'''''Talk to the product strategist soon after cutting a first draft of this document'''''

= Forward Attachments Upstream (To Bugzilla) =

After forwarding a bug report upstream, it should be easy to copy specific attachments to that bug tracker as well.

'''Contact:''' ''The primary contact for this LEP. Normally the drafter or the implementer.'' <<BR>>
'''On Launchpad:''' ''Link to a blueprint, milestone or (best) a bug tag search across launchpad-project''

== Rationale ==

Many bugs reported to Ubuntu are actually issues in the upstream project, so we want to notify them of the problem.  Launchpad includes functionality for filing a bug upstream and/or linking it with a bug watch.

Many upstreams have policies that require bugs to include certain log files, config files, or etc.  Via tools like apport we are able to automatically capture these files.  However, including these files when forwarding the bug upstream is still a tediously manual and time consuming process, since they must be individually downloaded locally and then re-uploaded to the remote tracker.

By simplifying the work flow of forwarding attachments upstream:
 * More bugs can be forwarded in a given period of time
 * Upstreams will be better informed and more able to fix bugs because they will be more likely to get the files they need

== Stakeholders ==

''Who really cares about this feature? When did you last talk to them?''

== User stories ==

<<Anchor(story-name>)>>

=== $STORY_NAME ===

'''As a ''' $PERSON<<BR>>
'''I want ''' $FEATURE<<BR>>
'''so that ''' $BENEFIT<<BR>>

''Have as many as you like. Group user stories together into meaningfully deliverable units. They'll be used as the driving elements of exploratory testing QA.''

== Constraints and Requirements ==

=== Must ===

 * When a user is viewing a bug in the context of a bug task that has an associated upstream project, and there is also a corresponding bug watch against that same project, then the feature will be visible.

 * Links (or javascript buttons) will be visible adjacent to attachment filenames which permit forwarding the given attachment to the upstream bug report

 * The user will need to have an account registered with the remote bug tracker

 * When forwarding the attachment, launchpad should specify the file type (e.g. "text/plain") and provide a text description (e.g. the filename) without requiring input from the user

 * Feature must support the Bugzilla bug tracker, since it's used by several upstreams we frequently need to send attachments to (e.g. Linux, GNOME, X.org).

=== Nice to have ===

 * Multiple file selection

 * Indication of which attachments have already been sent to the remote tracker

 * Support for other bug trackers besides Bugzilla

=== Must not ===

 * Files need to be sent directly from Launchpad to the remote tracker, NOT downloaded locally and then forwarded

=== Out of scope ===

 * Bug trackers often permit submitting notes along with the file, but that is not in scope of this feature

== Success ==

=== How will we know when we are done? ===

=== How will we measure how well we have done? ===

== Thoughts? ==

I'm a firm believer that we in Ubuntu need to become more prolific at forwarding bug reports upstream.  We get a *ton* of reports, most of which are actually upstream issues that we're unlikely to work on in the distro itself, and typically we just leave the bug as-is.

Unfortunately, this gives the reporter a bad experience - they just see their bug report stuck in limbo, and complain when they don't get any response from a developer.  They don't realize the issue is they've reported it in the wrong place, and they expect the distro engineers to tend to forwarding it whereever it needs to go.

Similarly, it engenders a bad experience amongst upstream.  They want to know about and solve problems, but don't want to feel like they have to patrol Ubuntu's bug tracker themselves.  They want their bugs in their own bug tracker, and it makes them feel like we're not participating if we don't forward the bugs to them.

Of course, it's a bad experience for package maintainers and triagers too, as bug reports pile up!  Launchpad engineers even made us a special report so we can see them pile up more easily:  https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+upstreamreport

But the procedure of forwarding a given bug report is an involved, multi-step process, particularly so when you want to send some of the attachments as well.  There is not much creativity involved, it's mostly just copying files and poking widgets - stuff that computers are much better at doing than we are!

This LEP focuses just on the attachment forwarding portion of the problem; [[LEP/BugzillaComponents]] has focused on another aspect of the problem and is nearing completion.