|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: Roadmap and Product Ethos |
| 3 | +sidebar_label: Roadmap |
| 4 | +--- |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +## Introduction |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +This page details the planned roadmaps for the key products in the OpenFn |
| 9 | +product suite, including Lightning, Adaptors, and this Docs site. While this |
| 10 | +page will be updated periodically, you can track our realtime roadmap and |
| 11 | +progress [here](#what-are-we-currently-working-on). |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +## Our approach to product development |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +At OpenFn, we follow the [Shape Up approach](https://basecamp.com/shapeup) to |
| 16 | +help our small engineering team build _meaningful_ products and features faster |
| 17 | +without compromising on quality. With Shape Up in place, we typically commit to |
| 18 | +_projects_ that can be delivered in a 4-6 week period with multiple releases |
| 19 | +based on QA approval within the building cycle. We also prioritize feedback and |
| 20 | +feature requests from our users over features in the backlog. |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +:::success Transparency and building what matters |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +Note that it's fairly rare for us to commit to delivering a specific feature |
| 25 | +more than 2 or 3 months in the future. We are committed to constantly evaluating |
| 26 | +what our user base needs most and spending the few resources we have to deliver |
| 27 | +value to them—we simply can't guarantee that what sounds like the "7th most |
| 28 | +important feature to build" now will still be on our list in 6 months. |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +At the same time, we strive to be as transparent and inclusive as we can in our |
| 31 | +planning processes. We have a big backlog of feature requests and GitHub issues |
| 32 | +(bug reports, stubs, even partially shaped epics or projects) that are getting |
| 33 | +voted up, commented on, and used as inspiration when we're deciding what to |
| 34 | +prioritize next. |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +Read on to learn more about how we work, how you can see what's coming, and how |
| 37 | +you can get involved! |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +::: |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +## What are we currently working on? |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +All of our team's work is tracked publicly using a GitHub Project. Three key |
| 44 | +views give you up-to-the-minute insights on what we're doing and what's on our |
| 45 | +immediate roadmap. |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +### See [**_Now_**](https://github.com/orgs/OpenFn/projects/3/views/1) 🚧 for what's been funded and is currently being built |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +### See [**_Epics_**](https://github.com/orgs/OpenFn/projects/3/views/7) 🤔 for a list of projects that we're considering, roughly-prioritized |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +### See [**_Bugs_**](https://github.com/orgs/OpenFn/projects/3/views/22) 🐞 for reported bugs |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +We will update this site monthly to reflect our progress on major items. You can |
| 54 | +also keep track of all new features, changes, and bug fixes in real-time via our |
| 55 | +[Changelog](https://openfn.github.io/lightning/changelog.html). |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +## How to **get involved** |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +We collect feedback and new feature requests via our |
| 60 | +[Community](https://community.openfn.org/c/feature-requests/) site. This allows |
| 61 | +OpenFn core team and users to track, engage by upvoting their favorite and |
| 62 | +mission critical feature requests. |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +:::info Join our weekly product update |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +We encourage you to join our weekly product updates where we present what's new |
| 67 | +and coming next. It's also a good opportunity for you to ask us questions about |
| 68 | +OpenFn. The call holds every Friday at 11 AM GMT (London) |
| 69 | +[here](https://meet.google.com/vaw-qvfq-mru) - |
| 70 | +(https://meet.google.com/vaw-qvfq-mru). You can also |
| 71 | +[add our events to your calendar](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=Y182Y2Y4NWY0NjlhNWVlMzA4NzEwMWE5MWNhYmRjZTRkMDZlZDU1OGY1OTM3ZGUzNTQ0NWNkYmQ2NDFhMDY3MGFjQGdyb3VwLmNhbGVuZGFyLmdvb2dsZS5jb20) |
