Bugzilla:Roadmap

Bugzilla Roadmap

Introduction

The trunk is open for development for ~6 months, meaning that we accept bug fixes, enhancements, new features and risky code changes during this time. But 6 months is a short period and if we want something to be done on time when we freeze for the next release, some coordination is required.

The roadmap below is an attempt to outline what the objectives of the core Bugzilla team are for the next release. We will probably be late and we are probably too optimistic, but this gives enough work to everyone who wants to contribute.

A very important note is that both the User Interface (UI) and the code need some cleanup, and so even if you are not familiar with Bugzilla in general or with Perl in particular, there is still enough work for you here.

So why this roadmap?

Well, to quickly summarize the main reasons, we could say:

• There is nothing more frustrating than working on a patch which will get no attention and will remain in the review queue for months, if not for years. Having clear objectives about what we want in the coming months will permit us to avoid such unfortunate situations. If we want something, we won't let it languish in the queue for months.
• Everyone is busy, but everyone wants to see things being done, and preferably as quickly as possible. Having clear objectives will make our work more efficient, as we know where the few free hours we have for writing patches will be most useful. This follows closely from the previous point, and we mention it here because we want to use our precious free time efficiently.
• Having deadlines and assigned developers will also offer a better coordination between developers. Working on some fields which conflict with someone else's work is again a waste of time, and having to unbitrot patches may take as long as writing the patch for the first time. Also, having an assigned developer per field should help in getting the work done, especially if this developer is a reviewer too. Indeed, assigned doesn't mean that he has to do the job alone, but that he is the person to contact when someone is interested in helping. He should also be able to say what work remains in the area of responsibility, and how far we are along in the process.

The Roadmap

Note

This list is subject to change at any time, depending on progress we will made and on people working on the different fields.

Latest news and summaries of Bugzilla meetings are also available. That is also the place where you can add your own suggestions to be discussed at our next meeting(s).

You can also look at the old roadmap for Bugzilla 3.0 and the roadmap for Bugzilla 3.2.

Our priorities

Here is what you were waiting for: the roadmap for Bugzilla 4.0. Tasks reported in the table are not ordered by priority as some of them may be relatively independent.

Task	Related bugs	Fully implemented on	Assigned developer(s)	Requirements
Allow users to choose what time zone to display times in	Bug 182238	August 26, 2008	LpSolit	none
Implement $bug->set_flag() and $attachment->set_flag()	Bug 415541	---	dkl, LpSolit	none
Use Bug.pm to write changes and new bugs to the database	Bug 122922 Bug 418342	---	mkanat	Implement $bug->set_flag() and $attachment->set_flag()
Most Bugzilla modules should use Object.pm	Bug 355838 Bug 297791	---	LpSolit, mkanat	Use Bug.pm to write changes and new bugs to the database
Improvements to WebServices	Bug 278032 Bug 398281 Bug 415813 ...	---	Noura	Most Bugzilla modules should use Object.pm
Inter-Bugzilla Integration Capabilities	Bug 123130 Bug 134294	---	alexeiser, dkl	Use Bug.pm to write changes and new bugs to the database Improvements to WebServices
Bugzilla needs to deal better with branches	Bug 55970	---	mkanat	none
Retire old versions, components and milestones	Bug 77193	---	ghendricks, romaia	none
Make Bugzilla's index.cgi (home page) useful for logged-in users	Bug 130835	---	pyrzak	none
Improvements for enter_bug and query's UI	Bug 376673 Bug 450301	---	pyrzak	none
Search.pm should not depend on the CGI	Bug 398308	---	jjclark	none
Support OpenID as a an account source and login verification method	Bug 294608	---	Google SoC	none
Use tokens to authenticate email senders	Bug 419203	---	LpSolit	none
Refactor Bugzilla::Bugmail into real objects	Bug 301447	---	manu	none
Ability to restrict custom fields to products/components (like flags)	Bug 371995	---	LpSolit	none
Ability to specify defaults for custom fields	Bug 351899	---	mkanat	none