[Proposal] Release Notes
View the Github proposal for status updates
Overview
Build an MVP Release Notes feature in which the course authors can access Release Notes, which will be updates on new features and functionalities in edX. The user will be able to access the Release Notes from edXStudio. There is also a question as to whether this would be of value to the openedX community, and we would love to hear feedback in regard to that.
Problem
For edX, there is no real communication tool that product managers have to communicate updates.
Use Cases
Feature Announcements – Product managers can publish clear, structured release notes to inform course team members when a new feature is launched, why it was built, and the value it is intended to provide.
How-To Guidance – Each release note can include brief instructions or links to documentation, helping course team members to quickly understand how to use new features without confusion.
Expectation Management – By proactively communicating changes, we reduce the element of surprise for course team members, addressing one of their biggest complaints.
Change Tracking – Release notes provide a historical record of product updates that internal teams can easily reference.
Easy Navigation – A sidebar will allow partners to quickly browse, search, and access both current and past release notes, improving usability and discoverability.
Supporting Data
edX Partner Feedback – edX partners frequently express frustration about “not knowing what has been released.” This lack of visibility creates friction in adoption and undermines trust.
Current Workarounds – Today, the only way for partners to get clarity on recent releases is by reaching out to Partner Support or Partner Coordinators, which is inefficient, reactive, and resource-intensive.
Past Precedent – edX previously maintained the Partner Portal as a communications channel, but it was discontinued in 2024, leaving a gap in structured product communications.
Opportunity – A centralized release notes solution restores a dedicated communication channel, reduces reliance on support teams, and addresses long-standing edX partner concerns about surprises.
Requirements
In the footer of edX Studio pages, course team members can find a link to Release Notes that takes them to a new webpage. The desired outcome is improved comms in regard to new features as well as features that are either coming soon, in beta, and so on.
Release Notes creates the ability to post and edit updates for specific edX internal users as well as creates ability for course team members to read updates.
New posts should
Be visible for anyone who is a course team member for at least 1 course (no ability to post for specific users or specific roles e.g. admins only see this)
Have editable date and time that post will be published
Default date is the current date and time
Have a field for title of the post
Have a field in which user can write the release note/update
Button to post the release note/update or cancel
After posting, specific individuals should be able to edit or delete their post. By default, leave the original publish date the same. But the poster can edit the date if they want.
UX will create a banner to highlight the new feature for the first couple of weeks that it is live
Include the ability to subscribe, which would lead to receiving an email whenever a new post was published
Put the "creation of a post" idea behind a waffle flag that is limited to specific people.
APIs:
GET(to get response for whole page)
CRUD operations for a post on release notes page (Their request body and response)
Out of scope for mvp
Ability for the viewer to comment or interact with the post
Filter based on role
Filter based on topics/tags
Mocks
Viewer
Post Creator
openedX
We are proposing that the Release Notes page and capability will be made available in the openedX project, so that any instance can post their instances specific release notes. This would mean that we contribute the page and the backing database table, but not the records that are in 2U’s database table.
Future Considerations
the ability to tag notes with features/labels
user reaction to posts (aka “likes”)