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List:       koffice-devel
Subject:    Re: Release proposition: Individual applications release
From:       Cyrille Berger <cberger () cberger ! net>
Date:       2008-05-08 11:46:02
Message-ID: 200805081346.02712.cberger () cberger ! net
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Hello,

Since it seems quiet a few people favors a "block" release of kspread + kword 
+ kpresenter at the same time (+ whatever is ready at that date). Here is how 
we can proceed, and some ideas to try to make the release happen.

==== Release Schedule ====
I think from now on, I will be doing an alpha every month (or month and half, 
haven't decide this). Once we have reach "beta" stage. We release "beta1" 
then three (4?) weeks later "beta2", then two weeks later RC1 then two weeks 
later final. Then we go to a "fixed" (six to nine monthes) release schedule.

I think it's quiet unrealistic to decide a fixed date for the release, it's 
also quiet depressive to set a date and realise that you have failed to 
deliver. But I would really like to set September as the last limit for going 
to beta. At that point of time we will really have to think again about 
the "block" release of kspread + kword + kpresenter, and possibely start to 
release whatever is ready, and put a big *warning* sign about the embedding 
issue.

For each release, we could make a details state of the application, I know 
that I would be interested in bug reports for Krita (this week, I fixed the 
last bug that was trully annoying me when using Krita, so now I would really 
be interested in what other have encounters), but it might not be the case 
for everybody.

==== Buzz ====
We need to create some buzz around KOffice. I am at LGM (Libre Graphics 
Meeting), and after the first morning, allready quiet a few people have asked 
about the release of KOffice (and it wasn't only an interest in Krita, but 
also in other applications of the suite). That is to said 

  == Coolness ==
Release is surelly going to allow us to attract new people, but to make that 
happen we allready are in need of attracting developers. But more Buzz will 
increase the attention of people interested in new developement. The best 
example I see of this is "plasma", if you think about it, plasma is 
mostly "kicker + kdesktop + superkaramba", a few monthes ago it was just an 
idea, and nearly no developers, but even before the release, it was able to 
attract quiet a lot of attention. Being an indispensable part of the deskotp 
is not the only reason (otherwise kicker+kdesktop would have attracted a lot 
of attention), I think that "coolness" and "buzz" is a key element of this 
attention. We allready have "coolness" with Flake, we have the "need" 
everybody needs an office suite. But we trully lack "buzz". 

  == Increase Buzz ==
Planetkde is our main weapon for this, an entry with a screenshot, a little 
explanation about you have done is in it self worth a lot of Buzz.

I will try to start a "This week in koffice" series of blog entries (it might 
not be as weekly as that depending on the time I have), but it would be nice 
if I am not alone in this :) Even the simplest bug fix can do and is a 
victory on the road of the release, and is worth mentionning ! Flooding is 
not a good idea either but we are far from this ;)

==== A "campaign" for finding new devlopers ====

To help this goal to happen, it would be a nice things to launch a campaign 
(blog + dot article, other idea ?) for new developers.

  == Junior Jobs: A list of small easy things to do ==

When it was suggested for other people to work on the kpresenter transitions, 
it attracted a lot of attention on KPresenter: there were twice as many 
commits in the end of February for KPresenter as in the last two monthes. So 
lists of small things to do could really provide a boost. While I understand 
that it sometimes sounds like it would take less time to fix something rather 
than to write it on the list and "mentor" a new guy, it's also a way to 
attract a new guy.

Filling http://wiki.koffice.org/index.php?title=JJ would be a good start for 
this. Then we can link to this page for the "campaing".

  == Who is working on what ? ==
I would like to establish a list of who is working on which applications.

 - In KoLibs:
   * kotext : Girsh
- KWord
 * ???
- KSpread
 * Aariya ?
 * Stefan ?
- KPresenter
 * Thorsten
 * Carlos
 * Fredy (GSoC on notes and Presenter View )

Please correct the information above. It would be nice to have a contact 
willing for each applications to provide some information for each of the 
junior job.

==== Easy testing ====

-- 
Cyrille Berger
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