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‎docs/oss/release-process.md‎

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---
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title: Tractus-X Release Process
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sidebar_position: 45
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---
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The **Eclipse Tractus-X Release Process** is a structured, transparent, and collaborative approach to planning and delivering high-quality releases. This process ensures that all contributors, committers, and stakeholders are aligned on deliverables, timelines, and expectations for each release cycle.
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:::info Release Cadence
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Tractus-X follows a quarterly release cycle with releases typically occurring in March, June, September, and December. Release naming follows the pattern `R{YY}.{MM}` (e.g., R24.03 for March 2024).
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:::
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## Release Timeline Overview
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The release process consists of several key phases that span approximately 3-4 months:
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```mermaid
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gantt
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title Tractus-X Release Process Timeline (Example)
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dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD
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section Planning Phase
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Feature Creation :a1, 2025-01-01, 30d
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Alignment Day :milestone, 2025-01-30, 0d
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Feature Refinement :a2, 2025-01-15, 30d
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Open Planning Day :milestone, 2025-02-14, 0d
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section Development Phase
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Feature Development :a3, 2025-02-15, 60d
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section Testing Phase
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Test Phase Preparation :a4, 2025-04-15, 14d
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E2E Testing Phase :a5, 2025-04-30, 21d
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section Release
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Release Day :milestone, 2025-05-21, 0d
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```
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:::note Timeline Example
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The timeline shown above is illustrative. Actual dates vary by release. Check the [Timeline View](https://github.com/orgs/eclipse-tractusx/projects/26/views/35) for specific release schedules.
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:::
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## Key Milestones
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The release process includes two critical milestone days that bring the community together to align on features and plan the upcoming release.
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### Alignment Day
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The **Alignment Day** is a collaborative session focused on addressing open questions and resolving dependencies between features planned for the upcoming release.
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:::tip Purpose
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This is not a planning or refinement session — it's a dedicated space to clarify uncertainties, discuss dependencies, and ensure all teams understand what's expected from each feature.
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:::
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**What to Expect:**
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- **Duration**: Typically 2-4 hours
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- **Focus**: Features labeled with `open question`
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- **Participants**: Feature owners, component developers, committers, and stakeholders
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- **Activities**:
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- Overview of features with open questions
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- Group discussions and breakout sessions as needed
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- Documentation of decisions and clarifications
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**Prerequisites for Features:**
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- Features must be labeled `open question` at least **3 days prior** to the Alignment Day
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- Feature owners should be prepared to describe their needs or concerns
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- Component developers should be ready to clarify what is expected from them
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**Key Focus Areas:**
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- Cross-component dependencies
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- Technical constraints and architectural decisions
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- Unclear requirements or acceptance criteria
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- Resource availability and capacity planning
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### Open Planning Day
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The **Open Planning Day** is the main planning session where the community finalizes the roadmap for the upcoming release, prioritizes features, and assigns milestones.
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:::note Who Should Attend
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- Contributors and Committers from the open-source community
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- Experts
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- Feature requesters and stakeholders
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Your participation is crucial to ensure the success of release planning!
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:::
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**What to Expect:**
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- **Duration**: Typically 3-5 hours
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- **Focus**: Feature prioritization and milestone assignment
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- **Structure**: Sessions organized by Topic/Product areas (e.g., Portal, BPDM, EDC, etc.)
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- **Activities**:
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- Vision and introduction to the release
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- Topic-by-topic planning sessions
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- Feature discussion and milestone assignment
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- Feedback and wrap-up
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**Agenda Structure (Example):**
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| Time | Topic | Description |
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|------|-------|-------------|
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| 09:05 - 09:20 | Open Planning - Vision & Introduction | Overview of release goals and process |
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| 09:20 - 11:50 | Joint Open Planning | Topic-by-topic feature planning sessions |
