Joomla! is a dynamic community driven project and we are always striving to improve and adapt to the changing world of the Internet. We care about long-term stability. We care about adapting to change. We care about providing a solid platform you can be confident in and rely on.

After receiving feedback from the global Joomla community, we are improving the release strategy so that we can better meet our shared goals.

For those who love detail - you can see the full development strategy here. For those of you who want the quick, simple to understand overview - read on.

The ‘existing’ release strategy

Each release had an overall vision with a number of new features targeted. But new features are being proposed right up to the feature freeze deadline. People want to see their contribution in Joomla! now and not in 6 months. This rush to beat the deadline can sometimes result in releases being delayed as bugs need to be ironed out or perhaps even for code to be included before it is really ready.

The ‘improved’ release strategy

Joomla! has been leading the way in changing the web and providing the most feature rich content management system available. Our target audience consists of site builders, integrators, frontend developers, and enterprise users, as well as extension developers who power the thousands of extensions that are used to build with Joomla!.

• Compatibility. This is the work that takes place behind the scenes to ensure that with every update your Joomla! web site continues to work as you built it. This is one of the largest tasks and when we get it right you will never notice it.
• Predictable Releases. With a more flexible release schedule, new features can be delivered quickly and frequently. This also provides opportunities to release or beta test the software earlier.
• Community Engagement. Collaboration between the community and Production Leadership Team takes place before, during, and after each release. With speedier releases it becomes easier to truly achieve our shared vision.
• New Features. With more frequent releases there is no need to “push” a feature into the release until it is ready. We can release the new stuff sooner and put more time and focus on beta testing.
• Improving Quality. With fewer new features in each release, the ability to test and manage the quality of the software improves. The focus switches from how many new features can we include to ensuring that any feature is of the highest quality and has been extensively tested.

You can be certain

• Site owners can invest more in enriching their sites with better UI/UX, content, features & not have to worry about a time consuming migration any time soon.
• Site builders, Integrators, Frontend developers and Enterprise users can concentrate on building amazing web sites that push the web forward for their clients instead of rebuilding existing web sites just because the software changed.
• Extension developers can focus on improvements and additional features.

So what now?

Joomla! has always been at the forefront in leading the way in changing the web. With this improved release strategy we can do this more often and react to trends more quickly.

Have more questions? You can ask us on twitter

Tweet

To help answer questions of the development and release cycle of for Joomla 3, we've created a twitter account to help! Ask a question to @askjoomla by sending a tweet. Questions will be updated daily so you can keep your Joomla! businesses running smoothly.