What is your testing process before releasing a new version?

We're sometimes asked about the process in the run up to releasing a new version. The process to release a new "major" version is broadly as follows:

1. The new version is developed in house - this may take several months.
2. The new version is tested in house.
3. The new version is tested by our community Beta Testers.
4. The new version is pushed out to our public online demo.
5. The new version is pushed out to any ongoing trial MIDAS systems.
6. The new version is pushed out to cloud-hosted customers in a "phased" manner, and closely monitored.
7. The new version is made available to self-hosted customers with active support subscriptions.
8. Work begins in-house on the next version.

If any issues are reported, discovered, or detected in Steps 2-5, they are investigated and resolved accordingly in-house. Interim updates are them made available accordingly for re-resting and verification by our beta testers.

We only proceed to Step 6 once we're satisfied with the outcome of Steps 3, 4, and 5.

Step 7 usually occurs a couple of weeks after step 6. This is because it is easier for us to monitor and detect any potential issues with MIDAS systems running in our "cloud" and for us to push any updates out as necessary.

We also release numerous interim "maintenance" updates between software releases. These typically address bugs which were discovered after a "major" version is release, and don't contain new features.

The process to release an interim "maintenance" update is broadly as follows:

1. The interim update is developed in house - this may take several hours/days.
2. The interim update is tested in house.
3. The interim update is pushed out to our Beta Test Suite and tested.
4. The interim update is made available to the customer who reported the bug (if applicable) to allow them to test/verify the fix.
5. The interim update is pushed out to our public online demo.
6. The interim update is pushed out to any ongoing trial MIDAS systems.
7. The interim update is pushed out to cloud-hosted customers.
8. The interim update is made available to self-hosted customers with active support subscriptions.

If you're interested in helping make our room booking software better, we'd invite you to become a community beta tester.