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NetBeans IDE 4.1 Community Acceptance Testing program (NetCAT)

Objective

Simply put the goal of this program is to get active NetBeans community members involved in testing of the NetBeans IDE 4.1 Beta and RC builds. Participants will provide feedback on product usability, quality, performance and overall release quality. In return, those volunteers are given the opportunity to significantly influence the quality of NetBeans IDE 4.1.

Program members

People participating in the program should have previous experience with NetBeans IDE and are willing to contribute some time and effort. The details of their responsibilities are explained in FAQ section. A list of NetCAT 4.1 program participants is available here.

Benefits

Members of the NetCAT program will enjoy many special privileges. They will have the opportunity to nominate bugs which they and their colleagues feel are critical to the success of NetBeans IDE. They can object against waiving other bugs as they are allowed to contribute to the Bug Waiver process. Members who submit bugs during this program will have their bugs marked with a magic prefix that guarantees special attention from developers and quality engineers. Additionally, they can request new features for future releases. And yes, there are some gifts from us, of course. The most important fact is that we want our community to accept the release. Your voice is important to us!

What tools are in place ?

There are several accessory means prepared specially for this program. Here is the list:

Item	Description	Detail	Action
Mailing list	Archived e-mail alias dedicated exclusively for communication between program participants, information about progress, important milestones, bug waiving process and others.	netcat@netbeans.org	[View archive] [View Gmane archive]
Feedback portal	Advanced web-based beta test management system to collect feedback.		[Login page]
Marked issues	All issues filed by program members will be highlighted by special prefix.	[41cat]	[Show the bugs] [Show the RFEs]
Simple bug forms	A special one-step submit issue form and reduced bug query form simplified for easy and quick usage.		[Report new issue] [Search an issue]
Dashboard	Specific dashboard reflecting quality status of NetBeans 4.1 builds according to NetCAT program members.		[Take a look]
CA survey	Special form prepared for Community Acceptance phase where participants will get a chance to express their opinion on RC build quality and if it's ready for release.	[Preview]	[View Results]