Would this be a better update practice?

[And then there was one les]

We are seeing many problem with updates and the problem doesnt seem to be going away, there have been a lot of complaints on the forums and i have no doubt some very angry clients of WHMCS.

 

Im just wondering if changing the way updates are released would make a difference. Beta testing occurs for a release of new features/upgrades, but i think this practice could also benefit updates and patch releases.

 

It was mentioned by one forum mod that its not possible to test out everything on an update, well i think it is. Setup an installation, push out the patch/update to that installation, You can then inform us of the testing and let us go through and bug report it. Once your patch is "passed" it can be pushed out to us.

 

I know security fixes are more urgent, but this same process could work because you dont release information on the security updates anyway.

[slim]

Most of the bugs that people are finding would be hard to pick up in 'fake' usage of the product. Its not until its used in a live environment that real world issues become obvious.

 

For example, my install of WHMCS is 100% stock apart from some logo's. My billing requirements are also basic - I dont do multiple currency or language and i use one payment gateway and one registrar and currently dont have server modules setup. I dont bill for overages etc. So I havnt found anything in WHMCS 5.2.7 thats causing me any grief.

 

Perhaps what WHMCS team needs to do is to find a real world hosting company (or two or three) that would be prepaired to work with WHMCS. They could have WHMCS staff install the update and then be on standby when things go wrong. They can be fixed and the new code tested - All with direct help from WHMCS. Once these two or three hosting companies are sure its working fine for them the code can be released to the public.

 

I think the quality of the updates and upgrades would increase as a result.

 

When I was in software development building ecommerce apps I found the only way to really test and to be aware of all the bugs was to run a store myself.

[And then there was one les]

I'm not entirely sure on the best way forward but something needs to be done, currently the method you suggested occurs with beta testers, but this can only be done in a development installation, those are not for production installations.

 

Also consider, how would you get a company on board to risk their business/profits by testing in a production area. I'm not sure you would find one unless there were assurances and insurance in place.

 

This is definitely a problem area of whmcs, the only real way i can see forward is to negotiate with the companies that whmcs make modules for use with and see if they can come up with a solution that would allow full functionality testing of the software in a dev installation.

 

Obviously to these companies the benefit is a reliable module that will boost their own profits once completed.

 

Another option would be for whmcs to make a small outlay to these companies in the form of required accounts to make these tests but when you consider who actually benefits from the testing of the modules i dont think this would be practical.

Edited August 2, 2013 by CDJ Hosting

[WHMCS Chris]

Im just wondering if changing the way updates are released would make a difference. Beta testing occurs for a release of new features/upgrades, but i think this practice could also benefit updates and patch releases.

 

I know security fixes are more urgent, but this same process could work because you dont release information on the security updates anyway.

 

 

Hello CDJ,

 

Thanks for your feedback & concerns. As you're aware a beta group is established for the upcoming 5.3 release to help aid in resolution of all issues & logic concerns. However, to specifically address comments on a security release going through a beta group, unfortunately that is not something we can provide. It would be unfair to provide a small segment of users security updates, regardless of the nature of disclosed details, and not to the rest.

[DavidBee]

5.3 any previews?

 

From what Chris says there will be no visual difference.

 

 

As you're aware a beta group is established for the upcoming 5.3 release to help aid in resolution of all issues & logic concerns.

[WHMCS Chris]

5.3 any previews?

 

Hello Michael,

5.3 is solely focused on bug fixes & logic updates. The goal for this is to allow us to then move forward on features.

[And then there was one les]

Hi chris, i wasnt suggesting that you only release security updates to a small group, i was actually suggesting that if you have a complete working system setup somewhere with compliance from other companies that would facilitate this setup being thoroughly tested then all updates, no matter what they are can be tested by the community before mainstream release.

 

The bottom line chris and i am sure you can appreciate this, we are getting fed up with updates to fix one thing that break another. This last update took three attempts to get it right and infact it still isn't right, there are still things that were broken by the updates that are still broken even now as i write this.

 

If whmcs cant find a way to test these updates properly before release then you are just going to have to stop updating until you can. Just like whmcs we are trying to run a business and when things get broken (you know what my case was i reported it on here) its our business that suffers for it.