SME Operations - Collaboration Project, Groups, Slack Channels

Describe SME Collaboration Projects, Google Groups and Slack Channels necessary for SME Program Operations

StackOverflow (TBD)

The preferred channel is our StackOverFlow for Teams within #cs-questions.

  • Maintain List of SMEs (also in StackOverFlow) and SME Associates

Make sure that whoever is designated as an SME is listed as such in Stack Overflow. This will ensure that questions tagged with those relevant topics get routed to the right folks.

It should be part of the regular rigor that SMEs review questions in Slack (specifically #cs-questions) and Stack Overflow to ensure the answers are upvoted and relevant as new changes/features get released.

We can also use Stack Overflow for FAQs and Articles related to those particular areas.

TODO: Need to detail what exactly is the process to add SMEs to StackOverFlow

SME Google Groups

Each SA Area Lead should set up SA and CS SME Google Groups for calendars. Have also both SA program Leads owners also, as a backup in case SA Area Lead is OOO

Use list of SA SMEs and CS SMEs to form Groups

SME Area SME Group
SME Area Leads Group sme-leaders
AI sme-ai
Security & Compliance sme-appsec
Dedicated sme-dedicated
Plan sme-plan
CICD/Runner sme-ci
Metrics & Observability sme-metrics

Vertical SME Google Groups

Vertical SME Group
Embedded DevOps sme-embedded-devops
Financial Services sme-finserv
Healthcare sme-healthcare
Telecommunications sme-telco

SME Slack Channels

To facilitate effective communication and collaboration between Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and the field teams, the following Slack channel structure is recommended:

SME Program Leadership Channel

Purpose: Async Coordination among SME Area Leaders on any changes or decisions made concerning the SME program.

SME Area Slack Channels
SME Program Leadership Channel #sme-program-leaders

Channel for all SMEs in All Areas

Purpose: This is the main channel for all SME-related discussions and announcements. It serves as a central hub for:

  • General SME program updates
  • Cross-domain collaboration
  • Sharing best practices and success stories
  • Coordinating SME activities across different areas of expertise
SME Area Slack Channel
All SMEs #subject-matter-experts

SME Area Internal Slack Channels

Purpose: These SME Pod channels are mainly for SME Program Leads, SME Area Leads, SMEs and SME Associates. They are used for:

  • Asynchronous meetings
  • Discussions on architectural challenges
  • Competitive analysis
  • Identifying and addressing enablement needs
  • Tracking and managing SME requests
SME Area Slack Channel
AI #sme-ai-internal
Security & Compliance #sme-appsec-internal
Dedicated #sme-dedicated-internal
Plan #sme-plan-internal
CICD/Runner #sme-ci-internal
Metrics & Observability #sme-metrics-internal

SME Public Channels

These channels are open to all SMEs, Product Managers (PMs), and all field members. They serve to:

  • A place for team members supporting customer evaluations of GitLab features
  • Submitting SME requests for specific opportunities
  • Coordinating SME involvement in customer engagements
  • Asking product questions pertaining to specific subject matters
SME Area Slack Channel
AI #sme-ai
App Security & Compliance #sme-appsec
Dedicated #sme-dedicated
Plan #sme-plan
CICD/Runner #sme-ci
Metrics & Observability #sme-metrics

Vertical SME Public Slack Channels

Vertical Slack Channel
Embedded DevOps #sme-embedded-devops
Financial Services #v_finserve_global
Telecommunications #sme-telecommunications
Healthcare #sme-healthcare

SME Collaboration Projects

Each SME Area Lead should set up SME Collaboration project (See AppSec Example)

SME Area Collaboration Project
SME Program Logistics SME Program Project
AI AI SME Project
AppSec App Security SME Project
Dedicated Dedicated SME Project
Plan Plan SME Project
CICD/Runner CI/CD SME Project
Metrics & Observability Metrics SME Project
Aerospace Vertical Aerospace SME Project
Automotive Vertical Automotive SME Project
Embedded DevOps Vertical Embedded DevOps SME Project
Healthcare Vertical Healthcare SME Project
Financial Services Vertical Financial Services SME Project
Telecommunications Vertical Telecommunications SME PRoject

SME Metrics (TBD)

To effectively measure the impact and success of the SME program, we will track the following metrics:

