Sequent Voting Platform (SVP) Product Lifecycle and Release Cadence
The Sequent Voting Platform follows a predictable release cadence designed to provide stability for enterprise deployments while enabling continuous innovation and security updates.
This release schedule is subject to change based on security requirements, critical bug fixes, or significant architectural updates. Any changes will be communicated in advance to enterprise customers.
Release Philosophy
SVP uses Major.Minor.Patch versioning format for all releases:
- Major: Increments for releases with significant breaking changes (e.g., 9, 10).
- Minor: Increments for monthly releases, resetting to 0 for new Major releases (e.g., 9.1, 9.2).
- Patch: Increments for bug fixes and security updates (e.g., 9.0.1, 9.1.1).
Major releases may contain breaking changes or significant architectural updates, while Minor releases are backward compatible feature additions. All releases follow the same Major.Minor.Patch numbering scheme, with the release type determined by the release month and cadence.
Release Types
Major Releases
Major releases are enterprise-grade releases designed for production environments requiring maximum stability and extended support. Major releases may contain breaking changes that require careful migration planning and testing.
- Cadence: Every 6 months (March and September)
- Numbering: Major.0 (e.g., 9.0 for the September 2025 release)
- Breaking Changes: May include API changes, database schema updates, or architectural modifications
- Long Term Support (LTS): 8 months from release date
- Total Major Release Lifecycle: 8 months
- Currently Supported Major Releases: None
- Next Major Release: Version 9.0 (September 1st, 2025)
Minor Releases
Minor releases provide the latest features and improvements for development and testing environments, and can also be used in special cases where a feature is required in a short period of time. Minor releases are backward compatible and do not contain breaking changes.
- Cadence: Monthly releases
- Numbering: Major.Minor (e.g., 9.1 for October 2025)
- Backward Compatibility: All changes are backward compatible
- Standard Release Support (SRS): 2 months from release date
- Extended Release Support (ERS): Additional 2 months after standard support ends
- Total Minor Release Lifecycle: 4 months
- Currently Supported Minor Releases: None
- Next Minor Release: Version 9.1 (October 1st, 2025)
Release Schedule Table
| Version | Release Date | Release Type | Long Term Support Until | Extended Support Until | Legacy Support Until | Total Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | Sep 1, 2025 | Major | May 1, 2026 | - | - | 8 months |
| 9.1 | Oct 1, 2025 | Minor | Dec 1, 2025 | Feb 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 9.2 | Nov 1, 2025 | Minor | Jan 1, 2026 | Mar 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 9.3 | Dec 1, 2025 | Minor | Feb 1, 2026 | Apr 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 9.4 | Jan 1, 2026 | Minor | Mar 1, 2026 | May 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 9.5 | Feb 1, 2026 | Minor | Apr 1, 2026 | Jun 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 10.0 | Mar 1, 2026 | Major | Nov 1, 2026 | - | - | 8 months |
| 10.1 | Apr 1, 2026 | Minor | Jun 1, 2026 | Aug 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 10.2 | May 1, 2026 | Minor | Jul 1, 2026 | Sep 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 10.3 | Jun 1, 2026 | Minor | Aug 1, 2026 | Oct 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 10.4 | Jul 1, 2026 | Minor | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 10.5 | Aug 1, 2026 | Minor | Oct 1, 2026 | Dec 1, 2026 | - | 4 months |
| 11.0 | Sep 1, 2026 | Major | May 1, 2027 | - | - | 8 months |
| 11.1 | Oct 1, 2026 | Minor | Dec 1, 2026 | Feb 1, 2027 | - | 4 months |
| 11.2 | Nov 1, 2026 | Minor | Jan 1, 2027 | Mar 1, 2027 | - | 4 months |
| 11.3 | Dec 1, 2026 | Minor | Feb 1, 2027 | Apr 1, 2027 | - | 4 months |
| 11.4 | Jan 1, 2027 | Minor | Mar 1, 2027 | May 1, 2027 | - | 4 months |
| 11.5 | Feb 1, 2027 | Minor | Apr 1, 2027 | Jun 1, 2027 | - | 4 months |
| 12.0 | Mar 1, 2027 | Major | Nov 1, 2027 | - | - | 8 months |
Support Levels
Community Support
Free community support is available via GitHub tickets and our Discord channel, with no SLA guarantees and absolutely no warranty.
Enterprise Support
Enterprise customers receive:
- Dedicated support channels
- Security patches and critical bug fixes
- Standard, Extended and Legacy support options for Minor releases
- Long Term Support (LTS) for Major releases
- Migration assistance between major and minor versions
- Custom support agreements for extended lifecycles
- Documentation updates
Enterprise Support Plans:
- Standard Support (SRS):
- Available for Minor releases
- 2 months from release date
- Extended Support (ERS):
- Available for Minor releases
- Additional 2 months after Standard Support ends
- Long Term Support (LTS):
- Available for Major releases only
- 8 months from release date
Release Timeline Visualization
Support Lifecycle Visualization
Release Support Timeline
Note: The diagram below shows an example timeline with a hypothetical current date of January 17, 2026, to illustrate how different releases would be in various support phases.
In the example shown in the diagram (with Example Current Date set to January 17, 2026):
Major Releases:
- Version 9.0 Major (released September 1, 2025): Currently in Long Term Support phase, with full support continuing until May 1, 2026.
