Firefox switches to monthly release cycle in 2020

Posted on Wednesday, September 18 2019 @ 13:34 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
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If Firefox is your browser, prepare for more frequent updates as Mozilla is switching to a monthly release cycle in Q1 2020. At the moment, there's an update about every six to eight weeks, but now Mozilla wants to bring new features to market sooner.

In a new blog post, the browser maker explains the beta testing phase will be shortened. Mozilla is becoming more agile, with feature teams increasingly working in short sprints. The firm says they will slowly reduce the release cycle length from 7 weeks down to 6, 5, 4 weeks, while closely watching process and product quality metrics to ensure the user experience doesn't suffer from the shorter release cycle.
Shorter release cycles provide greater flexibility to support product planning and priority changes due to business or market requirements. With four-week cycles, we can be more agile and ship features faster, while applying the same rigor and due diligence needed for a high-quality and stable release. Also, we put new features and implementation of new Web APIs into the hands of developers more quickly. (This is what we’ve been doing recently with CSS spec implementations and updates, for instance.)

In order to maintain quality and minimize risk in a shortened cycle, we must:

  • Ensure Firefox engineering productivity is not negatively impacted.
  • Speed up the regression feedback loop from rollout to detection to resolution.
  • Be able to control feature rollout based on release readiness.
  • Ensure adequate testing of larger features that span multiple release cycles.
  • Have clear, consistent mitigation and decision processes.


  • About the Author

    Thomas De Maesschalck

    Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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