Clarify roles, add approval workflows, and establish architectural governance

expectations/roles-and-responsibilities.md

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Roles and Responsibilities Framework: Product Owners, Engineers, and IT/Operations
+# Roles and Responsibilities Framework: Product Owners, Engineers, and Platform Engineering
 
 ## Product Owners
 
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 - UX Design & User Interactions: Define user experience flows, wireframes, and interaction patterns
 - Success Criteria Definition: Establish measurable KPIs, acceptance criteria, and business objectives
 - Product Documentation: Maintain product specifications, user stories, and feature documentation
+- Product Functional Testing: Ensures product functionality matches the proposed success criteria
 
 ### Product Owners Additional Responsibilities
 
@@ -21,103 +22,238 @@
 
 ### Product Owners Boundaries
 
-- Does not make technical architecture decisions
-- Does not directly manage engineering resources or timelines
-- Does not configure or deploy infrastructure
-
-### Product Owners Escalation and Decision-Making Authority
-
-- Product Decisions: Product Owners have final authority on feature requirements and business priorities
-- Technical Decisions: Engineers have authority on technical implementation and architecture choices
-- Operational Decisions: IT/Operations has authority on infrastructure, deployment methods, and operational procedures
-- Cross-functional Conflicts: Escalate to management when decisions impact multiple domains
+- Does not make technical architecture decisions (e.g., cannot mandate specific
+  frameworks, database choices, or API designs)
+- Does not directly manage engineering resources or timelines (e.g., cannot assign
+  tasks to individual engineers or set development sprint schedules)
+- Does not configure or deploy infrastructure (e.g., cannot modify CI/CD pipelines,
+  deployment configurations, or cloud resources)
 
 ## Engineers/Developers
 
 ### Engineers/Developers Primary Responsibilities
 
 - End-to-End Software Development: Design, code, and implement UX, backend, and data components
 - Testing: Create and execute unit tests, integration tests, and functional tests
+- CI/CD Pipeline Development: Build, test, and validate continuous integration and
+  deployment pipelines for all environments
 - Software Security: Implement security best practices and address vulnerabilities
 - Release Documentation: Provide technical inputs for release notes and deployment guides
-- Deployment Configuration Support: Specify runtime requirements and configuration needs for IT
+- Deployment Configuration Build-out and Support: Develop and specify runtime
+  requirements and configuration needs for product deployment
 
 ### Engineers/Developers Additional Responsibilities
 
-- Technical Architecture: Design system architecture, APIs, and data models
-- Code Quality & Standards: Establish coding standards, conduct code reviews, and maintain technical debt
+- Technical Architecture: Design system architecture, APIs, security, and data
+  models following the Architectural and Platform Engineering Team guidelines and
+  recommendations.  Present significant architectural changes and proposals at the
+  weekly architectural review call for team alignment and approval.
+- Code Quality & Standards: Establish coding standards, implement automated lint
+  and test checks, conduct code reviews, and maintain technical debt
 - Performance Optimization: Ensure applications meet performance and scalability requirements
-- Technical Documentation: Create API documentation, technical specs, and architecture diagrams
-- Environment Management: Support development, staging, and testing environment needs
+- Technical Documentation: Create API documentation, technical specs, and
+  architecture diagrams. Ensure product documentation is deployed following the
+  latest guidelines and standards.
+- Environment Management: Define configuration requirements and specifications for
+  development, staging, testing, and production environments. Coordinate with
+  Platform Engineering to ensure secrets and run-time dependencies are available.
+- Deployment Operations: Implement and manage product deployment configurations,
+  including scaling policies, load-balancing rules, auto-scaling groups, and
+  deployment strategies. Monitor and optimize deployment processes for reliability
+  and performance.
 - Incident Response Support: Provide technical expertise during outages and debugging
 - Technology Evaluation: Research and recommend new tools, frameworks, and technologies
-- Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with Product Owners on feasibility and IT on deployment requirements
+- Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with Product Owners on feasibility and Platform
+  Engineering on deployment requirements
 
 ### Engineers/Developers Boundaries
 
-- Does not define business requirements or product strategy
-- Does not manage production infrastructure or CI/CD pipelines
+- Does not define business requirements or product strategy (e.g., cannot decide
+  which features to build or prioritize product roadmap)
+- Does not provision underlying cloud infrastructure or manage cloud resources
+  directly (e.g., cannot create AWS accounts, VPCs, IAM roles, or modify cloud
+  billing settings without Platform Engineering)
+- Does not bypass Platform Engineering review and approval processes for deployment
+  changes (e.g., cannot deploy infrastructure changes to production without proper
+  review and approval)
 - Does not directly handle customer support or business stakeholder communication
+  (e.g., does not negotiate SLAs or respond to customer feature requests)
 
