I'd like to start this update by first saying, on behalf of the WCMS team and all of IST, I hope everyone has been staying safe and healthy in these unprecedented times.
It's hard to believe we're already into December, and while we haven't shared a project update in some time, a lot has certainly gone on behind the scenes to continue the development of WCMS 3. Here's an update on what we've been working on.
Pantheon
As referenced in an earlier blog post, Pantheon was chosen as our new Drupal hosting partner. We are very excited to start launching new WCMS 3 websites on our new platform. We will also be using Pantheon to host "alpha" testing sites as part of our new Acceptance testing plan. If you're curious to learn more about the Pantheon platform, see this recent post.
Drupal consulting
We were fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with two separate consultants earlier this year who provided very valuable guidance on core WCMS 3 topics, such as:
- Object-oriented programming principles
- Drupal 8 foundation best practices
- Drupal 8 workflow, and integration with Pantheon
- Pattern Lab and Gesso (Drupal 8 theme) best practices
Drupal 8.7, 8.8, and 8.9
As we continue development, we have been staying on top of major feature relases from Drupal.org to ensure that we are developing on top of the latest version of Drupal core. There have been three major releases of Drupal 8 (8.7, 8.8, 8.9) in the last 12 months. These releases have collectively added siginificant functionality that is now available for us to use, including (but not limited to):
- Refreshed admin UI
- JSON:API stable
- Layout builder stable
- Media library stable
- Revisionable menus and taxonomy terms
- Content editor role added to Drupal's standard profile
Timeline updates
As complicated as this year has proven to be, many events have occurred since the spring, which have resulted in changes to the original project timeline. We are very excited as we are nearing our first general release, now scheduled for April 26, 2021. Please refer to the project timeline for updates to other upcoming milestones.
Early access and testing
We have always been planning on getting pre-release versions of WCMS 3 in the hands of our campus stakeholders. With that in mind I am happy to announce our new Acceptance testing program. At a high-level, this program is intended to provide:
- Early access for interested campus users
- A way for users to become oriented with WCMS 3, in advance of any revised training
- A chance to screen for any critical bugs that cannot be caught by our automated testing tools
- An opportunity for early feedback that can be prioritized in future development sprints
The first phase of this new testing program is our alpha phase scheduled to start on January 11, 2021. Registration to participate in this phase is now closed, and I want to thank those who have signed up in advance for volunteering their time. Your participation and feedback will be critical to getting us closer to our first general release.
As always, I am happy to provide more insight where I can, and answer general questions from campus stakeholders. You can always reach me by email or via Microsoft Teams.