| 72 | +so you never miss out on our demos, webinars, and product updates. |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +::: |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +### Upvote features 👍 |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +1. Go to the community |
| 79 | + [feature request board](https://community.openfn.org/c/feature-requests/) |
| 80 | +2. Scroll down or use the filter and search features to see existing feature |
| 81 | + requests |
| 82 | +3. Click on the (Vote) button beside the title of the request to upvote |
| 83 | +4. If you want more upvotes for this feature request, share a link to the |
| 84 | + feature with your network |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +### Request a new feature 💡 |
| 87 | + |
| 88 | +1. Go to the community |
| 89 | + [feature request board](https://community.openfn.org/c/feature-requests/) |
| 90 | +2. Click on `+ New Topic` to create a new request. |
| 91 | +3. Provide a very clear, concise and descriptive title for the feature (e.g., |
| 92 | + "Make the new workflow button green") |
| 93 | +4. Describe the feature request in detail and why it's important to you. Helpful |
| 94 | + if you can add reference images and links. |
| 95 | +5. Share the feature request on across your professional network for upvotes |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +:::info Tip |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +When describing the feature, it is very helpful to help us understand the |
| 100 | +problem, proposed solution (if any) and similar solutions we might glean |
| 101 | +insights from _if they exist_. |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +::: |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +### Open an issue or bug directly |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +If you prefer the direct approach, you can search across all tracked issues in |
| 108 | +OpenFn's GitHub org [here](https://github.com/OpenFn), comment on them, or even |
| 109 | +pick them up to work on yourself. If you don't find what you're looking for, |
| 110 | +please go ahead an create an issue in the relevant repo. We'll do our best to |
| 111 | +respond promptly! |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +## Summary Roadmaps |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +#### How to interpret `Status` values in the roadmap |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | +- `Tracked` means we're thinking about this, but it hasn't been |
| 118 | + designed/scoped/shaped |
| 119 | +- `Shaped` means it's been scoped and ready to be picked up by an engineer |
| 120 | +- `In dev` means it's currently being worked on by an engineer (see |
| 121 | + [_NOW_](#what-are-we-currently-working-on)) |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | +:::success Newly Released Features |
| 124 | + |
| 125 | +View [Product Updates](https://community.openfn.org/c/product-updates/20) to see |
| 126 | +**features that have been recently delivered** and, in the event that something |
| 127 | +is removed from the roadmap, an explanation of what's been removed and why. |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +For more granular details, the |
| 130 | +[CHANGELOG](https://openfn.github.io/lightning/changelog.html) is always up to |
| 131 | +date. |
| 132 | + |
| 133 | +::: |
| 134 | + |
| 135 | +### Lightning Roadmap |
| 136 | + |
| 137 | +OpenFn/Lightning is the fully open-source workflow automation platform at the |
| 138 | +core of the OpenFn Digital Public Good (learn more about the product |
| 139 | +[here](/documentation#openfn-v2-lightning-)). |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | +| **ID** | **Feature** | **Status** | **Timeline** | **Δ** | **Description** | |
| 142 | +| :-----------------------------------------------------: | :----------------------------------------------------- | :--------: | :----------: | :------: | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| 143 | +| [2920](https://github.com/OpenFn/lightning/issues/2920) | Filter work orders by run state | Shaped | Q1'25 | | Allow users to filter project work orders by run state via the history page. | |
| 144 | +| [2352](https://github.com/OpenFn/lightning/issues/2352) | Improve GitHub Sync experience | Tracked | Q1'25 | ✨ (new) | Improving user experience for projects with GitHub sync enabled. This covers issues like alerting on sync failure, auto-syncing, and sync prompts. | |
| 145 | +| [2965](https://github.com/OpenFn/lightning/issues/2965) | Allow importing projects via project.yaml | Tracked | Q1'25 | ✨ (new) | Allow users to create new projects by importing `project.yaml` file. | |
