Document the mobile release process in the repo.
Signed-off-by: Igor Mandrigin <i@mandrigin.ru>
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Igor Mandrigin
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# 0009. Mobile App Release Process
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| Date | Tags |
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| Tue Jul 24 | process, release |
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## Status
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accepted
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## Context
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Classical release approach: we cut off the release branch, stabilize it, fix every critical issue and release. Some changes are cherry-picked to the release branch.
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It has a couple of downsides:
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- Resources are scattered across two branches;
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- Unique fixes and unique combination of commits in the release branch;
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- Unpredictable release schedule (any day can be a release day!).
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## The Process
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We do "failable releases" approach instead, when the release either happens on
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a specific day, or doesn't happen.
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We aim for a weekly cadence.
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But even more, we aim to be frank about the release state, give ourselves
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a permission to fail a release.
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### The Release Checklist
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_☝️ a release blocker is a GHI with “release” tag on it_
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1. Do a release testing on a nightly.
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1. If it is good enough (no release blockers), cut a release branch, like `releases/0.9.23`. If there is an existing branch from the previous unsuccessful release, rebase it to the current state of `develop`.
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1. 🔄 Test the release branch, fix release blockers.
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1. Cherry-pick only release blockers to the release branch.
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1. Check-up with other teams (@go, #core-infra).
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1. Mobile releases should not happen at the same time as cluster upgrades.
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1. *After* the release branch is cut
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- update status-go on `develop` (NOT the release branch);
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- bump the app version on `develop` (NOT the release branch).
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1. Update release notes, and app descriptions in GP and App Store (see [this section](#release-notes)).
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1. If [“go/no go” assessment](#go-no-go) is negative (“no go”), just abandon the release branch.
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### Failable Releases
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Failable release philosophy:
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- We track potential release blockers as early as possible (based on testing of nightlies);
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- We cut off the release branch when there are no big blockers (wednesday morning the latest);
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- We fix remaining release blockers on `develop` and cherry-pick fixes to the release branch;
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- If we aren’t able to fix all release blockers in time™, leaving enough time for QA to thoroughly test the release, we mark this release as failed and focus on releasing next week;
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- Next week we just rebase the release branch on `develop`.
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### What is this failed release anyway?
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1. Nothing is published to our users;
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1. We don’t keep the release branch around, next week we force-rebase it to the latest state of `develop`.
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### Is it bad to fail a release?
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Nope. One of the nice side-effects of the failable release approach that it shows the real state of the develop branch.
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Trying too hard to release anyway might paint a picture that is better than the reality.
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If there are too many failed releases, it is an indication that something is wrong with our `develop` or PR intakes, not with the release process. Don’t shoot the messenger :)
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### <a name="go-no-go"></a> “Go/No-Go” decision
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The “no-go” decision can be make:
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1. If there is a huge blocker on develop that we are not sure we will be able to fix in time;
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1. If there is no time left for QA to make thorough testing;
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1. If we don’t feel confident in some critical feature of the app, even if there is no critical issues found there;
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1. If one of the teams (status-go, cluster, etc) isn’t ready for this release (check with the `#core-infra` or `@go`).
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### Schedule
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- We aim to submit an iTC build every Friday to have time for Apple to review it.
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- We aim to publish a release every Monday.
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Note, that to aim is a key word there. If we fail to release in time, we just skip this week’s slot and try to release next week.
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So, schedule might look like that:
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```
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May, 11: Release 1
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May, 18: failed release, nothing is published
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May, 25: failed release, nothing is published
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June, 1: Release 2
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...
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```
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So, as you can see releases happen only on Mondays.
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They might or might not happen, but the schedule stays consistent.
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### <a name="release-notes"></a>Release Notes
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We keep the file [`CHANGELOG.md`](../../CHANGELOG.md) in the repository.
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We also have an ongoing document with them.
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#### iOS Test Flight Release
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**Upload to AppStore Connect**
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Use [this Jenkins job](https://jenkins.status.im/job/status-react/job/upload_release_ios/)
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**“What to test” field**
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When AppStore Connect asks you to fill in the field called “what to test”, just copy the release notes there.
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**Submitting to the review**
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We submit it on Friday, fix the compliance and add the group called “External Testers”. Don’t make the group name scare you, the real testers are in the group called “testflight-boarding”.
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Don’t forget to update screenshots if necessary!
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Then we submit it to Apple review.
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**Releasing to our beta-testers**
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If reviewed successfully, we can share it to our users by adding “testflight-boarding” group to our build. As soon as it is added, invitations to upgrade are sent to our beta-testers!
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### GP Release
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The uploaded release is **immediately available**!
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Do it only if the iOS build is approved by Apple!
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Use [this Jenkins job](https://jenkins.status.im/job/status-react/job/upload_release_android/)
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Don’t forget to update the screenshots if necessary!
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**App Description**
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App description needs to be updated. It is much shorter than the release notes, so it is important to trim them down for GP.
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### Flexing & Planning
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With this approach we don’t plan features for release. We plan features for priorities.
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What is the difference?
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When we plan features for release, a feature A absolutely has to be included in release 0.2. That means, that if feature is not ready yet, the release 0.2 is not happening.
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In features for priorities approach we plan which feature comes before or after which. Say, if we have features A, B and C and we know that A is more important than B and C then we will try to release it earlier.
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In that case releases history might look like these:
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```
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Week 1: 0.1 - failed
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Week 2: 0.1 - feature A released
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Week 3: 0.2 - polishing of feature A and bugfixes
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Week 4: 0.3 - feature B
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Week 5: 0.4 - feature C
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...
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```
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So we keep releasing cadence even if there are no features to release.
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### Retrospective
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Each release ends with a short retrospective/planning session for the next week.
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