Grants:Project/Commons app/Commons Android app v3/Timeline

This project is funded by a Project Grant

Timeline for Commons app

Timeline	Date
v2.11: Refactor complete for upload process and explore.	10 June 2019
v2.12: Network layer overhaul and Nearby overhaul completed, thus completing the entire backend overhaul. Upload failures solved.	10 July 2019
v2.13: Nearby filters and bookmark system implemented, p18 issues and user location fixed, category/description modification implemented	10 August 2019
v2.14: "Limited connection mode" and pause/resume of uploads, selfie detection (via front camera detection)	10 October 2019
v2.15: Nearby item check when user uploads picture with geotag, P2096 (media legend) of Wikidata item filled using metadata typed by user, to-do system implemented for images with no categories/descriptions or with associated Wikipedia articles that have no pictures	10 December 2019
v3.0: New main screen UI completed, bugs fixed. Also, outreach workshops held, and video of diverse app users published	10 March 2020

Monthly updates

Please prepare a brief project update each month, in a format of your choice, to share progress and learnings with the community along the way. Submit the link below as you complete each update.

March

Grant officially started on 11 March 2019. Completed paperwork to begin grant, assigned tasks, created timeline
Working on mockups for community feedback, and fleshing out details for each task
Backend overhaul begun

April

Mockups and details completed, discussed, and approved for all UI tasks except main screen UI.
Backend overhaul almost complete for Explore feature, and is now proceeding for Upload and Nearby features.
Project maintainer traveling for 3+ weeks starting late April.

May

Participated in Wikimedia Hackathon 2019, and GSoC 2019.
Explore overhaul completed, and Upload overhaul and Nearby overhaul almost complete
Started work on network layer overhaul (the core developer who is working on this is on leave for 2 weeks)
Revamped timeline slightly to release the backend overhaul in 2 versions rather than bundling everything into 1, so that we can isolate any issues better

June

Upload flow overhaul completed. Nearby overhaul encountering some code issues but will hopefully be completed in July.
Majority of network layer overhaul completed
Pre-release testing completed for v2.11. Will release as soon as a few major bugs are fixed.

July

Major bugs fixed, v2.11 released to beta
Network layer overhaul complete except for one issue with authenticated cross-wiki calls (for Wikidata edits via Nearby)
Upload failures tentatively solved in development branch, aiming to merge into master soon to allow alpha testers to try
Started implementation of Nearby filters

August

Preparing to release v2.12 with the complete backend overhaul and Nearby filters. Beta release is slated for 2nd week of October.
Still stuck with cross-wiki calls using the Wikimedia data library

September

The entirety of our codebase overhaul is almost complete
Fixing remaining bugs and optimizing code for v2.12 release

October

Codebase overhaul complete
Nearby filters complete
A few bugs left to be fixed before v2.12, this can be tracked on our GitHub issue.

November

Fixing bugs. v2.12 contained more lines of code changed than any of our other releases, so it took a while.

December

v2.12.0 released to beta.
Christmas/New Year holidays for team.

January

v2.12.1 and v2.12.2 released with various fixes for crashes/issues reported by beta testers.
v2.12.2 finally made the cut to production.
Based on reports received from users, upload failures have been solved!

February

v2.12.3 hotfix released to production.
Completed new feature: Suggest and auto fill title and description based on image location
Work in progress on displaying bookmarks on Nearby map

March

Fortunately Covid does not impact our grant much as we are all working remotely, however it is likely to impact user engagement statistics as many people are not able to go out and take photos
We are working with a collaborator to implement Structured Data integration into the app
Preparing to release v2.13 to beta, fixing final remaining bugs

April

Most of the team needed to take leave for various reasons
2 bugs remaining before we can release v2.13
Work started on selfie detection

May

v2.13 released to beta, collecting bug/crash reports from users
Work started on to-do system for images with no categories/descriptions or with associated Wikipedia articles that have no pictures

June

The in-person workshop that was planned at the end of the grant was cancelled as per WMF's Covid directives (we are approaching the end of the grant so postponing it is not feasible)
Working on the last few bugfixes to release v2.13 to production.
Completing the implementation of the final new features in preparation for v3.0 beta release.

July

v2.13.1 release was delayed by our main bugfix person having his workstation go down, and having to take longer than usual to replace it due to Covid lockdowns in his area.
Only the v3.0 UI and limited connection mode are pending as far as new features go.
Working on increasing test coverage to meet goals.

August

v2.13.1 released to beta with fixes for issues reported in v2.13.0.
We have changed our upload process to upload files in chunks (required for limited connection mode - allowing pause and resume of uploads), but this is causing bugs with corrupted and failed uploads that need to be fixed before we release v3.0 to beta.
The v3.0 UI is almost complete.
Still working on increasing test coverage.

September

v2.13.2 released to beta and then to production.
Several bugs fixed for the new upload flow but there is still one remaining. v3.0 UI is pending a few requested changes.
Work has been slower than usual for the past couple of months and the Covid situation is posing personal difficulties to some members of the team. We are very close to the finish line however.

October

All new features completed!
Working on final polishing touches and bugfixes to release v3.0.

November

A few bugfixes left for v3.0, checklist can be viewed on GitHub.
Tentative date for v3.0 beta release: 11 Dec.

December

v3.0 has been released to beta!
Working on hotfixes for v3.0.1. After fixing any major bugs reported, we can start working on collecting statistics and writing the final report.