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| 11:50 - 12:15 | Feedback Retro / Wrap-up | Summary, next steps, and retrospective |
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**Prerequisites for Features:**
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For a feature to be considered during Open Planning, it must meet the following criteria:
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- **Status**: Must be set to `Backlog` (set by Committers and experts, requester after refinement)
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- **Milestone**: Must **NOT** be set (will be assigned during the session)
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- **Assignees**: Both Contributor and Committer must be assigned
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- **Topic/Product**: Must be set to categorize the feature
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- **Template Completeness**: All sections of the feature template must be filled (do not delete any sections)
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:::warning Special Case - KITs
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For KIT features, only the Contributor, Committer, and Description fields need to be filled. **There is also a seperate issue template for KITs**
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:::
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## Release Planning Board
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The Release Planning is managed through the [Release Planning Board](https://github.com/orgs/eclipse-tractusx/projects/26) on GitHub.
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**Key Views:**
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- **Timeline View**: Visualize the release timeline and feature deadlines
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- **Topic/Product View**: Features organized by their product or topic area
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- **Status View**: Track features by their current status (Backlog, In Progress, Done, etc.)
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## Issue Labels and Attributes
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Understanding and using the correct labels and attributes is essential for effective release planning.
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### Important Labels
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| Label | Purpose | When to Use |
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|-------|---------|-------------|
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| `Prep-R{YY.MM}` | Identifies features for a specific release | Add when creating a feature for an upcoming release (e.g., `Prep-R26.03`) |
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| `open question` | Marks features with unresolved questions | Add at least 3 days before Alignment Day |
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| `edc`, `portal` and more | Marks other topic groups which might be needed to fullfill the requirements of the feature | Used for dependencies |
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### Required Attributes
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When creating a feature issue, ensure the following attributes are set:
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| Attribute | Description | Required For |
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|-----------|-------------|--------------|
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| **Status** | Current state of the feature (Backlog, In Progress, Done, etc.) | All features |
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| **Milestone** | Target release (set during Open Planning) | After Open Planning |
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| **Assignees** | Contributor and Committer assigned to the feature | Before Open Planning |
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| **Topic/Product** | Product or topic area (e.g., Portal, BPDM, EDC) | Before Open Planning |
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| **Labels** | Includes preparation label (e.g., `Prep-R26.03`) | All features |
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## Issue Templates
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### Feature Template
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When creating a new feature for a release, use the feature template which includes:
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- **Description**: Clear description of the feature and its value
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- **Acceptance Criteria**: Specific, measurable criteria for completion
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- **Dependencies**: List of other features or components this feature depends on
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- **Technical Details**: Architecture, implementation approach, and technical considerations
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- **Testing Approach**: How the feature will be tested
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- **Documentation**: Required documentation updates
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:::tip Best Practices
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- Don't delete any sections from the template (except for KITs as noted above)
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- Fill out all sections completely before the Open Planning session
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- Update the issue regularly during development
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- Link related issues and pull requests
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:::
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## Development and Testing Phases
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### Feature Development Phase
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After Open Planning, the development phase begins:
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- Features with assigned milestones move to "In Progress"
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- Regular product meetings track development progress
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- Committers review pull requests and ensure quality standards
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- Features must follow all [Tractus-X Release Guidelines (TRGs)](/docs/release)
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### Test Phase Preparation
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Before the E2E testing phase:
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- **Release Check Issues**: Creation of Release Check Issues to be part of the Release and Test Phase
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- **Briefing Session**: Preparation meeting to review the release checklist and deployment process
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- **Kick-Off Session**: Launch meeting for the test phase with latest updates
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- Features must be deployed to the integration environment
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### E2E Testing Phase
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The End-to-End testing phase validates the entire release:
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- **Duration**: Typically 3 weeks
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- **Daily Sync**: Daily standup meetings to track progress and blockers
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- **Focus**: Deployment status, defect/blocker updates, test status for all products
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- **Environment**: Integration (INT) environment
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## Open Meetings
