Feature announcement

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If you implemented a new feature or enhanced an already existing feature (or removed one), you should send a so-called feature announcement mail through the EIS web application. Doing so ensures that all stakeholders get the information they need to complete their work, QA can test the feature, documentation authors are able to digest the necessary information for the online help system, and the description can also be taken for the automated what's new guide. All feature announcements are stored in a database (not just mailed to the features@...openoffice.org lists) and are available in an overview also linked from within the EIS application.

Note that failing to send a feature announcement enables QA to formally reject your CWS (and they will!) if the issues added to the CWS indicate that a feature/enhancement would need further description. Please bear in mind that QA and documentation, and maybe also translation teams, depend on the information given in feature announcements, so be descriptive if there is no detailed specification available elsewhere (given as specification URL, see below).

Having logged on to EIS go to Changes-Mails and then external feature and fill in the form:

  • Product: for example, Spreadsheet
  • Type: select from new or changed or deleted as appropriate.
  • Title: make up a good one, self-speaking.
  • Effective from version: CWS <YourCWS'name>
  • Module(s) affected: source code modules changed, for example, sc
  • Flags: select, for example, Help/Guide, Translation and UI relevant from the list to mark a feature that changes UI behavior, introduces new/changed strings that have to be translated, and where the documentation team should update the online help system.
  • TaskId: one (or more, separated by commas) IDs, for tasks originating from the OOo IssueTracker system the letter 'i' followed by the issue number, for example, i56566
  • Description: if there is no detailed specification available, describe the feature such that QA can test the feature and documentation authors are able to digest the necessary information for the online help system.
  • Specification URL: either an URL of a detailed specification document, such as a document checked in at the OOo specification website or a specific wiki page revision, or a literal '-' minus/hyphen character if the feature doesn't have an external specification document.
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