Joint 1.3 release/graduation vote?

[Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>]

Mentors,

It occurs to me that, since we're getting close to finalizing the  
features for Pivot 1.3, we might not see the uptick in committer  
diversity over the next few weeks that the Incubator is looking for.  
We've certainly seen an increase recently, which is great. But it  
obviously doesn't make sense to "fabricate" commits just for the sake  
of making things "look good".

On the other hand, we can honestly say that we have made an effort to  
respond to the Incubator PMC's concerns: we asked for more support  
from our community, and we got it. Todd and I took our names off of  
most of the issues in JIRA to help foster better participation. We've  
continued to raise and resolve issues in the open. Also, we (I?) now  
have a much clearer understanding of the term "leadership" as it  
pertains to the ASF.  :-)

So what do you think about the possibility of a joint 1.3 release/ 
graduation vote?

The timing would certainly work well, since I expect that 1.3 will be  
ready to go around the time we said we might want to call for another  
graduation vote. The fact that we are this close to releasing 1.3  
certainly helps to explain any perceived lack of increased  
committership. On one hand, it might be too much to throw at the  
Incubator PMC at once. On the other hand, the graduation proposition  
isn't coming out of the blue, and we've already been through a couple  
of releases - we know what we need to do to make sure that part goes  
smoothly.

Please let me know what you think. I think we're in a great position  
to graduate, and 1.3 is a solid release (probably the most significant  
yet). If we could make this happen, Pivot could really come out  
swinging as a top-level project.

Greg

Re: Joint 1.3 release/graduation vote?

[Greg Brown <gk...@mac.com>]

I think your plan makes sense:

> 1. Cut the 1.3 release.
>
> 2. Schedule 1.4 for much later, maybe early next year.
>
> 3. Coding mostly to fix bugs in 1.3.
>
> 4. Work a lot on documentation, demos, samples and other things
> regular users would request.
>
> 5. Go for graduation in October.
>
> 6. Cut a 1.3.1 shortly after that, with press release and everything.

Let's shoot for this. We have made a number of documentation and demo  
enhancements for 1.3, but we could add quite a bit more for 1.3.1 if  
we wait until October. Since lack of documentation is often a major  
barrier to adoption, this will significantly improve our chances for  
success post-graduation.

Re: Joint 1.3 release/graduation vote?

[Niclas Hedhman <ni...@hedhman.org>]

On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 8:14 AM, Greg Brown<gk...@mac.com> wrote:

> It occurs to me that, since we're getting close to finalizing the features
> for Pivot 1.3, we might not see the uptick in committer diversity over the
> next few weeks that the Incubator is looking for. We've certainly seen an
> increase recently, which is great. But it obviously doesn't make sense to
> "fabricate" commits just for the sake of making things "look good".

Agree...

> So what do you think about the possibility of a joint 1.3 release/graduation
> vote?

What is the timespan for 1.4 ?

My thinking right now is that if 1.3 is cut and start voted on before
Sept 1 (and with no complaints from Sebb et al), then we can aim for
graduation at Sept Board meeting. If 1.3 is any later than that, I
think that I would recommend pushing it to October, and then either do
a 1.4 after we have established the new TLP, or if 1.4 is further down
the line, could do a 1.3.1 just to have a non-incubating release out
the door. OTOH, if 1.3 is not until late Sept, then I am not sure what
to recommend... ;-)

> The timing would certainly work well, since I expect that 1.3 will be ready
> to go around the time we said we might want to call for another graduation
> vote. The fact that we are this close to releasing 1.3 certainly helps to
> explain any perceived lack of increased committership. On one hand, it might
> be too much to throw at the Incubator PMC at once.

It is not so much about 'Incubator PMC' as it is to us. Setting up the
TLP isn't automatic and requires a fair deal of effort from PMC Chair
and typically Mentors, similar in scope to set up the podling. I don't
know about you, but I like to have some breathing space. PMC Chair
will also need initiation to the overall ASF organization as an
officer, which can also be overwhelming initially...

> Please let me know what you think. I think we're in a great position to
> graduate, and 1.3 is a solid release (probably the most significant yet). If
> we could make this happen, Pivot could really come out swinging as a
> top-level project.

In reality, if you cut a 1.3 release before Board meeting, it is still
an 'incubating release'. You would need a new release after the TLP is
established. So, since I happen to think the code is more important
than the TLP, focus on cutting the 1.3 release in Incubator and have
that as a platform to stand on when the TLP is to be formed. I.e.

 1. Cut the 1.3 release.

 2. Schedule 1.4 for much later, maybe early next year.

 3. Coding mostly to fix bugs in 1.3.

 4. Work a lot on documentation, demos, samples and other things
regular users would request.

 5. Go for graduation in October.

 6. Cut a 1.3.1 shortly after that, with press release and everything.

 7. Be ready for a bunch of "user noise", which will soak up a lot of
time, but necessary to get the big picture moving. The early adopters
will become your prime evangelists and also those that will help new
people down the line, and some will eventually make committers. So, it
is really important to take good care of them initially. Wicket is an
example of excellent handling of that.


WDYT?


Cheers
-- 
Niclas Hedhman, Software Developer
http://www.qi4j.org - New Energy for Java

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