-## IT/Operations
+## Platform Engineering
 
-### IT/Operations Primary Responsibilities
+### Platform Engineering Primary Responsibilities
 
-- CI/CD Management: Configure and maintain build, test, and deployment pipelines
+- Review & Approval Authority: Review and approve all CI/CD pipelines, deployment
+  configurations, environment changes, scaling policies, and infrastructure
+  modifications developed by Engineers. Ensure all changes comply with organizational
+  security policies, compliance requirements, and operational standards.
 - Infrastructure Provisioning: Manage cloud resources, servers, and networking components
-- Service Deployment: Execute application deployments across environments
 - Monitoring & Alerting: Implement and maintain system monitoring, logging, and alerting
 - Incident Management: Respond to outages, coordinate resolution, and conduct post-mortems
 - Service Health Reporting: Track and report on uptime, performance metrics, and SLA compliance
 
-### IT/Operations Additional Responsibilities
+### Platform Engineering Additional Responsibilities
 
 - Infrastructure Security: Implement security controls, access management, and compliance frameworks
 - Capacity Planning: Monitor resource usage and plan for scaling requirements
 - Backup & Disaster Recovery: Maintain data backup systems and disaster recovery procedures
-- Environment Management: Provision and maintain development, staging, and production environments
+- Environment Management: Provision and maintain development, staging, and production
+  environments based on Engineer-defined specifications
 - Cost Optimization: Monitor cloud costs and optimize resource allocation
 - Vendor Management: Manage relationships with cloud providers and third-party service vendors
 - Documentation & Runbooks: Maintain operational procedures and troubleshooting guides
 - Compliance & Auditing: Ensure infrastructure meets security and regulatory requirements
 
-### IT/Operations Boundaries
+### Platform Engineering Boundaries
 
-- Does not make product feature decisions or business requirements
-- Does not write application code or business logic
-- Does not define user experience or product functionality
+- Does not make product feature decisions or business requirements (e.g., cannot
+  decide which features to implement or change product priorities)
+- Does not write application code or business logic (e.g., does not develop
+  application features, APIs, or user interfaces)
+- Does not define user experience or product functionality (e.g., cannot determine
+  UI workflows, feature specifications, or user interaction patterns)
 
 ## Cross-Role Collaboration Points
 
 ### Product Planning Phase
 
 - Product Owners define requirements and success criteria
 - Engineers provide technical feasibility and effort estimates
-- IT/Operations advise on infrastructure constraints and deployment considerations
+- Platform Engineering advise on infrastructure constraints and deployment considerations
 
 ### Development Phase
 
 - Product Owners provide clarification and acceptance testing
-- Engineers develop features and coordinate deployment requirements with IT
-- IT/Operations prepare environments and deployment configurations
+- Engineers develop features, build deployment configurations, and implement
+  deployments subject to Platform Engineering approval
+- Platform Engineering review and approve environment and deployment configurations
 
 ### Release Phase
 
 - Product Owners coordinate go-to-market activities and communicate with stakeholders
-- Engineers support deployment activities and provide technical guidance
-- IT/Operations execute deployments and monitor system health
+- Engineers execute deployments and troubleshoot deployment issues
+- Platform Engineering approve deployments and monitor infrastructure health, security, and costs
 
 ### Post-Release Phase
 
 - Product Owners gather user feedback and measure success metrics
-- Engineers address bugs and performance issues
-- IT/Operations monitor system performance and manage operational concerns
+- Engineers address bugs, resolve security issues, and optimize performance
+- Platform Engineering monitor infrastructure cost and manage operational concerns
 
-## Summary of Escalation and Decision-Making Authority
+### Ongoing Architectural Governance
+
+- Engineers present architectural changes and proposals at weekly 1-hour architectural review call
+- Architectural team (cross-product representation) provides feedback, guidance, and approval
+- Ensures architectural consistency and knowledge sharing across the engineering organization
+- Decisions and recommendations documented for reference by all teams
+
+## Approval Workflows
+
+### Items Requiring Platform Engineering Review and Approval
+
+The following items require formal review and approval from Platform Engineering before
+implementation in production environments:
+
+- CI/CD pipeline configurations and modifications
+- Production environment configuration changes
+- Deployment configurations including scaling policies and load balancing rules
+- Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) templates and modifications
+- Security group rules and network configurations
+- Access management and permissions changes
+
+### Items Requiring Architectural Team Review
+
+The following items are presented at the weekly 1-hour architectural review call
+for team alignment and approval:
 
