Being an OpenMRS Release Manager

The role of the Release Manager in OpenMRS is to handle the process of getting code stabilized, packaged and released to the general public. If we were building planes, the RM would be the guy looking at the construction checklists, painting the airline logo on the fuselage, and delivering the finished unit to the customer.

As such, there is no real development associated with being an RM. All the work you have to do is non-coding: coordinating people, centralizing information, and being the public voice announcing new stable releases. A lot of the tasks that the RM has to do are repetitive, and not automated either because nobody has broken down and written the tools yet, or because the tasks require human validation that makes automation a little superfluous.

So, if you are the Release Manager. What do you need to do?

How does OpenMRS choose what goes into a release?

For the most part this is decided by the leadership group.  Larger tasks are decided upon way ahead of time and put onto the Technical Roadmap. The RM will really be participating in the Release Prioritization Meeting to pick out a lot of the smaller tickets that are able to be completed on time.

How much time does it take to be a release manager?

The time requirement varies from week to week, but shouldn't be more than 4 hours.  The major time investments come when doing the final testing and writing up the wiki pages. (like these: Platform Release notes 1.11.0 and Release Notes 2.3).  But usually you're just checking in with ticket/module owners to make sure they're going to hit the deadline.

NOTE

To be a Reference Application Release Manager you need to attend and several squad meetings especially the Project Management meeting and to be a Platform Release Manager , one needs to be a platform squad  / Project Management Squad member , which means attending meetings,

Am I in it alone?

No, the Release Management Manager will be your guide and support, he will be your first point of contact for any issues or guidance you need. Also release managers for previous releases act as a mentors.