As part of the JCP.Next effort, the fourth JSR to be released as part of the JCP program reforms, JSR 387, Streamline the JCP program, will take effect as JCP 2.11. The first in the effort was JSR 348, which increased JSR Expert Group transparency, took effect as JCP 2.8 in 2011. The second in the effort was JSR 355, EC Merge, which merged the two Executive Committees into one, took effect in 2012, and was finished being implemented in 2013. The third JSR, JSR 364, Broadening the JCP Membership took effect in 2016 and was updated in 2017.

The EC serves as the Expert Group for these efforts. EC members guide the evolution of the Java technologies by approving and voting on all technology proposals (Java Specification Requests, or JSRs). They are also responsible for defining the JCP's rules of governance and the legal agreement between members and the organization. They provide guidance to the Program Management Office (PMO) and they represent the interests of the JCP to the broader community.

As of 17 December, JCP 2.11 will be in effect.
Heather VanCura, Director and Chairperson of the JCP program and Specification Lead for JSR 387 says, "We are excited to introduce the latest version of the JCP program to the community. In 2017, the EC started working group meetings around how to streamline and evolve the JCP program to meet the needs of the changes in the Java development ecosystem. We decided to initiate JSR 387 to streamline the JSR lifecycle process to bring it in line with the way Java technology is developed today. I think the community will be excited about the changes introduced for their continued participation and feedback in the JCP program."

JCP 2.11 includes the following updates:

• Modification and addition of language around code first, collaborative RI development.

• Changes to the stages of a JSR lifecycle as a result of a more open and collaborative development process (see section 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 of the Process document), and to be in keeping with a more agile and continuous delivery software development model.

• The ability to allow automated renewals for multiple versions of JSRs.

• Modifications to Renewal Ballots and Dormant JSRs.

• Changes to the Maintenance process, including the addition of an errata release.

• Changes to the JCP Executive Committee (see section 3.7 of the Process document) and EC Standing Rules regarding EC Member participation.

For more information regarding the new version of the JCP Program, please refer to JSR 387. The JCP EC will continue to evolve the JCP program to meet the needs of Java developers. The EC work is public on JCP.org.