-### Product Decisions
+- Significant system architecture changes or new architectural patterns
+- New technology stack additions or framework changes
+- API design patterns and cross-service integration approaches
+- Data model changes affecting multiple services or products
+- Security architecture decisions and implementations
+- Performance and scalability architectural considerations
+
+### Approval Process
+
+1. **Submission**: Engineers submit change requests via designated channels (e.g.,
+   pull requests, ticketing system, or infrastructure change request forms)
+2. **Review**: Platform Engineering reviews for compliance with security policies,
+   operational standards, and best practices
+3. **Feedback**: Platform Engineering provides feedback within agreed-upon SLA (typically
+   1-2 business days for standard changes)
+4. **Approval**: Platform Engineering approves or requests modifications
+5. **Implementation**: Engineers implement approved changes
+6. **Verification**: Platform Engineering verifies implementation meets approved specifications
+
+### Expedited Approval Process
+
+For urgent production issues or security vulnerabilities:
+
+- Engineers may request expedited review via designated escalation channels
+- Platform Engineering provides accelerated review (target: within 4 hours during business hours)
+- Post-implementation review conducted within 24 hours for compliance verification
+
+### Disagreement Resolution
+
+If Engineers and Platform Engineering disagree on approval decisions:
+
+1. Document technical rationale from both perspectives
+2. Schedule joint review meeting within 24 hours
+3. If unresolved, escalate to engineering management for final decision
+4. Document decision and rationale for future reference
+
+## Summary of Escalation and Decision-Making Authority
 
-- Product Decisions: Product Owners have final authority on feature requirements and business priorities
-- Technical Decisions: Engineers have authority on technical implementation and architecture choices
-- Operational Decisions: IT/Operations has authority on infrastructure, deployment methods, and operational procedures
-- Cross-functional Conflicts: Escalate to management when decisions impact multiple domains
+### Decision Authority by Domain
+
+- **Product Domain**: Product Owners have final authority on feature requirements
+  and business priorities
+- **Technical Domain**: Engineers have authority on technical implementation,
+  architecture choices (with architectural team approval), and deployment
+  configuration design
+- **Operational Domain**: Platform Engineering has authority on infrastructure provisioning,
+  deployment approvals, and operational standards/compliance
+- **Cross-functional Conflicts**: Escalate to management when decisions impact multiple domains
+
+### Ticketing System Guidance
+
+#### Ticket Creation Requirements
+
+All work items must be tracked through Jira tickets to ensure proper coordination,
+visibility, and accountability across teams. Tickets should be created in the
+appropriate product Jira board for:
+
+- **Feature Development**: New functionality or capabilities
+- **Enhancements**: Improvements to existing features
+- **Bug Fixes**: Defect resolution and corrections
+- **CI/CD Changes**: Pipeline modifications, build process updates, or testing framework changes
+- **Deployment Updates**: Configuration changes, scaling adjustments, or deployment strategy modifications
+
+#### Platform Engineering Support Requests
+
+When Engineers require Platform Engineering team support for infrastructure, deployment,
+or operational needs:
+
+1. **Create Ticket in Product Board**: Create the support request ticket within the
+   same product Jira board (not a separate Platform Engineering board)
+2. **Assign to Platform Engineering Team Member**: Assign the ticket to one of the
+   designated Platform Engineering team members:
+   - Alan Sherman
+   - Antonia Gaete
+   - Trevor Bramwell
+3. **Slack Communication**: After creating and assigning the ticket, post a message
+   in the `#lfx-devops` Slack channel that includes:
+   - A link to the Jira ticket
+   - An `@mention` tag referencing the assigned team member
+   - Brief context about the request if not immediately clear from the ticket title
+
+**Example Slack Message**:
+> @alan I've created ticket LFXV2-302 for the Nats: Automated Backup Solution
+> implementation: [Jira link](https://linuxfoundation.atlassian.net/browse/LFXV2-302)
+
+#### Benefits of This Workflow
+
+- **Centralized Tracking**: All product-related work remains in the product board
+- **Clear Ownership**: Explicit assignment ensures accountability
+- **Transparent Communication**: Slack notification provides immediate visibility
+- **Audit Trail**: Complete history of requests and resolutions in one location