[maemo-developers] QA process = bug fixing disincentive?

[From: Henrik Hedberg]

Martin Grimme wrote:

> resetting Karma on a new version leads to one very bad issue, IMHO:
> 
> Developers of packages with some Karma will hold back bugfix-updates
> until the unfixed version has reached extras.

    Guilty as charged.

    I have actually postponed the release of Mauku 2.0 beta 5, because I 
have been waiting for beta 4 to go through the QA process. The sad thing 
is that I am not happy with the beta 4, but I think there should be at 
least one version in extras available for ordinary users. So, I just 
promoted it into extras.

    The beta 5 has been ready over two weeks and I have used it myself. 
However, although the beta 4 just hit extras, I am not going to put beta 
5 in testing just yet. I will develop it further, and not start the 
testing process until I have more features implemented (actually, I 
would have introduced those features in beta 6 or beta 7, but now those 
features will appear in delayed beta 5).

    On the other hand, the current QA process makes sure that you have 
to think twice and test internally before you put your package into 
testing. This may be a good thing. However, it makes incremental 
development very hard or even impossible.

    From my viewpoint, the biggest problem is not even the required 
amount of karma but the quarantine period, which is way too long. If I 
liked to release a new version once a week, the package would never hit 
extras.

    BR,

    Henrik

-- 
    Henrik Hedberg  -  http://www.henrikhedberg.net/