Many customers ask us how we prioritize development of features. Our software development process is centered around user input and needs. Below are a few details about our process.

How do we determine and prioritize new features?
First and foremost, customer feedback drives new feature development. We continually seek input from our users via:

• Submissions and votes from the Feature Request system
• The Discussion Forum
• Various message boards and dental groups

Industry trends, government requirements, and our company vision also drive development. All ideas, requests, and issues are analyzed and prioritized by a team of experts that consist of dental professionals, software engineers, and others with vested interest.

What happens once an idea is approved?
If a feature is approved for implementation, the team develops a comprehensive design based on user goals and best practices. Our engineers work together to develop prototypes, then review and test code until performance objectives are met and a feature is complete.

How is the product developed?
Open Dental is constantly being developed by a dedicated team of engineers who work directly for Open Dental Software. All feature requests, enhancements, and bug fixes are first applied to our development version and tested for stability. Since Open Dental is an open source software, the source code of the development version is available for tech savvy developers to download and compile. However it should not be used with production data until thoroughly tested.

What is the release cycle?
We have a rapid release cycle and aim to release a new major version with new features every two to three months. Minor version updates (new builds) are released weekly.

1. Beta version: Major versions are initially released in a 'beta' test environment. Before beta release, we use a combination of unit testing and regression testing to ensure all features are working as intended. Once released, our entire staff use and test the version to identify bugs, learn the new features, and address issues. When bugs are found, they are reported to engineers who fix them and test for stability in the program. The beta version is very functional, but since it is likely to have some bugs, it should only be used by practices willing to take some small risks to use new features. Backups are critically important when using the beta version.
   
2. Minor builds: As bugs are fixed, minor build versions are released. We strongly recommend updating to the latest minor build for your current version.
   
3. Stable release: When the beta version is considered free of major issues, it is released as a 'stable' version. We will continue to release minor builds as needed, so it is still important to update to the latest minor build for your current version.

What do the version numbers mean? Open Dental version numbers are based on the number of releases that are made in a year.
Example: version 16.2.39

• 16 = Indicates the beta version was released in 2016.
• .2 = Indicates that this is the second major version released this year.
• .39 = Indicates this is the 39th update for version 16.2 since it was released as a beta version.