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Why did there need to be a targeted release date for a re-branded open source project release, to the point that it stressed out the team? * Was there very sma
by neilv 2y ago
Why did there need to be a targeted release date for a re-branded open source project release, to the point that it stressed out the team?
* Was there very small runway for a number of salaries that were now needed?
* Were there enterprise sales contingent on a delivery date?
* Did they purchase a Superbowl ad?
* Were there suddenly managers, with OKRs and KPIs?
(BTW, I'm a happy K-9 user, on and off, for 15 years. With breaks for iPhones and other experiments, before coming back, and currently using K-9 on GrapheneOS. Kudos to the author and other K-9 contributors for their work.)
- tristor 2y agoI was not involved in this project, but I have previously worked at Mozilla (although I left over 3 years ago). Maybe I can share some high level insights for how these things are approached. Generally there are specific feature expectations when new platforms are added, and it can be a fairly major work. Besides rebranding, there are likely UI changes for look and feel, as well as specific capabilities expected across all platforms that were probably missing. Project deadlines tend to be soft deadlines rather than hard deadlines, but they are created to provide a point to work back from and define scope, and the goal is always to hit the deadline for release. Every day you don't release is a day users don't get access to the work you've put in. I seriously doubt Mozilla purchased a Superbowl ad or otherwise had financial reasons to set this deadline.
- neilv 2y agoThanks, the general theory makes a lot of sense.