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Although the OpenStack design events have changed, developers and operators still have a critical perspective to bring to the OpenStack Summits. At the PTG, a common whisper heard in the hallways was, “I really want to be at the Summit, but my [boss/HR/approver] doesn’t understand why I should be there.” To help you out, we took our original “Dear Boss” letter and made a few edits for the PTG crowd. If you’re a contributor or developer who wasn’t able to attend the PTG, with a few edits, this letter can also work for you. (Not great with words? Foundation wordsmith Anne can help you out–anne at openstack.org)

Dear [Boss],

I would like to attend the OpenStack Summit in Boston, May 8-11, 2017. At the Pike Project Team Gathering in Atlanta (PTG), I was able to learn more about the new development event model for OpenStack. In the past I attended the Summit to participate in the Design Summit, which encapsulated the feedback and planning as well as design and development of creating OpenStack releases. One challenge was that the Design Summit did not leave enough time for “head down” work within upstream project teams (some teams ended up traveling to team-specific mid-cycle sprints to compensate for that). At the Pike PTG, we were able to kickstart the Pike cycle development, working heads down for a full week. We made great progress on both single project and OpenStack-wide goals, which will improve the software for all users, including our organization.

Originally, I––and many other devs––were under the impression that we no longer needed to attend the OpenStack Summit. However, after a week at the PTG, I see that I have a valuable role to play at the Summit’s “Forum” component. The Forum is where I can gather direct feedback and requirements from operators and users, and express my opinion and our organization’s about OpenStack’s future direction. The Forum will let me engage with other groups with similar challenges, project desires and solutions.

While our original intent may have been to send me only to the PTG, I would strongly like us to reconsider. The Summit is still an integral part of the OpenStack design process, and I think my attendance is beneficial to both my professional development and our organization. Because of my participation in the PTG, I received a free pass to the Summit, which I must redeem by March 14.      

Thank you for considering my request.
[Your Name]