complexity and bloated nature of Kubernetes, and his preference for Docker Compose as a scalable and more accessible platform. Farhaan agreed, noting his experiences showed that most clients found Kubernetes to be the easier route, despite its complexity. Both agreed that the lack of expertise in Kubernetes could be a significant barrier for some companies, and that investing in open edX using Docker Compose could be a more practical solution.

Discussing Helm Charts, Redwood, and Nomad

Jorge shared that some customers had faced a certain blocker in the past, prompting a discussion on validating product needs. Max mentioned a typical situation with inexperienced customer teams and a demand to use helm charts instead of simple yaml manifests. Max also expressed interest in developing skills in Nomad, a topic that Régis was excited about but had concerns due to feedback received. Farhaan suggested Max to look into the Harmony project, which is under development and could be of interest. They agreed to discuss the use of helm charts further and wait for a decision on Redwood to move forward. Max also provided an update on the schedule for Redwood and mentioned that the Studio MFE could be finished in two weeks.

Credly Integration and Mobile Enhancement

Max discussed ongoing projects related to Credly integration and mobile enhancement, with a focus on testing in a tutorial environment. He also explained the integration of a third-party service called Credly, which is managed by Pearson, into their system. Régis and Peter clarified that Badger, the previous open-source solution, was now managed by Pearson and that Credly is a commercial service that validates digital credentials. Max also inquired about test cases for these features, with Peter confirming their existence in the product spreadsheet. Lastly, Max mentioned the need to obtain information for potential Tutor plugins.

Xframe Embedding and Micro-Service Solutions

Max discussed a technical issue related to the embedding of Xframe in other domains, which required a change in the default setting of the Xframe option. He was awaiting a final decision on this matter, and anticipated that this might be documented in future development. Régis suggested that the service could be run separately as a micro-service to prevent the entire CMS from being embedded in an iframe. The team agreed to discuss further in the next planning session, with the next checkpoint scheduled for the following week's Thursday.

 Discussion topics

 Decisions