Release Management Within Open Source Projects

A simple classification system for release management practices is presented. When applied to a set of projects, in this case a set of open source projects, distinctive practices are highlighted and relative strengths can be assessed. Three projects are studied, the Linux kernel, Subversion, and the Apache HTTP server. Their release practices, as portrayed by the classification system, emerge as a complex combination of subprocesses and tools chosen to support specific project goals and properties. Through application of this classification, we identify areas of weaknesses in the projects' release management processes and conclude with an overview of potential improvements to the processes and tools that can be made.