[boost] Release schedule?

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-05-21 16:18:19

At the BoostCon '08 "Future of Boost" session there was discussion of 
release schedules, and we took a straw poll. Thanks to Hartmut Kaiser 
for recording the outcome:

â—‹ How often do we want to have Boost releases?
§ 4 weeks: 0
§ 6 weeks: 0
§ 8 weeks: 10 votes
§ 12 weeks: 25 votes
§ 16 weeks or longer: 6 votes

Since 12 weeks was already the target we had discussed on the list, that 
seems pretty well decided as our target.

Dave Abrahams suggested that specific target dates be assigned; that 
makes the targets more specific and easier to plan around. I suggest the 
last day of the first month of each quarter:

    * January 31
    * April 30
    * July 31
    * October 31

The last day is chosen rather than the first day, because January 1st 
comes after a holiday period in which it is hard to get anything done.

So working backwards from the target date, T, what are the key 
milestones, and the time to perform the tasks involved?

* Ship release / update web sites
* Release candidate(s) - 7 days
* Beta release(s) - 14 days
* Freeze release except for showstoppers - 7 days
* Freeze release except for bug fixes - 14 days
* Release open for bug fixes, major library upgrades,
and new libraries - As soon as prior release is done.

In other words, the three month cycle looks like this:

|-------6 weeks--------|--2 weeks--|-1 wk-|--2 weeks--|-1 wk-|
| | | | | |
| new libs, | fixes | show | beta(s) | RC's |
| upgrades, | | stop-| | |
| fixes | | pers | | |
The times alloted to each activity are fairly arbitrary - we would 
adjust as we build experience.

Comments?

--Beman