| 146 | +| [2999](https://github.com/OpenFn/lightning/issues/2999) | Show errors to users on the canvas | Tracked | Q1'25 | ✨ (new) | Allow users to see job and path conditions errors on the canvas. | |
| 147 | +| [2723](https://github.com/OpenFn/lightning/issues/2723) | Workflow Template Library | Tracked | Q1'25 | | Create a library of common workflows that users can easily access and clone for use in their projects. | |
| 148 | +| [2904](https://github.com/OpenFn/lightning/issues/2904) | Show audit log and workflow history at a project level | Tracked | Q1'25 | | Allow project owners and admnins to view their project audit log via the project settings. Workflow history will enable collaborators to see the varios snapshots of a workflow in a timeline. | |
| 149 | +| [2524](https://github.com/OpenFn/Lightning/issues/2524) | Project Sandbox & Production Modes | Tracked | Q2'25 | | Allow users to be able to switch between sandbox and production modes in their projects. | |
| 150 | +| [2155](https://github.com/OpenFn/lightning/issues/2155) | Easy Custom Inputs for Work Orders | Tracked | Q2'25 | | Users should be able to trigger a manual run with a custom input data. The input data can a raw JSON, CSV, I/O data clip or dataset from project collections | |
| 151 | +| [2722](https://github.com/OpenFn/lightning/issues/2722) | Canvas & Inspector Redesign | Tracked | Q2'25 | | Redesign the canvas and inspector to make user experience and workflow building better for users. | |
| 152 | +| [608](https://github.com/OpenFn/kit/issues/608) | Websocket Worker Monitoring | Tracked | Q2'25 | | Give users better visibility of what's happening on inside the worker, especially when an error occurs during run execution. | |
| 153 | + |
| 154 | +_You can follow Lightning's progress and track delivered features in the |
| 155 | +[Changelog](https://openfn.github.io/lightning/changelog.html)._ |
| 156 | + |
| 157 | +### Adaptors Roadmap |
| 158 | + |
| 159 | +OpenFn's open-source adaptors can connect any application, including web APIs, |
| 160 | +databases, and even raw data files, enabling interoperability with any |
| 161 | +information system ([read more](/adaptors/)). Adaptors, alongside OpenFn's |
| 162 | +workflow engine, enable automated workflows that cut across digital systems. |
| 163 | + |
| 164 | +| **ID** | **Adaptor** | **Status** | **Timeline** | **Δ** | **Description** | |
| 165 | +| :--------------------------------------------------: | :--------------- | :--------: | :----------: | :---: | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| 166 | +| [947](https://github.com/OpenFn/adaptors/pull/947) | Africa's Talking | Tracked | Q1'25 | | Allow users to be automate SMS workflows across Africa via Africas Talking. | |
| 167 | +| - | OCL | Tracked | Q1'25 | | To ensure that mappings stored in [OCL](https://openconceptlab.org/) can be more easily access and processed as inputs in OpenFn/Lightning workflows | |
| 168 | +| [737](https://github.com/OpenFn/adaptors/issues/737) | MOSIP 🆕 | Tracked | Q1'25 | | Add a [MOSIP](https://mosip.io/#1) adaptor that enables users to integrate with MOSIP for identity management use cases across countries. | |
| 169 | +| [736](https://github.com/OpenFn/adaptors/issues/736) | OpenCRVS 🆕 | Tracked | Q1'25 | | Add an [OpenCRVS](https://www.opencrvs.org/) adaptor. | |
| 170 | +| [738](https://github.com/OpenFn/adaptors/issues/738) | ArcGIS 🆕 | Tracked | Q1'25 | | Add an [ArcGIS](https://www.arcgis.com/) adaptor for users to build workflow that manage data sync between source and online maps with OpenFn Workflows. | |
| 171 | + |
| 172 | +### Docs Roadmap |
| 173 | + |
| 174 | +| **ID** | **Feature** | **Status** | **Timeline** | **Δ** | **Description** | |
| 175 | +| :----: | :-------------------------- | :---------: | :----------: | :---: | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| 176 | +| - | New Lightning User Guidance | In Progress | Q1'25 | | New documentation, videos, and other user guidance on how to use OpenFn/Lightning and how to migrate existing OpenFn/platform projects to Lightning (the new OpenFn "v2") | |
| 177 | + |
| 178 | +## Have questions, feedback or found a bug? |
| 179 | + |
| 180 | +We encourage users to post their questions on the OpenFn Community at |
| 181 | +[community.openfn.org](https://community.openfn.org), or consider creating |
| 182 | +issues for bugs via product repository. You can also independently start |
| 183 | +contributing to the OpenFn software, adaptors, or documentation by getting |
| 184 | +started [here](./writing-code.md). |
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