Software Charter

Purpose

This document serves to outline the main responsibilities and goals for Software.

Document Owner: Reid Chandler, Head of Software Solutions, chandler.r@northeastern.edu

Mission

Empower people through software.

Priorities

1. Foster a supportive community that prioritizes growth, learning, and communication

2. Maintain high-quality and reliable applications

3. Constant reflection and learning from our software projects and club processes

4. Deliver innovative and useful features to our clients

Our Applications

• FinishLine by NER (Web)

  • AKA PM Dashboard v3

  • React frontend, Express backend, Yarn workspace in Typescript

  • Project Management Dashboard with goals to expand to finances in the Fall

• PM Dashboard v2 (Web, Deprecated on August 15th, 2022)

  • Built-in TypeScript, React, and serverless beginning January 2021 and launched in April 2022, 24 weekly users

  • Interactive UI for viewing, filtering, reviewing, and implementing Change Requests, Projects, and Work Packages

  • Intended expansion to financial and logistical management features

• PM Dashboard v1 (Web, Deprecated on April 30, 2021)

  • Built-in Google Apps Scripts in July 2021, 24 weekly users

  • JS/TS-enhanced HTML-based UI with minor interactive features built on top of the Project Management Database Google Spreadsheet

• PM Dashboard v0 (Web, Deprecated on March 14, 2020)

  • Built-in Google Apps Scripts in November 2020, 6 weekly users

  • Email automation scripting to summarize projects behind schedule

• Future Application Ideas

  • Mobile interfaces for PM Dashboard

  • Engineering club management software

  • Engineering lab/machine shop management software

  • Northeastern Club Management software

Roles and Responsibilities

Developer – (5- hrs/week):

Reports to: Tech Lead

A Developer is responsible for building and maintaining our full-stack web application using Typescript, React, Express, Prisma, etc. Developers should be passionate about coding and learning. The goals for a Developer are to learn web development and other skills that will prepare them for the professional world.

Responsibilities:

• Attend weekly Software Solutions meeting

• Attend Learning Sessions

• Put forward their best effort and try hard to learn as much as possible

Goals

• Understand the full architecture of Finishline and be able to explain it (e.g. in an interview)

• Learn how to be an independent developer (debug, answer your questions, use google)

• Get comfortable using the technologies used in our app (React, Express, Prisma, Typescript, Git)

Tech Lead – (10 hrs/week):

Reports to: Head of Finishline

Tech Leads are responsible for mentoring newer developers. This means making sure they have appropriate tickets to work on, aren’t blocked, and review their tickets. A Tech Lead should also continue working on the project, contributing to more difficult tasks.

Responsibilities:

• Attend weekly Software Solutions meeting

• Attend weekly Software Leads meeting

• Mentor their group of developers (at max 10 ppl) and be able to walk through problems with them

• Check-in with developers at least once a week via Slack

• Participates in at least two tickets per Release (either completely doing or completing stale developer work)

• Review and manage (make sure they’re not blocked or waiting for another review) respective groups' PRs

• Responsible for making sure members' work doesn’t get held up too long

  • If a high-priority ticket is stale for more than 2-3 weeks, the lead should either do the ticket themselves or ensure that it gets done by a reliable member

Goals:

• Gain the ability to foster a sense of community in your tech lead group to maintain retention

• Gain a more complete understanding of every aspect of the code base

• Take ownership of the application (feel proud of the work and the website we make)

• Learn how to write tickets and break out epics

Software Product Manager – (5 hrs/week):

Reports to: Product Leads

Responsibilities:

• Attend weekly product meetings

• Slack and communicate with engineers and developers regularly about new features or feature requests (at least once a week)

• Make Epics

• Design new features

  • Follows Figma Style Guide

• Conduct Design Reviews for their new features

• Must come to at least one engineering bay time per week

• Attend Product Learning Sessions

Goals:

• Learn as much about the applications that we make and about the structure of the club as a whole as you can (A good way to get very involved in the club quickly)

• Learn how to communicate with Engineers and Developers

  • Understand and act upon criticisms of your designs or epics

• Learn Figma

• Learn how to write user stories and an epic for new features

• Learn how to collaborate with a team of product managers to create larger features

Software Product Lead – (7-10 hrs/week):

Reports to: Head of Product Management

Responsibilities:

• Attend and facilitate weekly product meetings

• Attend Software Meetings

• Attend at least one engineering bay time a week

• Create Tasks for Product Managers (in Finishline)

• Ensure that new features are delivered on time, according to preset deadlines

• Create Product Roadmap with Head of Product Management and Head of Finishline

• Attend all Product Design Reviews

• Moderate #software-product-requests (respond to and properly triage inquiries)

• Create and analyze Product Feedback Form for any new features

• Enforces Style Guide on member designs

  • Ensure the Figma file stays organized and easy to read/ work in

Goals:

• Learn how to communicate and build connections with Engineering Leadership

• Learn how to manage the creation and delivery of large new features

  • Delegate smaller design/ work to newer members

• Be able to identify pain points and proactively come up with solutions

Head of Product Management — (10-15 hrs/wk)

Reports to: Chief Software Engineer

Responsibilities:

• Attends all product meetings

• Attends all software meetings

• Attends all embedded software meetings

• Attends all head meetings

• Attends all lead meetings

• Attends all Design Reviews

• Presents (or ensures that another reliable person is leading) all product learning sessions

• Approves Epics

• Approves Designs (should screen designs before design reviews with a larger group)

• Work closely with club leadership (spends time in the bay, in constant communication with them)

• Understands all features of all applications and should be able to explain why they exist

• Creates a Product Roadmap for each semester

• Ensures that all product deadlines (set in collaboration with other software heads) are being met

