To engage in a release review, each
                        specification project team must:
                        
                          
                            - Create a Release record in the PMI (the
                              Release record should include the release
                              name, date, and a sentence that describes
                              the intention behind the release);
 
                            - Submit their IP Log for review;
 
                            - Request PMC approval of the Release and
                              corresponding release documentation (PMC
                              approval request is an email to the PMC
                              mailing list, a single +1 from any member
                              of the PMC indicates approval); and
 
                            - Create a PR against the "specifications"
                              repository that completely describes the
                              contents of the Specification Version that
                              they're releasing.
 
                          
                          According the process, the project team
                            must also notify the EMO. In practice the
                            EMO monitors the IP Log submission and the
                            PMC approval request and initiates the
                            review process based on that.
                          
                          
                          The Specification Committee Chair (or
                            their designate) will initiate the ballot (I
                            am currently the designate for the interim
                            Chair). The timing and actual trigger of the
                            start of the ballot was a topic of
                            discussion today's call.
                         
                        
                        
                        All of the above definitely applies to
                          Specification Projects that have not already
                          engaged in a release review. This includes
                          Jakarta EE Platform, Jakarta CDI, Jakarta Bean
                          Validation, Jakarta Batch, and Jakarta Server
                          Faces. 
                        
                        
                        While not a specification project, the
                          Eclipse Jakarta EE TCK will have to engage in
                          a Release Review (since it's not a
                          Specification Project, no Specification
                          Committee ballot is required, so skip step
                          4). 
                        
                        
                        Since most of our Specification Projects
                          have already successfully engaged in a Release
                          Review, the Specification Committee may choose
                          to designate the Jakarta EE 8 follow up as a
                          Service Release. Per the EFSP, a
                          "Specification Team may consult with their PMC
                          and Specification Committee to determine
                          precisely what constitutes a minor change
                            and/or clarification."
                        
                          Something that I hadn't thought of on the call
                          is whether or not the addition of a
                          Specification Document may be considered as
                          minor and/or a clarification.
                        
                        
                        For example, the Jakarta Servlet project
                          engaged in a release last year (it had a
                          different name, but it was the same project).
                          The Jakarta EE 8 release will contain no new
                          functionality over and above what was included
                          in that release, but will include a
                          Specification Document that it did not
                          previously have. I have some thoughts about
                          how we can argue that the addition of a
                          Specification Document that is based on
                          Javadoc that was included in the previous
                          release can be reasonably thought to be a
                          clarification.
                        
                        
                        If the Specification Committee determines
                          that the upcoming release is a Service
                          Release, we can skip steps 2 and 3.
                        
                        
                        In practical terms, submitting an IP Log
                          and requesting PMC approval should take about
                          two minutes for a committer. Processing the IP
                          Logs requires a  pretty significant investment
                          from me, and all of those requests for PMC
                          approval will require that the PMC respond to
                          them all (so it's far more work for me and the
                          PMC than it is for the project team).
                        
                        
                        I'm a big fan of not processing 30+ IP
                          Logs.
                        
                        
                        HTH,
                        
                          Wayne
                        -- 
                        
                        
                          
                            
                              
                                
                                  
                                    
                                        Wayne Beaton
                                        Director of Open Source Projects | Eclipse Foundation, Inc.