[pde-dev] Improving our process

[Darin Wright <Darin_Wright@xxxxxxxxxx>]

In light of recent broken builds, regressions, and PTMD, I think it’s time 
for PDE to find ways to improve its process. There will always be broken 
builds, but with some modest changes we can reduce the breakage and the 
stress it creates.

Our goal is sustainable stability.

I’d like to see the following practices adopted:
* Bug fixes and features that can have automated tests must have automated 
tests.
* New features that can’t have automated tests (some UI things, etc., are 
extremely hard to write tests for), must have a test script that can be 
added to the PDE test plan.
* Fixes and features that change the existing test plan should come with 
test plan updates.
* Bugs must be verified by someone other than the original developer 
(another committer or the original bug reporter if possible). Don’t be 
afraid to back out fixes/features that are broken or causing regressions 
elsewhere.
* Ensure contributions meet SDK quality. Don’t be afraid to reject 
contributions that aren’t up to par.

These ideas aren’t new – they are practiced by other SDK teams (JDT, 
Debug, API tools). It’s important to note that these process enhancements 
aren't intended to slow progress or hinder contributions – they help us 
proceed with confidence.

Darin