· Index · Login/Register

Search: 

Development Roadmap

This document shows the future and history of ]project-open[ product development.  Releases that are currently pending are subject to frequent change so staying up to date means checking this page for changes often.   

]project-open[ V4.0 (Development Version)

• Expected Final Release: 11/2010 (Alpha 6/2010, Beta 8/2010
• Current Status: under development

This ]project-open[ will include a new versions of AOLserver and PostgreSQL, so customers with AOLserver 3.3.x or PostgreSQL 8.1 or lower will have to update their entire installation. This is the reason for the change in the "major" release number to V4.0.

These changes are justified by two main improvements:

• "Contacts" CRM Module:
  V4.0 will include a "Contacts" module that allows managing contacts & companies in a more efficient way and allows to create mailing campaigns to lists based on customer classifications using DynField variables.
   
• New "XoWiki":
  You are probably looking at XoWiki right now and thinking, couldn´t this be better?  Yeah, we know, so just wait.
  
  

Other planned features:

• Context Sensitive Help:
  We plan to extend the V3.4 context help to most ]po[ pages.

]project-open[ V3.4

• Released: November 2009
• Availability: CVS HEAD
• Current Status: stable   

V3.4 is the last version before upgrading to OpenACS 5.3 with ]po[ 4.0.

Non-Functional Features

• Installers for Windows and various Linux Flavors:
  With version V3.4, ]po[ fully supports Windows as a production environment. Also, specific installers are now available for RHEL5/CentOS 5, Ubuntu and Debian.

• New GUI:
  We have completely restructured the GUI based on CSS "skins", replacing the previous table-based layout.
  
• New Localization Languages:
  The ]project-open[ GUI is now available translated into Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
  
• Context Help & ]po[ Documentation Wiki:
  We have created a documentation Wiki at http://www.project-open.org/documentation/  and added context sensitive help to this wiki for:
  
  
  • ­A­ll "Admin" pages - effectively implementing context help for ]po[ configuring.
    
  • All categories - explaining the meaning of important type and stati of all important object types.
    
  • All performance indicators - describing the precise meaning of each indicator. 
  ­
• Performance Improvements for large Organizations:
  We have implemented performance optimizations to improve performance for organizations with >1000 users: Caching mechanisms (speedup x3 on a number of frequently used pages), SQL optimizations (speedup x10 on some reports, x2 speedups on other pages) and improved support for parallelization on multi-core processors).
  
• Auditing:
  A new generic audit package makes it possible to track modifications to all important business objects in the system, implementing requirements for a number of security and compliance regulations. The package is available as a commercial enterprise add-on and is not part of the main distribution.
  

New Functionality

• Helpdesk / ITSM Service Desk:
  The new helpdesk package implements tickets and ticket queues. You can assign Petri-Net Workflows per ticket type.  The helpdesk package is suitable for all business types, even though our default configuration will implement an ITSM Service Desk.
   
  
• ITSM Configuration Management/Database:
  The new "Configuration Database" is capable of maintaining IT and other inventories. A first integration with OCS Inventory NG is available.
   
• ITSM Release Management:
  Release management allows company to track changes in their software according to Basel II and SOX regulations.
   
• CVS & Host Version Control Integration
  A first integration is available with CVS and Host version management systems. The CVS integration is capable to close tickets in the helpdesk.
   
• RFQ/RFA Module:
  This new package allows for generic Request for Quotation, Request for Availability and Reverse Auction type of auctions.
  
• Integration of Dynamic Workflow:
  The Petri-Net Workflow was already part of V3.2. In V3.4 we have extended the number of objects to which you can attach a workflow and we provide default workflows for budgets, projects, absences and timesheets.
  
• New Key Performance Indicators (KPI):
  KPIs already exist as graphical widgets on top of the data-warehouse. We now are going to add a range of frequently used financial and timesheet indicators. 
  
• Dynamic Workflows:
  The ]po[ Petri-Net Workflow was already part of V3.2, including its graphical editor. In V3.4 we have now extended the number of objects to which you can attach a workflow, and this version includes default workflows for budgets, projects, absences and timesheets.

Minor Improvement and Bug Fixes

• New Reports:
  We have added a number of reports and data-warehouse cubes.

• Timesheet Invoicing Wizard:
  The improved functionality now supports non-billable materials (type of service) and keeps track of unbilled hours in the current invoicing period and before.

• Improved Invoicing Screens:
  A new AJAX functionality allows for comfortable changing of invoicing offices and contacts when changing the customer.

