Release Process and Schedule

BitCurator Consortium Software Development Committee

This page outlines a process by which issues identified in the public BitCurator User Forum can be raised to the attention of BitCurator Consortium members for possible action or resolution. A proposed software release schedule is also outlined.

Current Identification of Software Issues and Features

  • Non-member users identify issues and post them to public BitCurator User Forum.
  • Member users identify issues and post in the BitCurator User Forum.
  • Members can also create new feature requests

Proposed Software Release Process

  1. MONTHLY A designated site monitor reviews all posts on public BitCurator User Forum and generates a list to the BCC Software Development Committee, containing:

    • Frequently mentioned issues (those receiving a high number of views/responses)
    • High-priority issues that may document major bugs or other software issues
    • Feature requests that may be outcomes of ongoing user group communication
    • MONTHLY Designated site monitor creates tickets for any User Forum issues that will be included for voting. The Software Development Committee briefly reviews and discusses these tickets during that group’s monthly meeting.
    • QUARTERLY A reminder to BCC members is put out for votes on issue list (votes and feedback are always available to members however).

    • QUARTERLY The Software Development Committee reviews issue list and recommends features and fixes to be prioritized for Executive Council action. SDC recommendation can be either green/red/yellow, where:

    • RED is for fixes/features that are not recommended for the current or upcoming release cycle, or for features which are being removed from the suite due to incompatibilities or discontinuation of a tool, etc.

    • YELLOW is for fixes/features that are not recommended for the current release cycle but may be recommended for subsequent releases (with reasons for why not - could be dependencies, lack of funding, etc.)
    • GREEN is for fixes/features that are recommended for current release cycle, with reasons why, plus any additional information (i.e., should be included as a bounty, or requires external funding partnership for inclusion)
    • NOTE: Prioritization should be as transparent as possible, with notes on justifications for recommendations provided for Executive Council and available to all BCC members.
    • The BCC Executive Council approves the SDC recommendation or discusses and proceeds to adjustments of the recommended plan.
    • Development targets are announced for next quarterly release and linked to specific threads in the BitCurator user mailing list as warranted
    • Post is made to BitCurator User Forum
    • Email is sent to all BCC members
    • Announced and discussed at BCC monthly call
    • Release notes from BitCurator User Forum also posted to Confluence wiki site
    • Added to public Road Map on Confluence site

Software Release Schedule

Major issues and new features

Every 12 months

Maintenance (core OS, VirtualBox updates)

Every 3 months

Roles and Responsibilities

Non-member Users

  • Submit issues, bugs, feature requests to public BitCurator Users Forum

Member Users

  • Submit issues and bugs

  • Create new feature requests

  • Vote on open issues and feature requests

User Forum Site Monitor

  • Review issues on public BitCurator Users Forum

  • Compiles report for SDC

Software Development Committee

  • Reviews report of BC user forum

  • Decides which fixes/features will go to Executive Council

  • Documents recommendations in report for Executive Council

  • Committee Chair sends out announcements about new software releases

Executive Council

  • Confirms/counters recommendations from SDC

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