I can understand that Galen does not always have the time to examine each patch when it enters PQA. But I would really like to see here more-or-less FIFO (first in, first out). First out could of course mean Failed QA or Discussion, but at least a change of state with some comments. The current situation, leaving them in PQA for long without any visible activity, does not motivate developers. (The FIFO rule would be fair also for the QA team, and even for signing off (bug wranglers !).. ) A FIFO rule should perhaps lower rebasing time too? When I joined the QA team, I did more or less adhere to FIFO when QAing, but the current workflow made me leave that approach.. If I have the idea that a patch set will probably go to sleep in PQA (without obvious reasons for failing it), I will not start QA on it either.
I concur with the caveat that bugs should always trump enhancements! So the queue should be ordered by bug severity, and by age within those severity groups. For example, right now I see a bug fix that I submitted first at the end of last year, and the last iteration in June, that still needs signed off! Kyle