This process is constantly changing, so stay on top of forum posts and governance discussions
Use last season’s as an example
Fork the sheet to a new file
Keep a running history of previous seasons as tabs for reference
Work backwards from the last day of the season to ensure enough time is allowed for each step
Snapshot posts require 7 days minimum
Forum posts require 7 days, unless there is a major Constitutional change or a budget ask over a certain threshold, then they may require 14 days
Seasons are currently 13 weeks long, including the gap week
bDIP-07 will change that to 15 weeks for S8 and S9, and then 16 weeks with vacation breaks for S10
bDIP-07: Set Season Length at 16 Weeks with Designated Downtime
Get dates from Governance and Grants Committee for their activities
Ops does not have the authority to dictate these dates to the other groups
The previous season can be used as a starting point, but those groups may change their dates, so reference them for the details
Be prepared to change them repeatedly throughout the season
Follow up in all discussion channels to update everyone when changes happen
My recommendation, after experience from the S6 and S7 transitions, is for the Governance group to take ownership of the governance change updates, for the Grants Committee to take ownership of the funding/budget details, and for Ops to only take ownership of preparing a timeline of dates aggregated from Gov, GC, and Ops. I believe the Spec should only be dates, and all of the rest should find another home with a champion or group that has authority in these areas. Ops should not have all of the responsibilities of achieving objectives or expectations with none of the authority or decision making power to do so.
If the process remains the same for S8, here is what to expect:
Currently this includes summarizing and linking the governance and operational changes that have happened throughout the current season and preparing the operational timeline for the following season. This process will almost certainly change for S8.
Be prepared for discussions in the comments, if the format is still similar to the S7 Spec
Ensure discussion is open for at least 7 days
Address any questions or concerns in the comments
Prepare a final version of the Spec to be posted on Snapshot
Provide that finished copy to Icedcool or someone else on the multisig who has access to the Snapshot (ideally at the same time as the Budget post)
Again, I would like to recommend that this part of the process become 100% owned by the Grants Committee, as Ops has no control over its timeline or outcome. There is also no enforcement of the timeline for GC to review submissions and work with groups to finalize their requests, so not all groups may be included each season. Ops just has to post whatever has been approved by the day it has to go to Snapshot. (Doing it this way will always put Ops in the position of “managing a crisis” on the last day and framing the Snapshot vote period within gap week. This is not ideal.) Ops has literally no business being a part of this process and should not be responsible for any of it.
If no changes are made and the process is the same for S8, here is what to expect:
GC will start a spreadsheet as they begin to review seasonal budget requests during the submission period. There are several tabs to the spreadsheet, but Ops only needs to focus on the “Approved for Snapshot” tab — the rest are worksheets for GC to use in their review process.
Take the approved figures from this sheet and add them to a Budget Snapshot draft
Fork last season’s Snapshot copy or use it as an example