Over the past couple of years our issue database has been showing signs of age. Searches often result in error messages, linking issues can cause server instability, and our general issue workflow has become unwieldy. We are currently running an older version of Gemini because of some changes to the security model which has made upgrading a non-trivial issue. To help resolve these problems, we have performed a complete review of our current issue tracking processes and have just completed an overhaul of our infrastructure to allow us to transition to the current version of Gemini.
The new version of Gemini offers many advantages over our current version, including improved performance, enhanced user interface, greater customization options, and upcoming integration options for Team Foundation Server and DotNetNuke. These features and others will provide us with the necessary tools to better track and manage project issues.
The upgrade to Gemini for managing the bugs and issues for DotNetNuke will not only involve new software but also a refactored approach. A streamlined workflow has been devised and the number of fields needed to enter a bug have been reduced. Security for the support system will now use the new Security Scheme feature in Gemini which will make managing access to the system simpler. All registered users of Gemini will be able to do the following:
- Create New Issues
- Edit their own issue
- Create Comments
The DNN Corp team has grown significantly and is now set up in the following teams:
(There are a couple of community teams here as well)
- Support Team
- Development (Corp)
- Development (Community – get involved :))
- Issue Validation Team (Community)
- Test Team
Each of these teams has a set of security roles that allow to manage the issues as they come through the system. The new security scheme ensures that only people in the correct Global Role can change the status of an issue to the next stage of the workflow. The new workflow is designed to not only streamline the work process but to enable community members to contribute by verifying issues as part of the Issue Verification Team and helping out on the Community Developer team. All of these actions will result in recognition points as well.
The new workflow process is detailed in the diagram below:
Each step of the process shows which roles can move the item on and what state the item is in.
As part of the refactoring of the process there will now be only two projects in Gemini, one for the Community Edition and one for the Professional Edition. Most of the module projects have been moved to CodePlex as part of the DotNetNuke Forge and the issues are being managed there now. There are some projects which will remain active in Gemini (archive version of Gemini) until they finish their migration. During this transition period, those projects which have not completed the migration will remain available for entering new issues. All projects which have completed the migration will manage issues on CodePlex and will have their Gemini project in the archives set to read-only. Check out the forge to find the module you are looking for http://www.dotnetnuke.com/tabid/824/default.aspx. If you want access to the old Gemini system it is now in a read only state here for archiving purposes, new items cannot be entered or managed here, http://archive.support.dotnetnuke.com.
This upgrade is occurring today.