Alright, so folks asked what I’ve been up to regarding the ‘2025 rc’ stuff. It wasn’t anything too fancy, really just got my hands dirty with the early version of the new system they’re planning for next year.
Getting Involved
They pinged me a while back, asked if I could spend some time stress-testing the release candidate. You know, give it a proper run-through from someone who actually does the day-to-day work with the current setup. They figured, rightly so, that getting feedback now is better than a flood of complaints later. We all remember how the last major rollout went, so I was actually glad to jump in this time.
The Actual Process: Kicking the Tires
So, first step was getting access to the test server. They sent over the credentials and a link. Logged in without any issues. The first thing I noticed was the interface change. Looked a bit more modern, I guess, but some familiar buttons weren’t where I expected them.
I decided the best way was to just try and do my usual tasks.
- Opened my project list: That worked smoothly. Found all my current stuff mirrored there. Good start.
- Tried logging work hours: Took me a minute to find the timesheet section. It was moved under a different menu. Made a note about that – maybe not the most intuitive change.
- Created a test project: Went through the motions. Giving it a name, setting some fake dates, adding myself as the only team member. This part felt a bit quicker than the old system, fewer clicks needed. That was a nice surprise.
- Added some tasks and milestones: Typed them in, assigned dates. Worked as expected.
- Tested file uploads: This is where I hit a snag. Tried uploading a few different file types. Small ones went through fine. But when I tried a larger PDF, maybe 15MB, it just seemed to hang. No error message, just didn’t complete. Definitely jotted that down as a bug.
- Checked reporting: Ran a couple of standard progress reports. The data seemed accurate, and it generated way faster than usual. Big thumbs up for that.
I spent a good chunk of the afternoon just clicking around, trying different features I normally use, seeing if anything felt weird or broke. Made sure to document everything step-by-step, especially the file upload issue.
Wrapping It Up
Once I felt I’d given it a decent workout, I gathered all my notes. Put together a simple document listing what worked well, what felt awkward, and what was clearly broken, like that file upload thing. Sent it off to the development team via their feedback form.
It’s just a release candidate, right? So finding problems is the whole point. Better we find them now. Felt like a productive session, honestly. Hopefully, this feedback helps smooth things out before the real launch in 2025. Just trying to do my part to avoid another chaotic rollout.
