Upgrade path to 0.9.7 from 0.9.61

I have been reading over the roadmap for 9.7, and I think it sounds like a great improvement over the current version.
However, I am worried about 1 thing right now... what will the upgrade path be like?
I mean the format of some call will be changing? along with many other major updates, and I haven’t been able to find any documentation that mentions the proposed upgrade path for current sites.
I am about to start a full rebuild of my primary site and plan to use modX but I can’t afford to spend a month building it to have to rebuild it for the 9.7 upgrade.
Can anyone working on the new version set my fears aside, or aleast let me know what the potential issues might be so that I can be sure to document my sites build in such a way that I can quickly step in and make the necessary changes quickly.
I’m sure I am not alone in being very careful about upgrading since my lively hood relies on my sites.

The changes are significant and certainly not trivial DusX, but the extra time it is taking to get early versions of the distribution out are because we are taking extra care to try and identify and provide solutions for a majority of the migration issues people will encounter. These solutions will range from inclusion in a comprehensive Migration Guide to automated features, either in the setup or in an external utility, that will handle a majority of the translation tasks for you.

The tag format changes may be the most visible difference, and those are detailed towards the bottom of the roadmap. I’m using a translation class that will eventually become the automated tool to migrate as many sites and components as I can, and it handles great majority of it for me. There are some times when a few manual fixes are required for, but as I said, as many of these as can be identified will be documented in a Migration Guide.

There is a lot of change in the upcoming 0.9.7 release, and by no means do I recommend just expecting to convert your sites overnight at this point. We are just about to enter the public alpha testing phase, and there is still a bit of work to do to get the new code in a state that is as easy to get started with as 0.9.6 (or easier). But we appreciate the efforts and input of anyone that wants to participate in the final phases of this development.

There are some good experiences already being gathered by a few pioneering folk which you can review in this thread.

If you want to more actively participate in the ongoing alpha development and testing, sign up for an account at http://svn.modxcms.com/jira/ -- this is our new hub for MODx / xPDO development and bug/feature tracking. We’re still ironing out the use of our new tools, so consider even your participation in this development community in beta testing phase. But from here, you can actively track development, submit bugs or feature requests, and even passively contribute code patches for the team to review and consider for inclusion in future releases.

thank-you for your well thought response.
To make the upgrade as easy as possible, documentation is really to key.
Not only on the modx developer side, but on the individual site developers side as well.
If at the earliest time possible a list of suspect items (code segments, config settings, etc..) could be assembled, even if the list is broad and requires a clear and defined exploration of ones site to locate potential risks. It would give the developer a chance to get organized in a easily communicated manner before attempting any upgrade.
Just a thought.

I have registered for the program, and will investigate this option shortly. I believe that if I start to develop my new site using 9.7 I could be of great help in locating (and clearly defining) bugs. I have decent PHP experience so I hope I can offer up some useful bits.