[MPEG-OTSPEC] Introducing breaking changes into the spec (was: RE: [EXTERNAL] Proposal to deprecate derived search values)

[Simon Cozens]

On 15/09/2020 04:50, David Lemon wrote:
> But I'd seriously emphasize Peter's points about building the business 
> case. I kinda get the sense Dave thinks it will all be self evident, but 
> that's not how business cases work. As someone who struggled to get 
> required buy-in for some of the main developments we use today, I can 
> assure you there's no such thing as a no-brainer.

As much as it pains me (as a gung-ho developer) to admit this, I think 
you're right. Unless there are clear and compelling reasons to move to 
something else, it won't happen. Building both the business case and the 
coalition is really important.

That said, I would strongly *recommend* putting the cart before the 
horse! Or at least allowing the cart and the horse to be in whatever 
order people like. For some of the people you want to have involved, a 
period of frenzied, anything-goes creativity about what a new font 
format might look like (whether here or elsewhere) will expose where the 
energy is and where the current pain points are much better than forcing 
them to articulate a business-focused justification. So long as all 
concerned are aware that this is just brainstorming and not every wild 
idea is likely to be taken up, then I think it's important not to quench 
that creativity too prematurely. We can attack the issue from both ends 
simultaneously: gather ideas and building the business case. Indeed, 
each will need to inform the other.

To put it another way, thinking about implementation is precisely how 
developers express what's important to them.

S