docs(release-process): add release process description

docs/oss/release-process.md

@@ -0,0 +1,300 @@
+---
+title: Tractus-X Release Process
+sidebar_position: 45
+---
+
+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.
+
+:::info Release Cadence
+
+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).
+
+:::
+
+## Release Timeline Overview
+
+The release process consists of several key phases that span approximately 3-4 months:
+
+```mermaid
+gantt
+    title Tractus-X Release Process Timeline (Example)
+    dateFormat  YYYY-MM-DD
+    section Planning Phase
+    Feature Creation           :a1, 2025-01-01, 30d
+    Alignment Day             :milestone, 2025-01-30, 0d
+    Feature Refinement        :a2, 2025-01-15, 30d
+    Open Planning Day         :milestone, 2025-02-14, 0d
+    section Development Phase
+    Feature Development       :a3, 2025-02-15, 60d
+    section Testing Phase
+    Test Phase Preparation    :a4, 2025-04-15, 14d
+    E2E Testing Phase         :a5, 2025-04-30, 21d
+    section Release
+    Release Day               :milestone, 2025-05-21, 0d
+```
+
+:::note Timeline Example
+
+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.
+
+:::
+
+## Key Milestones
+
+The release process includes two critical milestone days that bring the community together to align on features and plan the upcoming release.
+
+### Alignment Day
+
+The **Alignment Day** is a collaborative session focused on addressing open questions and resolving dependencies between features planned for the upcoming release.
+
+:::tip Purpose
+
+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.
+
+:::
+
+**What to Expect:**
+
+- **Duration**: Typically 2-4 hours
+- **Focus**: Features labeled with `open question`
+- **Participants**: Feature owners, component developers, committers, and stakeholders
+- **Activities**:
+  - Overview of features with open questions
+  - Group discussions and breakout sessions as needed
+  - Documentation of decisions and clarifications
+
+**Prerequisites for Features:**
+
+- Features must be labeled `open question` at least **3 days prior** to the Alignment Day
+- Feature owners should be prepared to describe their needs or concerns
+- Component developers should be ready to clarify what is expected from them
+
+**Key Focus Areas:**
+
+- Cross-component dependencies
+- Technical constraints and architectural decisions
+- Unclear requirements or acceptance criteria
+- Resource availability and capacity planning
+
+### Open Planning Day
+
+The **Open Planning Day** is the main planning session where the community finalizes the roadmap for the upcoming release, prioritizes features, and assigns milestones.
+
+:::note Who Should Attend
+
+- Contributors and Committers from the open-source community
+- Experts
+- Feature requesters and stakeholders
+
+Your participation is crucial to ensure the success of release planning!
+
+:::
+
+**What to Expect:**
+
+- **Duration**: Typically 3-5 hours
+- **Focus**: Feature prioritization and milestone assignment
+- **Structure**: Sessions organized by Topic/Product areas (e.g., Portal, BPDM, EDC, etc.)
+- **Activities**:
+  - Vision and introduction to the release
+  - Topic-by-topic planning sessions
+  - Feature discussion and milestone assignment
+  - Feedback and wrap-up
+
+**Agenda Structure (Example):**
+
+| Time | Topic | Description |
+|------|-------|-------------|
+| 09:05 - 09:20 | Open Planning - Vision & Introduction | Overview of release goals and process |
+| 09:20 - 11:50 | Joint Open Planning | Topic-by-topic feature planning sessions |
+| 11:50 - 12:15 | Feedback Retro / Wrap-up | Summary, next steps, and retrospective |
+
+**Prerequisites for Features:**
+
+For a feature to be considered during Open Planning, it must meet the following criteria:
+
+- **Status**: Must be set to `Backlog` (set by Committers and experts, requester after refinement)
+- **Milestone**: Must **NOT** be set (will be assigned during the session)
+- **Assignees**: Both Contributor and Committer must be assigned
+- **Topic/Product**: Must be set to categorize the feature
+- **Template Completeness**: All sections of the feature template must be filled (do not delete any sections)
+
+:::warning Special Case - KITs
+
+For KIT features, only the Contributor, Committer, and Description fields need to be filled. **There is also a seperate issue template for KITs**
+
+:::
+
+## Release Planning Board
+
+The Release Planning is managed through the [Release Planning Board](https://github.com/orgs/eclipse-tractusx/projects/26) on GitHub.
+
+**Key Views:**
+
+- **Timeline View**: Visualize the release timeline and feature deadlines
+- **Topic/Product View**: Features organized by their product or topic area
+- **Status View**: Track features by their current status (Backlog, In Progress, Done, etc.)
+
+## Issue Labels and Attributes
+
+Understanding and using the correct labels and attributes is essential for effective release planning.
