1. Exploring GitHub Actions through
EGAD: An Experience Report
Pablo Valenzuela, Alexandre Bergel, Timo Kehrer, Oscar Nierstrasz
IWST 2023 - International Workshop on Smalltalk Technologies, August 29-31, 2023, Lyon, France
SEG @ University of Bern

2. GitHub Actions
2
• Support the automation of Software Engineering tasks
• Increasingly adopted in software repositories
• For example: Notifications, Pull request/Issue messages, Continuous Integration
• The most widely used tool for Continuous Integration

3. How GitHub Actions automate
software engineering tasks?
3
Workflow YAML file:
• Components
• Execution
• Specification process
Workflow

4. The workflow YAML file

5. The workflow YAML file
Execution trigger
All the jobs in the workflow
Steps

6. The workflow YAML file
Workflow Name
Execution trigger
All the jobs in the workflow
Job (Name: print-message)
Job’s machine configuration
Steps
Third-party action

7. The workflow execution
Push
Steps
Jobs
Execution
triggers Workflow
Pull request
Execution flow
Sequential

8. The workflow execution
Push
Steps
Jobs
Execution
triggers Workflow
Pull request
Execution flow
Sequential Parallel
…

9. commit 1
Incorrect workflow
specification
GitHub
repository
Machine
configuration
execution
Workflow specification process
Execution
result
Feedback loop
1st iteration

10. Incorrect workflow
specification
GitHub
repository
Machine
configuration
execution
Workflow specification process
Execution
result
Feedback loop
commit 2
2nd iteration

11. Correct workflow
specification
GitHub
repository
Machine
configuration
execution
Workflow specification process
Execution
result
Feedback loop
commit 3
3rd iteration

12. commit 1
commit 2
commit n
Correct workflow
specification
Consequences:
1. Pushing multiple commits contaminate the repository's history
2. Slow feedback loop
...
Workflow specification process

13. Exploring GitHub Actions
through EGAD
13
• EGAD: A Moldable tool for GitHub Action Analysis
• Learned lessons:
1. Compose a story,
2. Navigating custom views,
3. Supporting the onboarding of researchers on Glamorous Toolkit.

14. The need for a GitHub Action
domain model
14
• Workflows files à Valuable Information
• Batch tools for GA research
1. Ignore the context
2. No domain model
https://github.com/gammapy/gammapy/blob/main/.github/workflows/greetings.yml

15. 15
Problem of this approach
1. No context
2. No domain model
We cannot fully explore the Domain!

16. EGAD: Explorable GitHub Action Domain Model
2
Narratives GA Domain Model Custom Views
16

17. 17
Lesson 1:
Compose a story:
• Documenting our tasks and progress, and
• Linking documentation and source code

18. 18
Inspect the “rich” repository

19. 19
Inspect the “rich” repository
Identify all the YAML files

20. 20
Inspect the “rich” repository
Identify all the YAML files
Wrap the YML file using the domain model (pythonpackage.yml)

21. 21
Inspect the “rich” repository
Identify all the YAML files
Wrap the YML file using the domain model (pythonpackage.yml)
Turn the domain model into an inspectable Example

22. 22
Inspect the “rich” repository
Identify all the YAML files
Wrap the YML file using the domain model (pythonpackage.yml)
Turn the domain model into an inspectable Example
Include the result of the example inspection

23. Navigating custom views
23
Lesson 2:
• Conduct research by navigating custom views

24. Navigating custom views
24

25. Navigating custom views
25

26. 26
Navigating custom views

27. 27
Navigating custom views

28. 28
Onboarding of researchers on GT
Lesson 3:
• Support the onboarding!!

29. 29
Onboarding of researchers on GT
• Assign an onboarding technical mentor
• Schedule regular 1:1 meetings
• Encourage using GT key resources like Lepiter notebooks, and
the explorable design

30. Summary
Exploring GitHub Actions through EGAD: An Experience Report