  1. Technical Win Rate:
    • Metric: Percentage of wins in opportunities with SME involvement
    • Calculation: (Number of won opportunities with SME engagement / Total number of opportunities with SME engagement) * 100
    • Goal: Increase win rate by 10% compared to baseline within 12 months
  2. Product Feedback Loop Effectiveness:
    • Metric: Number of actionable feedback items provided to and received from product teams
    • Calculation: Track feedback items submitted by SMEs and product updates based on SME input
    • Goal: Implement at least 5 product improvements based on SME feedback per quarter
  3. Pipeline Growth:
    • Metric: Percentage increase in pipeline value for opportunities with SME involvement
    • Calculation: ((Current quarter pipeline with SME involvement - Previous quarter pipeline with SME involvement) / Previous quarter pipeline with SME involvement) * 100
    • Goal: 15% quarter-over-quarter growth in pipeline value
  4. Opportunity Stage Progression:
    • Metric: Percentage of opportunities moving from Stage 2 to Stage 3 and Stage 3 to Stage 4 with SME involvement
    • Calculation: (Number of opportunities progressing to next stage / Total number of opportunities at current stage) * 100
    • Goal: 25% improvement in stage progression rate compared to non-SME involved opportunities
  5. SME Engagement Efficiency:
    • Metric: Average time to SME assignment and initial engagement
    • Calculation: Sum of (SME assignment date - Request submission date) / Total number of SME requests
    • Goal: Reduce average time to SME engagement by 20% within 6 months
  6. Customer Satisfaction:
    • Metric: Net Promoter Score (NPS) for opportunities with SME involvement
    • Calculation: Standard NPS calculation based on customer surveys
    • Goal: Achieve and maintain an NPS of 50 or higher for SME-involved opportunities
  7. Knowledge Transfer Effectiveness:
    • Metric: Number of SME-led training sessions and knowledge base articles created
    • Calculation: Sum of training sessions conducted and articles published by SMEs
    • Goal: Minimum of 4 training sessions and 10 knowledge base articles per SME per quarter
  8. Stack Overflow Engagement:
    • Metric: Response rate and quality of SME answers on Stack Overflow
    • Calculation: (Number of SME responses / Total number of relevant questions) * 100; Average upvotes per SME answer
    • Goal: 90% response rate to relevant questions; Average of 5 upvotes per SME answer

Reporting and Analysis:

  • Generate monthly reports on these metrics to track progress and identify trends
  • Conduct quarterly reviews to assess SME program effectiveness and make necessary adjustments
  • Use data visualization tools to create dashboards for easy monitoring of key metrics

By consistently tracking and analyzing these metrics, we can ensure the SME program’s continuous improvement and demonstrate its value to the organization.

New SME Area of Expertise Process

TBD - Define the process to determine whether a SME Area of Expertise should be established or not.

These are the differences between SMEs Areas of Interest and Formal SME Programs



SME Area of Interest Formal SME Areas


1. CICD/ Runners
2. Metrics & Observability
3. Embedded Systems
1. AI
2. App Security
3. Dedicated
4. Plan
Leadership Structure No official SME Area Leader, or SMEs.
Can be a pool of interested folks of SME Associates.
One person driving program
[x] SME Area Leads
[x] SMEs
[x] SME Associates
Operations [ ] Formal List of SA and CS SMEs
[x] List of SME Associates or Interested Folks
[ ] SME Google Groups
[x] Slack Channels - General
[ ] Slack Channel - Request a SME
[ ] Collaboration Project
[ ] StackOverFlow
[x] Formal List of SA and CS SMEs
[x] List of SME Associates
[x] SME Google Groups
[x] Slack Channels - General
[x] Slack Channel - Request a SME
[x] Collaboration Project
[x] StackOverFlow
Cadences [ ] ARR Driver
[ ] SME Area Leads Meetings
[x] SME Area Pod Cadences
[ ] PM/ SME Area Cadences
[x] PM Roadmaps
[x] Technical Skills Exchange
Meetings can be in the form of trainings, async, office hours etc
[x] ARR Driver
[x] SME Area Leads Meetings
[x] SME Area Pod Cadences
[x] PM/ SME Area Cadences
[x] PM Roadmaps
[x] Technical Skills Exchange
Process to Request a SME No Yes
Customer Feedback Mechanisms No Yes (with Issue Boards etc)
Engagement with PM Some Yes

Once a SMEs Ares of Interest becomes a formal SME Programs These are the tasks needed to complete setup:

  • Selection of SME Area Leads, SMEs
  • Who decides on new SME Area
  • Rollout to SA and CS Community
  • Enrolling PMs
  • Maintain List of SA SME Participants - Confirm List of SA SMEs and CS SMEs
  • Maintain list of potential SMEs (SME Associates) as a pool for each area
  • Create the necessary SME google groups for calendar purposes
    1. Open an Access Request with IT to have the Google Group created.
    2. Use the same naming convention as other SME areas, provide the DRI’s as Group Owner and Group Manager. You can clone this issue as an example.
    3. Once the Google Group has been created by IT the group owner/manager can navigate to the Google Groups page to add SME’s as group members.
  • Set up Stack OverFlow with SMEs to answer questions.
  • Set up SME Collaboration project
    1. Navigate to the SME Subgroup
    2. Click New Project
    3. Create your project using the same naming nomenclature as the other projects in the subgroup
  • Set up both a public SME Slack Channel for the field and a private internal channel for the SME pod using the naming conventions outlined above (example #sme-(area) and #sme-(area)-internal)
  • Update Handbook on SME Operations
Last modified February 12, 2025: Fixing typos in tables (386b24a4)