Minor Releases:
- Version 9.1 Minor (released October 1, 2025): Currently in Extended Release Support phase, having completed its 2-month standard support period. Extended support continues until February 1, 2026.
- Version 9.2 Minor (released November 1, 2025): Currently in Extended Release Support phase, having completed its 2-month standard support period. Extended support continues until March 1, 2026.
- Version 9.3 Minor (released December 1, 2025): Currently in Standard Release Support phase, with full support continuing until February 1, 2026, then extended support until April 1, 2026.
- Version 9.4 Minor (released January 1, 2026): Currently in Standard Release Support phase, with full support continuing until March 1, 2026, then extended support until May 1, 2026.
- Version 9.5 Minor (to be released February 1, 2026): Unreleased.
The diagram illustrates the overlapping support windows that provide enterprise customers with migration flexibility. Major releases have a single Long Term Support (LTS) model with 8 months of total support coverage, while Minor releases have a two-tier model (Standard → Extended) with 4 months of total support coverage.
Major & Minor Release Process
Each release follows this general schedule:
- Feature Development: Active development phase (Major releases only)
- Feature Freeze: 1 month before release date
- Release Candidate: 1-2 weeks before release date
- Final Release: On scheduled date
Security and Patch Updates
- Security patches: Released as needed for all supported versions
- Regular patches: Bi-weekly review cycle for dependencies
- Emergency patches: Released within 24-48 hours for critical security issues
Version Release Lifecycle
Each major and minor version follows a structured release process that includes pre-releases, the final release, and subsequent patch releases during its support lifecycle. This section illustrates the complete lifecycle of a single major version from initial development to end of support.
Version 9.0.x Series Release Timeline (Example)
Release Details Table (Example)
| Release | Release Date | Type | Purpose & Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature Development | Apr 1 - Jun 30, 2025 | Development Phase | Active feature development period for Major release 9.0. New features, API enhancements, and architectural improvements. Breaking changes allowed during this phase. |
| 9.0.0-rc.0 | Jul 1, 2025 | Release Candidate | Feature Freeze Phase: Initial release candidate for community testing. Major features freeze completed. Focus on stability testing and performance validation. Sometimes used by customers depending on the new breaking changes and features for early testing and integration work. |
| 9.0.0-rc.1 | Aug 1, 2025 | Release Candidate | Feature Freeze Phase: Second release candidate addressing critical bugs found in rc.0. Database migration optimizations and API refinements. |
| 9.0.0-rc.2 | Aug 15, 2025 | Release Candidate | Feature Freeze Phase: Third release candidate for final testing. Documentation finalization and UI/UX polish. Performance benchmarking completed. |
| 9.0.0 | Sep 1, 2025 | Major Final | Official Major release. All quality gates passed. Production-ready with full documentation and often, a security audit is also completed too. |
| 9.0.1 | Oct 15, 2025 | Bugfix Patch | Long Term Support Phase: Address non-critical bugs reported in production: memory leak in vote processing, timezone handling issues, minor UI inconsistencies. |
| 9.0.2 | Dec 15, 2025 | Security Patch | Long Term Support Phase: Critical security update addressing privilege escalation vulnerability. Updated cryptographic libraries and enhanced input validation. |
| 9.0.3 | Feb 1, 2026 | Security Patch | Long Term Support Phase: Security-only patch addressing newly discovered authentication bypass vulnerability. |
| 9.0.4 | Apr 30, 2026 | Final LTS Patch | Long Term Support Phase: Final security patch before end-of-life. Last critical security fix. End of support announced for May 1, 2026. |
Release Process Timeline
Before diving into a specific example, it's important to understand the conceptual framework that governs all major version releases. This process ensures quality, stability, and predictable timing for enterprise customers.
Typical Release Process Flow
Timing Requirements
| Phase | Duration | Description | Mandatory Wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature Development | 1-3 months | Active development, new features, breaking changes allowed | No mandatory wait |
| Feature Freeze to RC.0 | 2-4 weeks | Code stabilization, initial testing | No mandatory wait |
| Between Release Candidates | 1-2 weeks | Bug fixes, regression testing | Minimum 1 week |
| Final RC to Major Release | 2 weeks | Mandatory stabilization period | Exactly 2 weeks |
| Post-Release Monitoring | 2-4 weeks | Production stability validation | N/A |
Critical Rules
-
Feature Development Phase: During this phase, new features are actively developed and breaking changes are allowed. This phase typically lasts 1-3 months depending on the scope of the Major release.
-
Feature Freeze: All new features must be code-complete and merged before the feature freeze deadline. Only bug fixes and stabilization work are allowed after this point.
-
Mandatory 2-Week Period: There must be exactly 2 weeks between the final release candidate and the Major release. This is non-negotiable and allows for:
- Final security audits
- Documentation review and finalization
- Community feedback integration
- Infrastructure preparation for release
-
Release Candidate Progression: Each release candidate must be available for at least 1 week before the next RC or final release.
-
No Direct-to-Production: All Major releases must go through at least one release candidate phase.
-
Emergency Exception Process: In case of critical security vulnerabilities, the 2-week period may be shortened to 1 week with explicit approval from the security team and release management.