• Financial Documents List Page:
  Pagination on this screen now improves performance. ­

• 150 bug fixes and minor improvements:
  V3.4 includes more the 150 bug fixes and minor improvements.
  

V3.4 Version History

• v3-4-0-8-1 (2009-12): Improvements OpenOffice Templates, Timesheet controlling and invoicing by "day", Vacation Balance
• v3-4-0-8-0 (2009-11-01): Initial release of V3.4.
• v3-4-0-8-0 (2009-12-01): Improvements from a large consulting company rollout:
• Invoices: Integration with Open Office - OOoo documents can now be used as templates.
  
• Absences: Added a new GUI now showing a calendar with planned absences, and added absences for groups effectively implementing bank holidays for the entire company of offices.
  
• Timesheet tracking/invoicing: Added timesheet tracking per "day" as a Unit of measure, instead of only tracking per "hour". The timesheet includes a configurable converter from hours into days.
  
• v3-4-0-8-0 (2010-01-15): Minor bug fixes, before branching to b3-4-0-patches.
  
• b3-4-0-patches (2010-01-18): Opened up a new branch for maintenance of V3.4 installations. HEAD will become unstable now with additions for a large new customer rollout project.
  

]project-open[ V3.3

• Released: June 17th, 2008
• Availability: CVS branch "v3-3-patches".
• Current Status: stable

Since V3.2 we have decided to separate a "stable" (slow changing version) and a "development" (quickly changing version). V3.3 is the current stable version now and V3.4 is the current development version.

What's New in V3.3?

Bug fixes:

• We have fixed more then 50 smaller issues and bugs.

New features:

• Reporting: Added user-definable reports
• Reporting: Added an "Indicators" module that allows to define and track process performance indicators over time.
• Invoices: "Canned Notes" implement pre-defined statements to include in invoices and other financial documents.
• Backup: The Backup screen now allows to download backup files over the Web, simplifying the backup procedure.
• Performance: A number of frequently used procedure are now cached to improve performance.
• Rating: Added "Simple Surveys" rating module
• CRM: Improved the "intranet-mail-integration" Email integration module so that it is now usable. The module allows to associate incoming email with ]po[ users, effectively maintaining an email track record per customer.
• Translation: Added a link for "editors" to rate their "translator" (translation-only)
• Translation: Added a "Tandem Translation Module". This module keeps track of the translator-editor tandem combination by counting how frequently an editor has worked with a translator.
• Translation: Added TinyTM Integration. We have integrated TinyTM (an open-source translation memory) with ]po[. TinyTM itself is still in "alpha" development/alpha status.
• System Integration: Improved the CVS Import: We have added an algorithm to guess the separator of CSV imports ("," vs. ";").
• System Integration: Added an UBS (Unified Business Language) for accounting applications such as SAP, Oracle or Navision.

Other:

• We have improved the upgrade procedure. ]po[ now checks for update scripts that need to be executed.

]project-open[ V3.2

• Released: 4/2007
• Current Status: Obsolete, but still "out there" as part of the VMware installer.

This version includes a number of GUI improvements and functional extensions from two major customers projects.

What's New?

• GUI Overhaul:
  We're going to implement an improved GUI with a "Web 1.5" style. This includes new icons, a new CSS and the option to more components around in the "ViewPages". However, we're not going to implement real Windows Live style drag-and-drop.
   
  
• GanttProject Integration:
  We have finally decided and managed to go ahead with a Gantt editor. We choose GanttProject over a proprietary Web GUI, because we believe that users need an interactive GUI for scheduling (lots of changes etc.). A Web GUI would have been very clumsy in comparison.
  Amongst the available interactive editors we have chosen GanttProject because it's the best open-source product in our opinion. We needed an FOSS tool in order to reach the broad base of users that we are aiming at, and GanttProject is the best FOSS scheduling tool in our opinion.
  We are working together with the GanttProject developers to adapt the system increasingly to ]project-open[.
   
  
• Resource Assignments and Resource Planning:
  This functionality is part of the GanttProject integration. Being supported by GP, we have decided to support the same functionality on the ]po[ side.
   
  
• Integration of "Petri-Net Workflow":
  We are going to integrate the OpenACS "Workflow 4.5" module with ]project-open[. This Workflow package comes with its own graphical workflow designer and allows users to customize workflows themselves (given a certain technical in-house knowledge).
  The main work consists in integrating the WF with the ]project-open[ application screens, because the module itself has been used extensively and in rather large organizations and application settings (it's the base of AIMS Grant Management solutions sold by www.Quest.ie).
   
