RoadMap

DSpace 7.6.x Maintenance

With the release of DSpace 7.6 in June 2023, the 7.x platform has moved into maintenance mode. This means that all future 7.x releases will only include bug or security fixes.  (Improvements to existing translations or user interface accessibility are also accepted as that are considered bugs.) 

• Release Numbering: Because 7.x releases all included new features (as described in DSpace Release 7.0 Status), Steering and Developers have agreed that future 7.x releases should all use the "7.6.x" number scheme (e.g. 7.6.1, 7.6.2, etc).  This clarifies that 7.6 was the final release which will include new features. Starting with 8.0, we will revert to our usual numbering scheme where 8.0 will accept new features, but 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 will only include bug fixes.
• Support plan: DSpace 7.6.x will be under support until it is no longer one of the most recent three (3) major releases per our DSpace Software Support Policy.  As DSpace is moving back to a release schedule of one major release per year, this means that 7.6.x will be supported until DSpace 10.0 is released (tentatively scheduled for 2026).
• Release Schedule: DSpace 7.6.x bug-fix releases will occur whenever major issues require immediate resolution or a larger number of smaller issues are ready for immediate release.  They have no fixed timeline, but will be announced on mailing lists when available.
• Development Activities: DSpace 7.6.x development activities occur on our DSpace 7.6.x Maintenance Project Board.
  • Development discussions related to DSpace 7.6.x occur in our weekly Developer Meetings

DSpace 8.0 Development

DSpace Steering Group finalized the roadmap / plans for 8.0 in their meeting on June 28, 2023 (immediately after the 7.6 release).  This plan was presented to the Leadership Group on August 9, 2023 (notes are public).

8.0 Release Goals

These are the main priorities for the 8.0 release as decided by the DSpace Steering Group.  The overarching goal is to keep the 8.0 release smaller in size (in terms of new features), and find ways to help the community more easily upgrade to 7.x or 8.x.

1. Attempt to include all (in progress) major features which missed the 7.x series of releases.  Specifically, this includes these four features: 
   1. COAR Notify support (4Science & Harvard): Implementation of the COAR Notify protocol in DSpace 8
   2. Correction service to enhance data quality via OpenAIRE Graph (4Science): https://4science.github.io/oaire-eld/ and https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/8184
   3. Porting "REST-Based Quality Control Reports" from old REST API to new one. (U of Laval, Canada): https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/issues/7641
   4. Duplicate Detection in Submission ported from DSpace-CRIS (The Library Code): https://github.com/DSpace/dspace-angular/pull/1732 and https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/8415
2. Accept new features which empower users in the Admin User Interface.  In other words, any new features which make things easier for administrators would be accepted.  However, at this time, this work is unfunded and would need to be provided by volunteers.
3. Accept community contributions of any 6.x features which missed the 7.x series of releases.  At this time, this work is unfunded and would need to be provided by volunteers
4. Improve documentation, training to allow for greater community contributions. This also may include easing the setup/installation/customization or maintenance of DSpace.

8.0 Release Schedule

8.0 will be released in April 2024.  8.1, 8.2, 8.3 will be bug-fix only releases (with release dates to be determined later)

DSpace Steering has set a goal of having all future DSpace major releases in April of each year.  For example, 9.0 would be in April 2025, 10.0 in April 2026, etc.

8.0 Development Activities

DSpace 8.0 development activities occur on our DSpace 8.0 Project Board.

Development discussions related to DSpace 8.0 occur in our weekly Developer Meetings

Future Research / Planning

In parallel to the 8.0 release, the Developer team (via Developer Meetings) will work on some early proof of concepts which may be included in 9.0 or later.  Some of these early proof-of-concepts currently include work to modularize DSpace (e.g. DSpace 8 Angular : library-based architecture proposal) and improve the storage layer (e.g. via OCFL or similar).  To take part in these discussions, please join future Developer Meetings.

How to help

DSpace is a global collaboration and most of our activities are entirely volunteer based (including code development). 

• To help with development activities (claiming/prioritizing tickets, testing new fixes, etc) please consider joining future Developer Meetings, or getting in touch via Slack or GitHub.  We welcome anyone and everyone to contribute.  Contributions can be in writing code, reviewing others code, or even simply testing someone else's code works properly.
• To help with documentation (e.g. https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSDOC7x), please create a Wiki account (email wikihelp@lyrasis.org) and get in touch with Tim Donohue (via Slack or email) to ask for edit access to the documentation.
• To help brainstorm/suggest new features, consider joining the DSpace Community Advisory Team meetings or mailing lists.  This is our interest group for repository managers and they help suggest future features to DSpace Steering and developers.
• To help others (and perhaps yourself), consider joining our Mailing Lists and Slack.  These are the primary ways that people ask questions and support one another in using DSpace
  • Additional Support options are documented on our Support page.