[consulting] Planning for future versions

[Larry Garfield]

A query for the other site builders out there.  

Drupal 6 is not yet in beta, but based on the past few versions my own prediction for its release is "sometime this fall".  No, this is not a "when will Drupal 6 be released?" email. :-)  

However, we have sites that are in planning that are also "sometime this fall".  That leaves an open question as to whether we plan to build on 5 or on 6.  (Some could be built in either, others are really better built in 6 due to its new features.)  It's not just core, either.  Even after 6.0 is tagged, there's still the tier-1 modules (CCK, Views, etc.) that need to be finished (could be ready at the same time, could not), and tier-2 or tier-3 modules that may be updated immediately or months later.  Naturally "if you need it, upgrade it and submit a patch", but that's time we'd need to factor in to our schedule if we're going to do so.  (And for some modules, I know I'd rather just let merlin do it because he's way more awesome than I am in that regard and could do it faster and better than I could. :-) )

So, question for the audience.  How do you manage your future-plans, version-wise?  For sites that you have in the pipeline launching "sometime this fall", or "early next year" or whatnot, are you looking toward a Drupal 5 site?  Drupal 5 that gets quickly upgraded (at extra expense/refactoring)?  Drupal 5 that skips 6 and eventually upgrades straight to 7 (and therefore doesn't get a lot of the new D6-generation modules)?  Wait for 6?  Build on a 6-RC and track head, and hope the major modules are keeping up?

What's your future-resistant strategy for this point in the development cycle?

--Larry Garfield