The Weekly Cycle

You may have noticed the Week YYYY.WW text at the top of our documentation site, or in the #stellar-websites channel in Slack.

These help remind us what ISO 8601 week number we're currently in, which is helpful because instead of working in "sprints" or "releases", the Web Team operates on a weekly cycle.

You'll see this week number used in release notes, planning, documents, Asana tickets, and more.

Why?

1. Aligning with Optimal Deployment Windows

We can deploy changes almost anytime, but we aim to limit deployments to Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A weekly cycle naturally fits this rhythm, helping us plan and execute work around these windows.

2. Adapting to Shifting Priorities

We've not found longer timelines (e.g. six-week sprints) or scope-based approaches to align with the realities of our work. With as many shifting priorities and competing stakeholders as we have, a short time-based approach is the best way we've found to preserve (some) order and predictability.

3. Staying Grounded in Realistic Goals

Even with long-term projects, we think in weekly chunks. This mindset helps us focus on what can be accomplished in a given week and avoids wasting time on tasks that are planned but not ready.

Finding the Week Number

Week numbers come from the ISO 8601 week numbering system, which is a standardized way of counting weeks.

You can likely enable week numbers in your calendar app, and should. For example, in Google Calendar, you simply go to Settings > Calendar > Week numbers.