Process to roll out functionality changes

[jeffmendoza]

I'll use this issue to iterate on the below process (updating this first post) . Please discuss.

Stage: WIP, Draft, Proposed

Process to roll out functionality changes

In scope

Any changes that would affect existing Allstar users, such as:

• New settings default to on
• Deprecating policies or settings
• Changing how existing logic works

Out of scope

Any change that does not affect existing Allstar users, such as:

• Entirely new policies
• New settings default to off

Process

1. If adding a new setting, or changing how a setting works:
   1. Introduce the new (or separate, if changing) setting, default to off, prefix with "testing"
2. Add description of feature / change to the whats-new.md under the upcoming release seciton.
3. Monthly, an email will be sent to the allstar-announce list, all changes from whats-new.md will be included in the email. This will notify all users of the upcoming change.
4. After one month (next month's email), the changes can be made: ("testing" removed, default on, etc.). They will be communicated again in that email.

The release cadence will be synchronized with these monthly changes/emails. We can use GitHub milestones to keep track of what needs to be moved (from testing, default on, etc.) when.

[jeffmendoza]

Updated, moved to draft stage.