How to use MIR templates

As part of the MIR process, the templates are used in the same way whether you are reporting or reviewing. Only the templates themselves are different.

The template should be used as described in the following sections.

Copy template

Copy the full template into the editor of your choice.

By going through the sections, assessing the RULEs and answering the TODOs, you create the content for the MIR request or the review feedback (according to whether you are a reporter or reviewer).

Read the RULEs

Read all the lines starting with RULE for all aspects of the MIR.

The RULE lines provide additional background, details, options and help with interpretation If a rule doesn’t need explanation, it appears directly as a TODO (so some sections may not have explicitly-stated RULEs).

Assess the TODOs

TODOs cover everything we expect from a report. They create concise yet complete content for each report/review.

For reporter and reviewer

  1. For each line marked with TODO:

    • Fill: In some lines you can replace placeholders ‘TBD’ and ‘TBDSRC’ with whatever matches your request.

    • Choose: In some lines you need to select from mutually exclusive options. For example, “link to CVE” or “no security issues in the past”. Leave only those statements that apply to your case, and remove any others.

      For clarity, such options are marked like TODO-A:, TODO-B:, …. Of those, usually only one option remains in the final content.

    • Remove the TODO prefix when you are sure you have answered a statement.

  2. Lines starting with RULE can be removed entirely after you have fully processed that section.

For reviewers only

The reviewer will have to judge, therefore, all their statements start in an OK: section.

Any time a violation is found, the statement is moved to the Problems: area and flagged with what is missing/expected.

If there are no Problems:, just leave the alternative Problems: None for posting the review.

Open/update the MIR Bug

The reporter

As a reporter, you can now file the MIR bug, with your processed template as the bug description.

You can, and are encouraged to, always add more details/background that make the case clearer and more comprehensible.

In case of a single context/reasoning, but multiple packages to promote, please make a Launchpad bug for each package. One central package may be chosen to maintain the shared context of related packages. Other packages must be tracked by and link to the central package.

See the central Pacemaker MIR as an example.

The reviewer

As a reviewer, you shall add your review as a comment on the MIR bug.