Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@ThierryAbalea

ThierryAbalea/rfc-process.md

Last active August 5, 2020 05:31
Show Gist options
  • Save ThierryAbalea/8a97b4a80e275b3081579e35bbc8e0df to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save ThierryAbalea/8a97b4a80e275b3081579e35bbc8e0df to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Download ZIP
How the Internet RFC format/process can be use in a non Internet context ?
Raw
rfc-process.md

How the Internet RFC format/process can be use in a non Internet context ?

In the most common sense, Request for Comments (invented in 1969) is a type of publication that documents officially the Internet technical aspects. There are produced in a peer review process.

Riot Games, an American video game company producing the popular League Of Legends game, has defined a process inspired by the Internet RFC, to discuss technical changes of their Information System and make inform decisions.

In 2016, Joakin Sundén when he was an agile coach at Spotify, visits Riot Games to observe their practices. Here is it what it wrote about their RFC process:

THE “REQUEST FOR COMMENT” PROCESS Riot Games has a well-defined “Request For Comment” (RFC) process. Anyone can make a proposal for a change. It could be a technical/architectural change, but also an organizational/process change. An RFC is submitted to a central repository. There is an open comment period. Depending on the type of decision, it can either automatically pass, if there are no objections, or it will go to a small group of people who would make a final decision informed by the process. The decision is then communicated across all development teams.

The RFC process is a way to leverage wisdom of the crowd while at the same time socializing change and empowering all. The actual structure / governance depends on the type of interaction you desire and the mechanism for formalizing the decision. In a well crafted system, the best ideas will survive regardless of whose brain they emerged in. Yet, for org governance, there may be a small group that harvests these ideas for operations as final approvers.

All recently approved and ongoing RFCs are published in their Engineering Weekly newsletter. These newsletters were also put up in all bathroom stalls.

The socialization philosophy of change is pervasive throughout the organization."

Source of this extract: http://joakimsunden.com/2017/05/customer-obsession-and-agile-mindset-at-riot-games/

Related links:

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment