[dot] KOffice Sprint 2008 Starting

[Dot Stories]

URL: http://dot.kde.org/1226244000/

From: Jos Poortvliet <jospoortvliet at gmail.com>
Dept: pfannkuchen
Date: Sunday09/Nov/2008, @07:20

KOffice Sprint 2008 Starting
============================

   Some 20 KOffice developers have gathered at the KDAB offices to
discuss and prepare the upcoming release of KOffice 2.0. Read on to
learn about what the meeting is for and what is on the agenda to be
sorted before the big release.
   [ttp://static.kdenews.org/jr/koffice-sprint.jpg]
     Saturday morning, 9 o'clock. Some 20 people have gathered at the
gate before the KDAB offices to discuss and prepare the upcoming release
of KOffice2.0. They are excited. This release will be a big step for the
KOffice project. The community has worked on this for over 2 years. Much
thought has been put into an architecture ready for the new millennium.
After all, computers are becoming more and more important. Expectations
are rising. Yet progress seems slow. There has been an almost complete
lack of innovation in the Office space between 1995 and 2005. There has
been a little movement lately, but nothing incredibly special. KOffice
has a clear vision: build an architecture capable of supporting every
crazy idea out there. Create the freedom to be creative, and allow it to
happen.

     The purpose of this meeting is twofold. First of all, the current
state of KOffice will be discussed. The parts of KOffice which will be
released should be put under scrutiny. The KOffice developers choose
those applications which are mature enough to benefit from feedback and
input from the larger community. They might not be entirely ready for
the end user, but they must be ready for at least some light use. That
way users can give some meaningful input, and steer development in the
right direction. The workflow in the application needs to be analysed
and optimised. A list of issues needs to be compiled. What are
showstopper bugs, what areas are in urgent need of resources?

     The second goal for this meeting is to discuss how to introduce
this new release. Recently the website, logos, release announcements and
other marketing related topics have been discussed. The team needs to
come to conclusions, and start preparing. We need release notes, an
announcement, a better website and a more general strategy. Yes, we are
growing up: Free Software is thinking about strategy these days.

     Saturday morning, 9 o'clock. The doors open, and we are welcomed by
the KDAB employees. Up the elevator, into the offices and on to work.
There is a tight schedule and a lot of work ahead of us. Of course, the
developers will blog about what happens. And you can expect an article
with the first results and some impressions tomorrow!