Re: [eclipse.org-planning-council] Planning the release dates for Oxygen

["David M Williams" <david_williams@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Thank you Nick. This starting point (and
subsequent discussions from others on this list) has been very helpful.

I have made a second pass at all the
dates, based on the discussion on this list, and in a few cases based on
some initial misunderstandings of changes we had already agreed to (but
feel free to say if I am the one misunderstanding :)

I would suggest to review the Oxygen
dates first, since the Neon update releases are derived from them (for
the most part).  

https://wiki.eclipse.org/Oxygen/Simultaneous_Release_Plan#Schedule

https://wiki.eclipse.org/Neon/Simultaneous_Release_Plan#Schedules

The most significant changes I have
made: 

- The Oxygen "GA" date should
have been one week later. (The fourth Wednesday of June). 
- The initial Oxygen milestones no longer
have a "two week window" which changes to a one week window mid-year.
(In previous PC meetings we agreed that was no longer needed). 
- For the update releases there is no
longer a "warm-up" RC that is 2 weeks earlier than RC2 -- we
start off with "real" RCs and only one week between each. Again,
we agreed in previous meetings this was no longer necessary since the vast
majority of participating projects are well skilled at this by now.

The "feedback" from this list
I incorporated:

- The GA for the Update releases is
on Wednesday's instead of Friday's (with the exception of Neon.3 which
is a Thursday, due to Java 9's schedule). 
- The above change to Wednesday's was
accomplished by having longer "quiet periods" for the Update
Releases, which I think is a good idea anyway, since that extra buffer
might be needed given this is the first year we have done 3 Update Releases.

Please review this carefully: One
very significant change, when I crunched the numbers, is that M6 can be
delivered right before EclipseCon, instead of after. This is the way we
usually do it, and is generally preferred, if EclipseCon is late enough
in the year. This means that Neon.3 will GA *during* EclipseCon, but, remember,
this is with an extended quiet period, so it should essentially be done
before the conference begins. 

One potential controversy to review
carefully: One thing I added was a checkpoint
deliverable relatively early in
the Update Release cycle (a month before the first RC). We had briefly
discussed this in previous meetings, but I do not recall if we finished
discussing it. The purpose of this checkpoint is primarily for projects
who are new to the Update Release or for those that have significant changes
to introduce. Conceptually, they are similar to a "milestone"
during normal development -- except that it is recommended that established
projects not participate in checkpoint just for bug fixes or minor changes,
plus no EPP's created for checkpoints.  I have added a paragraph describing
what a checkpoint is, and added a line for them to the Update Release schedule.
The "hard part" is that the first one will be just a few weeks
away! 7/25 to 7/27. I personally think this is important addition to our
process now that we more explicitly allow new projects and "new releases"
to join during an Update Release, but feel free to say if anyone thinks
it makes things too hard or is unfair since it is a "late addition"
to the process. My hope is that new projects just joining will find it
beneficial since it gives them a time to learn and go through the mechanics
that will be less stressful than when we get to the RC period. Not to mention,
good for "us" since improves communication about what will be
new in the Update Release. 

Also, please proof read the dates I
have put in all the tables. You all know how bad I am about that! 

= = = = = = = = =

I also ask that we approve this plan
now, via this mailing list, or I could call a special meeting for next
week if people wanted to discuss on the phone. 

If you object to anything in the plan,
please say so, and say why, and we'll call a meeting to get the plan resolved.

If you agree with the plan please indicate
with a +1 to this list. I will assume silence implies agreement so I will
say if there are at least 2 +1's and no objections by, say, next Tuesday
(noon, Eastern time), July 12, then we will call this plan official and
I will announce the checkpoint requirement and dates on cross-project list
then.  And, please remember, this is just a plan, not a contract,
so we can tweak the plan later, if we learn new things or conditions change.

= = = = = = = = =

Thanks, 

 





From:      
 Nick Boldt <nboldt@xxxxxxxxxx>
To:      
 "eclipse.org-planning-council@xxxxxxxxxxx"
<eclipse.org-planning-council@xxxxxxxxxxx>, 
Date:      
 07/04/2016 05:10 PM
Subject:    
   [eclipse.org-planning-council]
Planning the release dates for        Oxygen.0
and Neon.X update releases
Sent by:    
   eclipse.org-planning-council-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx

---

I've updated the wiki with some *proposed* Neon.x
and Oxygen.0 dates.

https://wiki.eclipse.org/Neon/Simultaneous_Release_Plan#Schedules
https://wiki.eclipse.org/Oxygen/Simultaneous_Release_Plan#Schedule

Some questions/concerns are listed below. Here's a summary of the
release (GA) dates.

Neon.X GA dates are:

Neon.1: 09/23*
Neon.2: 12/16**
Neon.3: 03/17***

Oxygen.0 milestone dates are:

M1: 08/16
M2: 09/30*
M3: 11/11
M4: 12/16**
M5: 02/03
M6: 03/24***
M7: 05/05
RC1: 05/19
RC2: 05/26
RC3: 06/02
RC4: 06/09
GA: 06/21

* - This means we have Neon.1 released the week before we release
Oxygen.0.M2, which provides some buffer/breathing space.

** - But for Neon.2 and Oxygen.0.M4, they're slated to land on the
same date - Dec 16. We could push one a week later but that's
dangerous with holidays affecting developer availability. Therefore,
we might need to move one of those a week earlier. If so, which one --
Oxygen.0.M4 or Neon.2?

*** - The other possible conflict is around Oxygen.0.M6, which drops
around the same week as Devoxx US (2017/03/21 to 03/23), JDK 9 GA
(2017/03/23), and the week after Neon.3. Should we move that one too,
or is having Neon.3 just before Devoxx and M6 right after it a
reasonable approach? (We could switch them and even add another week
for Neon.3, since it's the LAST update for Neon and needs to
definitely work with JDK 9. Therefore: Oxygen.0.M6: 03/17 or 03/24;
Neon.3: 03/30.)

-=-=

Another thing we could do is move the GA dates for the update releases
to Wednesdays instead of Fridays, so there can be a better marketing
splash mid-week.

What do you think?


-- 
Nick Boldt :: JBoss by Red Hat
Productization Lead :: JBoss Tools & Dev Studio
http://nick.divbyzero.com
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