  
• Expenses and Travel Costs:
  This module has finally been ported from V2.1/Oracle to V3.2/PostgreSQL. The modules allows for decentralized capturing of travel costs of traveling consultants.
  This module is going to be published under the CL license as closed-source.
   
  
• Integration API:
  The Integration of ]project-open[ with existing 3rd party systems is an issue that we are facing with an increasing size of our customers. We have decided to use the existing PostgreSQL PlPg/SQL database interface as the base for this API by encapsulating PlPg/SQL function calls in XML-RPC calls.
  The new interface will allow users to authenticate users against the ]project-open[ user management, to retrieve information about all major business objects (users, projects, companies, offices, tasks, ...) and to create and update such objects.
   
  
• Project Templates:
  Project templates (use one project as a template to generate other projects) allows you to standardize and accelerate the generation of repeating schedules.

Schedule

We are going to release the first beta version of V3.2 before or during the LinuxTag 2006 in Wiesbaden. However, V3.2 will remain in beta probably until September or even October 2006, due to the amount of changes implied.

Help Wanted

Please let us know if you're interested in beta testing and/or to discuss with us about the functional design of the software.

]project-open[ V3.1

• Has been released in : 12/2005
• Current Status: This is the current "development version".
  The code is available from CVS already but is not supported.

V3.1 is supposed to include "DynField"s, a dynamic field extension package that allows you to add and remove fields from your ]project-open[ objects at runtime. This feature is extremely useful for the classification of users (CRM) and for customizing ]project-open[ for different companies and industries. DynFields will also be integrated into the standard ]project-open[ ListPages and into the full text search engine.

Further enhancements in V3.1 will include:

• A slightly improved GUI
• A full text search engine (based on PostgreSQL TSearch2)
• A full-fledged reporting module, similar to Jasper Reports (this is probably not going to be GPLed...)
• Project Milestones (implemented using configurable "surveys")
• A calendar view to project and tasks deadlines
• ... and many more

]project-open[ V3.0

• Has been released in: 5/2005
• Current Status: This is the current "stable version"

V3.0 is the result of porting porting ]po[ V2.1 from Oracle to PostgreSQL. V3.0 is available for both Linux and Windows.

V3.0 already includes a completely new implementation of a project controlling (cost accounting modules) and includes internationalization for German, Spanish and French.

V3.0 does not include PostgreSQL versions of the "Translation Quality" and "Translation Marketplace" functionality.

]project-open[ V2.1

• Last Release: V2.1.1 in 8/2004
• Current Status (9/2004):
  Part of the new functionality (intranet-hr, intranet-costs, intranet-cost-provider) has been implemented and has been deployed with individual customers.
• Payroll costs (intranet-hr-costs) and fixed costs (intranet-cost-fixed) have not been implemented yet. These modules have been depriorized, as the V3.0 PostgreSQL port has become more important. Their implementation will become part of V3.1 (see above).
• The Search and KM functionality has been depriorized in favor of V3.0.

Finance

• intranet-costs
  "Costs Base Module", including cost centers and base cost items.
• intranet-cost-fixed
  Front-end module to intranet-costs, allowing to distributed fixed costs (rent etc.) to projects according to different criteria.
• intranet-cost-provider
  Front-end module for intranet-costs, allowing provider to post their bills in the intranet.
• intranet-hr-costs
  Front-end module for intranet-costs, allowing to distribute employee costs to projects according to timesheet information

HR

• intranet-hr
  Basic HR module: Headcount, basic payroll information etc.

Search & KM

• search
  Finish intranet and file system search for Intermedia
• expert-finder (not finished)
  Search for experts in your organization based on document authorship information

 

]project-open[ 2.0

• Last Release: V2.1.1 in 3/2004

Completion of the ]project-open[ port from ACS 3.4 to OpenACS 5.0 including the packages:

• Core 2.0 (no templates yet)
• File storage 2.0 (with +/- open-close and permissions)
• Forums 2.0
• Freelance 2.0
• Cost-Timesheet 2.0 (including absences)
• Translation 2.0
• Translation-Invoicing 2.0
• Translation-Quality 2.0

 

]project-open[ "1.0"

• This very first version of ]project-open[ is part of ACS 3.4.
• This version includes basic Project and Customer objects.