Ever since Minecraft 1.3 I've bee keeping a document for myself for when new Minecraft versions come out. As the person whose made it his responsibility to update IDP to new versions, I often have had to look around to see what needs updating, for when we actually have to do it. This process has been made a lot easier on me by deciding to keep a document.
Previously, I would end up looking over the changelog for Minecraft for new changes, whenever we had to update. Of course, this took more time when actually concentrating on the update process. Granted, this didn't result in longer times, but at least this new method means I just have a simple document to look over, to find what I need to do.
Sometimes Nos helps out and Hret does his part when the update impairs his own work. However, I can usually work in a manageable fashion and update without too much trouble. Having a guide there does make it much easier.
I have already started one for 1.5, and I'll continue it, then follow the development builds up until the update, and then I'll have everything ready in order to update. Updating, of course, can be a bit challenging, because some of the code changes, and I have to do trial and error, or refer to the CraftBukkit commit that updates it to the next version, so I'm clear on what exactly has changed.
I will continue to make future updates go in a timely fashion. I apologize if we have taken too long for some of our updates.