January

Hotfixes for v3.0.1 completed. Doing final prodRelease testing prior to releasing.

May

I (Josephine) had to delay the final steps required for wrapping up this grant in order to focus on getting the WLM integration feature (for the next grant, v4) up in time for WLM 2021. Now that the community discussion and planning phase for WLM integration has been completed and the ball has been passed to the developer assigned to this feature (Ashish), I should be able to wrap up this grant in the next month.
New issue with v3.0.1 discovered. Working on hotfix.

June

V3.0.1 released to beta. Collected crash reports for a few weeks.
Fixed reported crashes, v3.0.2 released to beta. Will push to production and start writing final report soon.

July

v3.0.2 released to production on 5 July 2021.
v3.0.3 released to production shortly thereafter with a quick hotfix.
Collected stats and screenshots for final report.

Is your final report due but you need more time?

Extension request

New midpoint report submission date

30 Nov 2019

Rationale

Our midpoint report is due, but we are very close to being able to release v2.12, which will contain our entire codebase overhaul and a couple of new features. If acceptable, it might make more sense to write the report after the v2.12 release, in which we can observe and report on the outcomes of the release.

Approved - New midpoint report deadline of 30 November 2019

This request for a midpoint report deadline extension is approved. The new deadline is 30 November 2019. We look forward to hearing how things are going with the app, after the v2.12 release.

Marti (WMF) (talk) 19:30, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

Extension request

New midpoint report submission date

5 December 2019

Rationale

We had completed our checklist for v2.12 and were ready to do the release on 29 Nov. However, during pre-release testing with the Release build, I discovered a major issue with our Release build that we cannot release with. We are focusing on fixing this issue now. Regardless of whether or not we succeed in doing the release in time, I will start writing the report on Monday (2 Dec) and will have it ready in time for the midpoint check-in.

Technical explanation: In Android development there are two main build types - debug and release. For various reasons, it is usually recommended to use debug builds for testing during development, and release builds only during the preparation for release. The vast majority of the time, the results obtained from testing the release build is similar to that obtained from debug builds. Unfortunately this is one of the few times that it was not.

Misaochan (talk) 07:59, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

@Misaochan: Thanks for this explanation, and apologies that I could only respond now to your extension request as I was unavailable during a United States holiday. This request is approved. Talk to you soon! I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 20:40, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

Extension request

New end date

15 June 2020

Rationale

The codebase overhaul has taken much more time than we anticipated, so we had to start working on the new features on a later date than planned. We are halfway through the new features now, but it will likely take another 3 months to complete all of them.

@Misaochan: Thanks for this update, Josephine. Sorry we could not get back to you so soon. I am happy to approve your extension request, but I had two questions:

Do you need to further push back this end date due to any COVID-19 restrictions or delays? If you do, that's fully understandable, and we would just need to know a new end date.
If the current Project Grant proposal is approved for funding, we would likely wait to disburse your funds for it until a Project Grant report has been submitted and reviewed for this project. Is that acceptable?

Thanks, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 19:12, 31 March 2020 (UTC)

Hi I JethroBT (WMF), no worries. :)

For the time being we are good with this end date, however it is possible that things could change in the future. Is it alright if we stick to this date, and I will submit another extension request later if needed?
Yes, that should be okay.

Best,

Misaochan (talk) 17:04, 2 April 2020 (UTC)

@Misaochan: Thanks for these clarifications. This extension request has been approved. Your new proposal end date is 15 June 2020, with a final report due on 15 July 2020. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 22:43, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Extension request

New end date

17 July 2020

Rationale

Partially due to Covid-related issues, work has been moving a bit slower over the past month or so. We are finishing up the last remaining new features and unit tests, and after that we will start preparing for the v3.0 release.

@Misaochan: Certainly! This extension request is approved. Your end date is now set for 17 July 2020 with your final report due 17 August 2020. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 20:05, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Extension request

New end date

17 August 2020

Rationale

The new features are all close to completion, however getting our test coverage up is proving to be slow. It seems like we underestimated how much time it would require to hit our test coverage goals. We would like an extra month to try and get as close as we can to that goal. Misaochan (talk) 11:17, 16 July 2020 (UTC)

Extension request

New end date

31 October 2020

Rationale

Work has been slower than usual for the past couple of months and the Covid situation is posing personal difficulties to some members of the team. We are very close to the finish line, however. Misaochan (talk) 18:08, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

Extension request

New end date

30 June 2021

Rationale

I (Josephine) had to delay the final steps required for wrapping up this grant in order to focus on getting the WLM integration feature (for the next grant) up in time for WLM 2021. Now that the community discussion and planning phase for WLM integration has been completed and the ball has been passed to the developer assigned to that feature (Ashish), I should be able to wrap up this grant in the next month.

Extension request

New end date

22 April 2022

Rationale

Completion of final report

Approval of new report deadline May 22, 2022

Approving report deadline on May 22, 2022. --Marti (WMF) (talk) 22:55, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

Extension request

New end date

5 June 2022

Rationale

Encountering a few issues with retrieving appropriate documentation for this grant's time period, should be able to sort it out shortly. The previous grant's final report is currently ready for review.

Misaochan (talk) 16:33, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

Final Report

Final report reviewed and accepted. JChen (WMF) (talk) 07:17, 16 August 2022 (UTC)