• Ensures that users are properly educated about the rollout of new features

• Manage Finishline projects for the Product Team

Goals:

• Be able to sell our applications (Finishline, Telemetry System) to users, engineering leadership, developers, and outside parties

• Gain the ability to foster a sense of community in the product team to maintain retention

• Communicate software product roadmaps at least quarterly to club leadership

• Ensure user pain points are documented, prioritized, and addressed appropriately

• Properly delegate work to product leads and managers

Head of Finishline – (10-15 hours per week):

Reports to: Chief Software Engineer

Responsibilities:

• Leads all Finishline meetings

  • With assistance from the Chief Software Engineer as needed

• Leads all Finishline tech lead meetings

• Presents (or ensures someone reliable is presenting) all Finishline learning sessions

• Attends all Product Meetings

• Attends all Head Meetings

• Attends all Leads Meetings

• Attends all Design Reviews (related to Finishline)

• Final Reviewer and Approver of all Finishline-related PRs

  • The Chief Software Engineer will assist with this, but it’s the head's responsibility to ask the chief for help as needed

• Breaks out epics (or delegates to a tech lead)

• Ensure that deadlines are being met for releases

  • check-in with tech leads weekly on their progress on tickets

  • manage their tech lead group of returning members (with stricter deadlines)

  • ping people with high-priority tickets to make sure they get done by the time they’re due

    • If a developer can’t complete release work on time, it’s the head's responsibility to finish it themselves or ensure that a tech lead or reliable member of their group completes it in time

  • Work with the Product team to ensure that release deadlines are reasonable and we are on track to meet them

• Ensure that developers have good, varied work to do

• Manage Finishline projects for the Finishline Team

Goals:

• Learn how to effectively manage a 50+ developer team

• Learn how to deploy the app on AWS (optional)

• Deliver a good product (Finishline) that they can be proud of and talk about leading the development of

• Have a complete understanding of the codebase and or tech stack

• Be able to answer any question about Finsihline that could be asked

• Learn how to research new technologies for new architecture or features

Head of Application Software – (10-15 hours per week):

Reports to: Chief Software Engineer

Responsibilities:

• Leads all Application Software Meetings

• Presents all application software learning sessions

• Attends all D&C meetings

• Attends all Product meetings

• Attends all Design Reviews (related to application software)

• Attends all head meetings

• Attends all lead meetings

• Attends all software social events

• Ensures that NERO and Telemetry Systems are being completed according to deadlines

• Creates Application Software Roadmap with Head of Product and Chief Software Engineer

• Communicate regularly with the head of D&C (to be changed to the head of firmware)

• Breaks out product epics and ensures that members have work to do

• Manage Finishline projects for the Application Software Team

• Initial vetter of new applicants for the application software team

  • Makes technical questions for the application software team/ conducts any interviews of new applicants

• Final reviewer/ approver of all application software PRs (it's their responsibility to get the chief software engineer involved as needed)

• Drafting architecture for respective projects under Application Software

• Removing any non-contributing members from the team to ensure good team moral steady progress on deliverables

Goals:

• Learn how the car works

• Fully understand the tech stack for all Application Software Projects

• Gain the ability to foster a sense of community in the Application Software team to maintain retention

• Learn how to research new technologies for new architecture or features

• Learn how to delegate work to avoid burnout and ensure deadlines are being met

Chief Software Engineer– (15-20 hours per week):

Reports to: President of the Club/ EBoard

Responsibilities:

• Attends all software meetings:

  • Weekly Finishline Meetings

  • Weekly Product Meetings

  • Weekly Application Software Meetings

  • All Design Reviews

  • All Learning Sessions

  • Leads biweekly software meetings and social events

• Attends all EBoard meetings

• Attends all head meetings

• Attends all lead meetings

• Attends all Kaleidoscope Meetings

• Creates Finishline Product Roadmap with head of product and head of Finishline

• Creates Application Software Product Roadmap with head of product and head of Application Software

• Creates Finishline Development Roadmap with head of product and head of Finishline

• Creates Application Software Development Roadmap with head of product and head of Application Software

• Final decision maker for all software-related decisions

• Represents the software team to outside groups whenever necessary

• Understand the design, product, and implementation (tech stack) of all applications

• Assists all heads when asked (should pick up any slack in all parts of the software team)

• Ensures all meeting times are scheduled (with a room) with EBoard without conflicts between teams and heads' responsibilities

  • Ensures that all meetings are running as intended and with all the support that they need

• Creates learning sessions with the heads who will be presenting them in a timely manner

• Ensures that heads are meeting their responsibilities and fostering a good environment for members

• Plans and facilitates all social events (buys food)

• Deploys all applications as needed

• Have all the logins and recurring subscriptions (AWS login, AWS bill, NER gmail, domain for Finishline, Figma, Netlify, all ENV variables)

• Advocates for software members/leads and works on creating benefits for software members and leads (employment engagement opportunities, events with other clubs)

• Communicate with club leadership to ensure the software team is properly supporting the rest of the team and contributing to car development

• Manage any interpersonal conflicts that come up on the software team

• Ensure that the team has effective heads currently and is developing more talent to lead the team in the future

Goals:

• Collaborate with the heads of each team to ensure a good learning environment is created on the software team and people have a variety of opportunities to learn and improve their skills

• Learn how to manage several projects and collaborate with teams of engineers

• Make a set of products that they can be proud of/ discuss with other students or employers

• Increase retention and decrease burnout of people in heads/ leads roles

Goals

Universal Goals

Goals for every semester

• Teach web development and other related skills in a way that will prepare members for co-op

• Reflect on previous semester and revise accordingly

Conclusion

If you read this far, thank you! You must care a lot about the software team to read a whole charter about it. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to reach out to me through email or Slack.