+
+### Important Labels
+
+| Label | Purpose | When to Use |
+|-------|---------|-------------|
+| `Prep-R{YY.MM}` | Identifies features for a specific release | Add when creating a feature for an upcoming release (e.g., `Prep-R26.03`) |
+| `open question` | Marks features with unresolved questions | Add at least 3 days before Alignment Day |
+| `edc`, `portal` and more | Marks other topic groups which might be needed to fullfill the requirements of the feature | Used for dependencies |
+
+### Required Attributes
+
+When creating a feature issue, ensure the following attributes are set:
+
+| Attribute | Description | Required For |
+|-----------|-------------|--------------|
+| **Status** | Current state of the feature (Backlog, In Progress, Done, etc.) | All features |
+| **Milestone** | Target release (set during Open Planning) | After Open Planning |
+| **Assignees** | Contributor and Committer assigned to the feature | Before Open Planning |
+| **Topic/Product** | Product or topic area (e.g., Portal, BPDM, EDC) | Before Open Planning |
+| **Labels** | Includes preparation label (e.g., `Prep-R26.03`) | All features |
+
+## Issue Templates
+
+### Feature Template
+
+When creating a new feature for a release, use the feature template which includes:
+
+- **Description**: Clear description of the feature and its value
+- **Acceptance Criteria**: Specific, measurable criteria for completion
+- **Dependencies**: List of other features or components this feature depends on
+- **Technical Details**: Architecture, implementation approach, and technical considerations
+- **Testing Approach**: How the feature will be tested
+- **Documentation**: Required documentation updates
+
+:::tip Best Practices
+
+- Don't delete any sections from the template (except for KITs as noted above)
+- Fill out all sections completely before the Open Planning session
+- Update the issue regularly during development
+- Link related issues and pull requests
+
+:::
+
+## Development and Testing Phases
+
+### Feature Development Phase
+
+After Open Planning, the development phase begins:
+
+- Features with assigned milestones move to "In Progress"
+- Regular product meetings track development progress
+- Committers review pull requests and ensure quality standards
+- Features must follow all [Tractus-X Release Guidelines (TRGs)](/docs/release)
+
+### Test Phase Preparation
+
+Before the E2E testing phase:
+
+- **Release Check Issues**: Creation of Release Check Issues to be part of the Release and Test Phase
+- **Briefing Session**: Preparation meeting to review the release checklist and deployment process
+- **Kick-Off Session**: Launch meeting for the test phase with latest updates
+- Features must be deployed to the integration environment
+
+### E2E Testing Phase
+
+The End-to-End testing phase validates the entire release:
+
+- **Duration**: Typically 3 weeks
+- **Daily Sync**: Daily standup meetings to track progress and blockers
+- **Focus**: Deployment status, defect/blocker updates, test status for all products
+- **Environment**: Integration (INT) environment
+
+## Open Meetings
+
+The release process is supported by various open meetings where the community collaborates:
+
+### General Office Hour
+
+- **Community Office Hour**: Weekly meeting (Fridays) for general updates and discussions
+  - [Meeting details and links](/community/open-meetings#general-office-hours)
+- **Committer Meeting**: Bi-weekly meeting for committer-specific topics
+  - [Meeting details and links](/community/open-meetings#general-office-hours)
+
+### Release-Related Meetings
+
+- **Briefing Testing Phase**: One-time meeting per release for preparation of the test phase and clarifycation of the process of the release test phase
+  - [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
+- **Kick-Off Testing Phase**: One-tiem meeting per release with latest updates on the test phase and the deployment status
+  - [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
+- **Eclipse Tractus-X E2E Test Phase Daily**: Daily meeting during test phase for general updates and discussion on the test phase
+  - [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
+- **Alignment Day**: One-time meeting per release for dependency discussions
+  - [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
+- **Open Planning Day**: One-time meeting per release for feature planning
+  - [Current and upcoming sessions](/community/open-meetings#one-time-meetings)
+
+### Product-Specific Meetings
+
+Individual products have their own regular sync meetings:
+
+- Portal Open Meeting
+- EDC Weekly
+- BPDM Open Meeting
+- Industry Core Hub & Tractus-X SDK Weekly
+- And more...
+
+See the full list on the [Open Meetings page](/community/open-meetings).
+
+## Communication Channels
+
+Stay connected and informed throughout the release process:
+
+- **Matrix Chat**:
+  - [Release Planning](https://matrix.to/#/#tractusx-release-planning:matrix.eclipse.org)
+  - [Test Management](https://matrix.to/#/#tractusx-test-management:matrix.eclipse.org)
+- **Mailing List**: [Tractus-X Dev Mailing List](https://accounts.eclipse.org/mailing-list/tractusx-dev)
+- **Blog**: [Release planning announcements](/blog) are posted before each release
+- **GitHub Discussions**: For asynchronous communication and Q&A
+
+## Tips for Success
+
+:::tip For Feature Requesters
+
+1. **Start Early**: Create your feature issues well before the Alignment Day
+2. **Be Complete**: Fill out all template sections thoroughly
+3. **Attend Meetings**: Participate in Alignment Day and Open Planning
+4. **Stay Engaged**: Monitor your feature's progress and respond to questions promptly
+
+:::
+
+:::tip For Committers and Contributors
+
+1. **Review Early**: Look at features before Open Planning to assess feasibility
+2. **Be Realistic**: Don't over-commit; consider capacity and dependencies
+3. **Communicate**: Use labels like `open question` when you need clarity
+4. **Follow TRGs**: Ensure all contributions meet the [Release Guidelines](/docs/release)
+
+:::
+
+:::tip For Everyone
+
+- Keep the Release Planning Board clean and up-to-date
+- Use the provided templates and don't delete sections
+- Join the Matrix chat rooms for real-time discussions
+- Subscribe to the mailing list for important announcements
+
+:::
+
+## Additional Resources
+
+- [Release Planning Board](https://github.com/orgs/eclipse-tractusx/projects/26)
+- [Tractus-X Release Guidelines (TRGs)](/docs/release)
+- [Open Meetings Schedule](/community/open-meetings)
+- [How to Contribute](/docs/oss/how-to-contribute)
+- [Latest Release Planning Blog Posts](/blog)
+- [Timeline View](https://github.com/orgs/eclipse-tractusx/projects/26/views/35)
+
+---
+
+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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