Project Dawn or the end of Aurora

As described in the post on the Hacks blog 
<https://hacks.mozilla.org/2017/04/simplifying-firefox-release-channels/>, 
we are changing the release mechanism of Firefox.


What

In order to address the complexity and cycle length issues, the release 
management team, in coordination with Firefox product management and 
engineering, is going to remove the Aurora stabilization phasefrom the 
cycle.


When

On April 18th, Firefox 55 will remain on Nightly. This means Firefox 55 
will remain on Nightly for two full cycles. On June 13th, Firefox 55 
will migrate directly from Nightly to Beta.


Why

 1.

    As originally intended
    <https://mozilla.github.io/process-releases/draft/development_overview/>,
    Aurora was to be the first stabilization channel having a user base
    10x the size of Nightly so as to provide additional user feedback.
    This original intent never materialized.

 2.

    The release cycle time has required that we subvert the model
    regularly over the years by uplifting new features to meet market
    requirements.


How

  *

    The stabilization cycle from Nightly to Release will be shortened by
    6-8 weeks.

  *

    A staged rollout mechanism, similar to what we do today with
    Release, will be used for the first weeks of Beta.

  *

    Our engineering and release workflow will continue to have
    additional checks and balances rolled out to ensure we ship a high
    quality release.

      o

        We will focus on finding and fixing regressions during the
        Nightly cycle and alleviate time pressure to ship to reduce the
        400-600 patches currently uplifted to Aurora.

      o

        A new feature will merge from Nightly to Beta only when it’s
        deemed ready, based on pre-established criteria determined by
        engineering, product, and product integrity.

      o

        Tooling such as static analysis, linters, and code coverage will
        be integrated into the development process


More?

A detailed FAQ is available on the Release Management blog:
http://release.mozilla.org/firefox/release/2017/04/17/Dawn-Project-FAQ.html

Sylvestre




Go-live

	

Nightly

	

Aurora

	

Beta

	

Release


	
	
	
	

2017-03-07

	

55

	

54

	

53

	

52


	
	
	
	

2017-04-18

	

55

	
	

54

	

53


	
	
	
	

2017-06-13

	

56

	
	

55

	

54


	
	
	
	

2017-08-08

	

57

	
	

56

	

55


	
	
	
	

2017-10-10

	

58

	
	

57

	

56


	
	
	
	

2017-11-14

	

59

	
	

58

	

57


	
	
	
	

2018-01-09

	

60

	
	

59

	

58

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