Every user can contribute his or her own ideas and actively participate in the development even without programming knowledge. New features are first proposed and discussed in the feature wiki. The core team then decides on the inclusion of the feature in the core of ILIAS in a bi-weekly jour fix. Subsequently, the new feature is developed by commissioned programmers. After acceptance by the clients, it is made available on the development system. The new feature is then extensively tested there. With the release of the annual major release of ILIAS, it is available to all users free of charge.

Best of all, for each upcoming version, the feature will be maintained as needed, retested and enhanced by you or other users if there is interest.

You want to suggest a feature? These are the steps you need to take:

Planning & Conception

1. 

   Submit your own idea

   • Create a "feature request" in the Feature Wiki under the relevant component: You can find the guide here
   • Overview of ILIAS components (see chapter 3)
   • Or contact the authors of existing FRs to support them, for example with funding or quality assurance

2. 

   Contact the Authority

   • Discuss and finalise feature requests with the relevant people (Overview of the authorities)
   • Consider the following points as well: Data Protection, Privacy, UI/UX & CSS, Accessibility
   • If necessary, register the topic as a workshop and discuss it together

3. 

   Jour Fixe decision on integrating in the core of ILIAS

   • Present your finalised feature request in Jour Fixe
   • Please register in advance here
   • The Jour Fixe takes place every second Monday from 1 pm
   • Only accepted features may be developed for the core

4. 

   Funding

   • Send a quote request to the ILIAS Service Providers
   • Ensure funding for the development, e.g. from your own budget, project funds or in collaboration with others
   • Present your feature in User Groups or in Special Interest Groups (SIGs) if you need further funding

Development & Quality Assurance

5. 

   Implementation

   • The contracted company is developing the feature and creating test cases
   • For larger projects (e.g. several or very extensive feature requests), keep the community updated regularly – either directly in the feature request or in a SIG

6. 

   Testing

   • Test the new feature thoroughly; give feedback to the developers
     
   • Also consider aspects such as UI/UX, accessibility, security, migration, functionality, etc.
     

7. 

   Release

   • Your feature will be released with the next major version of ILIAS
     
   • One ILIAS version will be released each year, along with regular bug-fix releases
     

Maintenance & Updates

1. 

   Your feature is tested and maintained with every new version of ILIAS

   • Bugs can be reported in Mantis; please reproduce any bugs you find on a test installation before reporting them
   • Join the community testing – this is where the test cases from step 5 are used
     
   • Would you like to make a donation? Even the basic maintenance of ILIAS costs money – for example, updating existing code

Get started with step 1 now

Do you have concrete ideas on how ILIAS could be expanded in its range of functions? Do you want to actively participate in new developments and have a say in them? In the feature wiki, every user can submit conceptualised ideas and discuss them with the community. If you want to participate in future ILIAS versions, this is the place to be.