We speak of a feature release or an upgrade when new features become part of the common. In the case of Mediamatic Lab, new features are mostly developed in association with, or in request of clients. This kind of release gets a new identification number, to what we also refer as a new branchpoint. You can keep track of the different branches by having a look on the blackboard in the office.
Anymeta blackboard - Picture taken at Mediamatic Lab
With a feature release we send all our clients an e-mail. The content that we send is based on a blog posting from Mediamatic.nl. In this blogposting we highlight the new key features. It's important that the reason as well as the meaning of the new possibilities is clearly defined. The reason for this is that we want to make clear that changes are done for the better, not just for fun or prestige.
Contents of the blog posting
- Present a selection of interesting but comprehensive new features.
- Though backend changes are interesting, they're not visible for regular users. Please focus on handy frontend things.
- An explanation of what the feature is and why it is introduced.
- Screen captures of the new features
- A link to the releasenote.
Contents of the e-mail
- The e-mail is a copy of the blog posting.
- Of course one should add a proper chapeau and lead to make it a personal message.
- In the lead you mention the current version of the clients website (for information about websites and version check the blackboard in the office).
- A link to the releasenote.
- Please finish the e-mail by providing the recipient with contact information in case the client has any questions.
On mediamatic.nl/releasenotes we give a complete overview of the changes and fixes per release.
Contents of the releasenote
- Please create a new article and mark it as Anymeta release in the admin. By doing this the article will show 'Anymeta release' in the chapeau.
- Add the publication date in the admin, so that the notes are nicely ordered on the website.
- The changes that need to be described are extracted from trac.mediamatic.nl. The releasenote can be seen as a translation from technical information to understandable english. The information needs to be comprehendible for a regular website user.
- Behind every change we put the number of the ticket. We use this as our own reference, in case clients have questions.
- Examples of the notes can be found on mediamatic.nl/releasenotes
Example blog posting
A good example of a feature release blog posting is in the news blog of our website.