[Qgis-developer] [Qgis-user] Stress about release plans

[Otto Dassau]

Hi,

I would prefere another solution instead of changing the releases. The
documentation team is in the same situation. We are always behind the
releases, but the problem I see is that there are not enough people working
on the documents. At the moment we were not even able to start updating the
manual for 2.4 yet :(. 

From my experience, we get many new features for every release because
developers work together on the master source.

For some reason trainers prefere starting from scratch working on her/his
own documents and training material, which is ok, of course but leads into
the situation Lene discribed.

Here are two ideas that come to my mind:

a) Trainers could combine their forces and prepair general training materials
together that everybody can use and extend. All tools and the document basis
is available and provided by QGIS project in the documentation repository. I
know there are many people conducting trainings on QGIS, if they all work
together as developers already do, we would probably be in a much better
situation.

b) An idea that already works for the development of QGIS features is paying
some amount or percantage of each development for good documentation and
training material. Many new features in QGIS are payed by customers. But
usually customers and developers don't think about also spending an
additional little amount to document the feature in the QGIS docs and
training material. I don't know why, but that's reality.

So for me, the problem is not just about changing the releases cycles. It is
more about bringing documenters and trainers closer to the project again to
combine their forces. And to make customers/users/developers aware, that
documentation and training material is an important part of the software and
should not be forgotten and maybe automatically added to an offer, if new
(payed) features are added.

Regards,
Otto

Am Tue, 22 Jul 2014 08:43:02 +0300
schrieb Micha Silver <micha at arava.co.il>:

> I also do some short training courses using QGIS, and I fully understand
> and support Lene's idea.
> 
> 
> On 21/07/2014 18:35, Lene Fischer wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> This is not a mail about bugs or issues on a special feature – just a
> matter of time.
> 
> Right now I´m preparing a 3 week intensive GIS course at university level
> - looking forward to these annual events. But I get stressed when I see
> that there are only 94 days until next version of QGIS. Because in
> November I start over again with a 8 week course and in February a 3 week
> course, in may a 3 week course. All in all we have more than 140 students
> learning QGIS every year – and they are impressed of this program!!!
> 
>  
> 
> I love getting new features in the program, but fear the work to run
> through every assignment, every video and being a bit unsure how the
> program works in the latest version on the different platforms.
> 
> Small changes which I haven´t noticed and therefore unaware of. So a new
> version so soon gives me a lot of stress and so many hours of work –
>  hours which could be used to ex. testing.
> 
>  
> 
> When I ask users to download the program they take the official latest
> version – sometimes with bugs included… It gives an impression of an
> unprofessional product (not my words), it gives me- and others hard times
> to fix or explain. I´ve been talking to other users/administrators who has
> the same experience.
> 
> What if we had :
> 
> ·        A long term stable version for ex. 12 months with bugfix only
> 
> ·        A developer version for 4 months with new features and bugfixes
> => Stable version with short bugfix-period => New developer……..
> 
>  
> 
> I do know it will give the developers more work – I do know it will cost
> more money – But I´m sure a lot of administrators will recommend,  use and
> support if we get a more stable environment.
> 
> So please – consider another release plan in the future.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Lene Fischer
> 
> Associate Professor
> 
>  
> 
> Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
> 
> University of Copenhagen
> 
> 
>  
> 
> MOB +45 40115084
> 
> lfi at ign.ku.dk