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The release process is supported by various open meetings where the community collaborates:
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### General Office Hour
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- **Community Office Hour**: Weekly meeting (Fridays) for general updates and discussions
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- [Meeting details and links](/community/open-meetings#general-office-hours)
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- **Committer Meeting**: Bi-weekly meeting for committer-specific topics
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- [Meeting details and links](/community/open-meetings#general-office-hours)
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### Release-Related Meetings
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- **Briefing Testing Phase**: One-time meeting per release for preparation of the test phase and clarifycation of the process of the release test phase
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- [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
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- **Kick-Off Testing Phase**: One-tiem meeting per release with latest updates on the test phase and the deployment status
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- [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
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- **Eclipse Tractus-X E2E Test Phase Daily**: Daily meeting during test phase for general updates and discussion on the test phase
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- [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
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- **Alignment Day**: One-time meeting per release for dependency discussions
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- [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
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- **Open Planning Day**: One-time meeting per release for feature planning
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- [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
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### Product-Specific Meetings
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Individual products have their own regular sync meetings:
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- Portal Open Meeting
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- EDC Weekly
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- BPDM Open Meeting
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- Industry Core Hub & Tractus-X SDK Weekly
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- And more...
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See the full list on the [Open Meetings page](/community/open-meetings).
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## Communication Channels
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Stay connected and informed throughout the release process:
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- **Matrix Chat**:
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- [Release Planning](https://matrix.to/#/#tractusx-release-planning:matrix.eclipse.org)
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- [Test Management](https://matrix.to/#/#tractusx-test-management:matrix.eclipse.org)
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- **Mailing List**: [Tractus-X Dev Mailing List](https://accounts.eclipse.org/mailing-list/tractusx-dev)
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- **Blog**: [Release planning announcements](/blog) are posted before each release
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- **GitHub Discussions**: For asynchronous communication and Q&A
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## Tips for Success
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:::tip For Feature Requesters
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1. **Start Early**: Create your feature issues well before the Alignment Day
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2. **Be Complete**: Fill out all template sections thoroughly
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3. **Attend Meetings**: Participate in Alignment Day and Open Planning
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4. **Stay Engaged**: Monitor your feature's progress and respond to questions promptly
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:::
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:::tip For Committers and Contributors
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1. **Review Early**: Look at features before Open Planning to assess feasibility
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2. **Be Realistic**: Don't over-commit; consider capacity and dependencies
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3. **Communicate**: Use labels like `open question` when you need clarity
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4. **Follow TRGs**: Ensure all contributions meet the [Release Guidelines](/docs/release)
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:::
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:::tip For Everyone
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- Keep the Release Planning Board clean and up-to-date
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- Use the provided templates and don't delete sections
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- Join the Matrix chat rooms for real-time discussions
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- Subscribe to the mailing list for important announcements
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:::
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## Additional Resources
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- [Release Planning Board](https://github.com/orgs/eclipse-tractusx/projects/26)
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- [Tractus-X Release Guidelines (TRGs)](/docs/release)
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- [Open Meetings Schedule](/community/open-meetings)
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- [How to Contribute](/docs/oss/how-to-contribute)
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- [Latest Release Planning Blog Posts](/blog)
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- [Timeline View](https://github.com/orgs/eclipse-tractusx/projects/26/views/35)
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---
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For questions or further information, reach out via the [mailing list](https://accounts.eclipse.org/mailing-list/tractusx-dev) or join the [Tractus-X Matrix channel](https://matrix.to/#/#automotive.tractusx:matrix.eclipse.org).

‎docusaurus.config.js‎

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type: 'dropdown',
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label: 'Versions',
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to: '/blog-changelog',
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label: 'Changelog',
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position: 'left',
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items: [
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{
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label: 'Release Information',
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},
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label: 'Changelog'
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},
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],
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},
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{
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type: 'docsVersionDropdown',

‎src/pages/release-information.md‎

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