User:NThomas:Process changes

bug 908134 is set to change the release process around the final beta and release builds. The aim is to take the exact bits release users will get and give them to beta users, to catch the Radeon crash problem early.

Current process

Here's the current state of process, sketch-style, for the 27.0 cycle. D-Day is relative to when we release the build to the world. All activities are in column for the source repository used to create that build.

D-Day	This cycle	mozilla-beta	mozilla-release
-8 days	Mon 27 Jan	Last changes for 27.0 land here
		Build last beta (27.0b10)
		QA tests (functional, updates on releasetest)
			Merge code from mozilla-beta to mozilla-release
			Build 27.0 build1
-7 days	Tue 28 Jan	QA sign off on b10 testing
		Enable updates on beta channel, QA verify updates
			QA tests (functional, updates on betatest)
-4 days ?	Friday ?		QA signoff
-1 day	Monday 3 Feb		Final signoff checks
			Push to mirrors
			QA check updates on releasetest
This is it	Tue 4 Feb		Push to release channel, QA verifies

New process

Here's how it would look after we change things. Removals are marked with a red background, additions with a green one.

In words - we don't create a beta 10 build, instead we offer the release build on the beta channel as soon as we complete the normal beta-level of testing. Then continue with regular release testing and ship as before.

D-Day	This cycle	mozilla-beta	mozilla-release
-8 days	Mon 27 Jan	Last changes for 27.0 land here
		Build last beta (27.0b10)
		QA tests (functional, updates on releasetest)
			Merge code from mozilla-beta to mozilla-release
			Build 27.0 build1
			QA tests (functional, updates on releasetest using beta builds)
-7 days	Tue 28 Jan	QA sign off on b10 testing	QA sign off on initial testing
		Enable updates on beta channel, QA verify updates	Enable updates on beta channel, QA verify updates
			QA continues tests (updates on betatest using release builds)
-4 days ?	Friday ?		QA full signoff
-1 day	Monday 3 Feb		Final signoff checks
			Push to mirrors
			QA check updates on releasetest using release builds
This is it	Tue 4 Feb		Push to release channel, QA verifies

Will it take longer for builds/updates to be available ?

Yes, a little. A beta build takes about 8 hours from tagging to updates available, and we estimate it will take 10.5 hours for the release build (currently 10 hours, but we should add 27.0b9 -> 27.0 partial update to get beta users on the final build ASAP).

What about respins ?

Suppose we find some bugs in 27.0 build1, what then ? I'm assuming we will want the fix on both beta and release channels. The code changes need to land in mozilla-release and we will spin a 27.0 build2. The release automation will run the same as build1 from the point of view of updates - we will be ready to push build2 to the beta channel if we think there is value. There may not be, eg too close to release to get crash feedback and 28.0b1 coming soon, but we'll have the option.

Repeat as required up to buildN.

What about chemspills ?

If we need to do a 27.0.1 we will have already issued a 28.0b1, so cannot 'downgrade' beta users via an update. The chemspill will have to ship without any pre-verification of crash issues, no different from the status quo, and we're probably in a hurry anyway.