The Visible Edge 24

New Product Announcement

• Polaris (General Release)
• Polaris (Razor Users)
• Polaris (Developer Users)
  

Visible and Distributive Software

Special Promotions

Razor Tech Tip

Puzzler

Visible Systems Corporation, twenty years a world leader in enterprise engineering, today unveiled the next generation of application performance and availability management solutions with Visible Polaris.

Polaris is engineered to support application lifecycle management (ALM) as well as the broader range of project lifecycle management efforts. Ready to use right out of the box, it contains custom attribute data and extensive security options that allow the user to configure Polaris to meet specific needs. Customizable workflow, field, and user-level security, and required fields guarantee that ALM processes are followed. Windows and web-based browser clients ensure that your team has access from anywhere.

Immediate key benefits :

Quality Improvements : Polaris ensures that defects are discovered early in the application lifecycle when the cost of finding a defect is a fraction of that when found later in the application lifecycle.

Market Time : Polaris keeps the application development process flowing. Authorized users can look up the current state of a defect at any time. Email notifications ensure that the team is kept up to date throughout all changes to defect states.

Improved Customer Support : Attachments enable customers to easily submit references to reports or records to a request.

Defect Tracking : Polaris tracks defects and feature requests across customers, users, user groups, and by applications or configurations. Automatic defect assignments based on defect state and content streamline resolution management. Automatic notification of users of assignments, requests, changes, etc., using Polaris's email notification system eliminates all non-value added Activities from the application development process.

Version Contro l: Attach issues to files under version control so that you can trace how a problem was resolved. Files can be checked in and checked out from within Polaris so long as the version control tool, such as Source Safe, CVS supports the Microsoft SCC interface.

Reporting : Polaris supports Crystal Reports or Excel and allows XML import/export for easy exchange of data between XML-enabled applications.

For more information on Polaris, please visit our website at

http://www.visiblesystemscorp.com/Products/Polaris/overview.htm

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Polaris bundled with Razor for Razor Users...Due in the 2nd Quarter

Unlike Razor, Polaris runs strictly in a Windows environment on Windows 98/XP/2000/NT. In configuring Polaris, a Microsoft Access database is installed on Windows 98, Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, or Windows NT Server.

Today as a complement to Razor, Polaris represents an alternative to users who prefer to operate in workgroup scenarios or within a strict Windows environment while using version control tools such as Visual Source Safe or CVS. In the near future as a supplement to Razor, subordinate or "children" Issues may be created in Polaris and linked to a "parent" Issue in Razor. The subordinate issues may be tracked in Polaris up to the point of resolution when the parent issue in Razor is notified of their status. Either way, we believe that Polaris and Razor jointly offers the highest degree of flexibility and value found anywhere in the SCM market today.

For current Razor Users, take a look at Polaris now at
http://www.visiblesystemscorp.com/Products/Polaris/overview.htm

Send us your comments for a bundled solution. To thank you for your input, we will send you a FREE Razor Gift Set for all suggestions received by April 20th.

For more information about Polaris or to submit your suggestions for a bundled solution, please contact mike.paul@visiblesystemscorp.com.

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Polaris bundled with Visible Developer for Visible Developer Users

For Visible Developer users, Polaris gives you source code control and tracking capabilities built directly into your Visual Studio IDE. For example, Developer generates your .NET 3-tier business applications directly into the Visual Studio IDE based on how you define your business objects within the tool. Now, Polaris gives you the ability to have source code control, and issue tracking capabilities built directly into that same IDE for a nice, tight, integrated solution. This results in quicker turnaround of feature requests, a better understanding of requirements and code that meets the users' requests on time and on budget.

For more information please contact dave.copeland@visiblesystemscorp.com

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Together, Distributive DataDrill and Visible Razor make it possible to track and manage all aspects of a SCM process and integrate it into enterprise-wide process and performance improvement strategies.

SCM measurement data is used not only to monitor progress and status as a project moves forward, but also to improve the software development process across the organization. Through additional analysis and comparison with data collected from other projects, companies can identify areas needing improvement, draw up the improvement strategies and take actions accordingly. Collected data may also be used to compare the process before and after improvement actions to measure the effectiveness of the improvement strategies. As an effective measurement solution, the Razor and DataDrill integration provides the capability to automatically collect accurate and timely measurement data directly from Razor, and integrate that information with data collected from other organizational data sources in DataDrill such as cost and schedule information.

Razor integrates requirement definitions so all check-ins and projects can be related to requirements. Each requirement, bug report, or change request is entered in terms of an issue and assigned a unique issue number. Issues can in turn be associated with files that are under version control. The version control tool tracks the who, what, why, and when of changes made to files. SCM data captured by Razor can be seamlessly used as input to a comprehensive measurement process supported by Distributive DataDrill, a Web-based enterprise performance measurement solution.

DataDrill contains extensive charting and reporting to quickly distribute metric charts, graphs and detail information to all engineers, stakeholders, process experts and managers. DataDrill allows you to structure your metric data to address the information needs of managers at all levels of organizational management. DataDrill protects your investment by providing a growth plan into large-scale products for small, medium and large teams as well as the entire enterprise. Distributive DataDrill enables measurement and assessment of critical performance indicators in a manner that is timely, meaningful and easy to understand.

Learn more about Visible Razor at http://www.visiblesystemscorp.com/Products/Razor

Learn more about Distributive DataDrill at http://www.distributive.com

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Razor April Promotional Special - FREE Customer Appreciation Gift!!!

For the month of April receive a FREE Razor Gift Set with any new license purchase of Razor. The gift set includes our Razor & IssueWeaver manuals, Razor pen & pencil set, a Visible Systems note pad as well as a Razor CD to add to your software library. The gift set will be packaged and shipped to thank you for your patronage by our hardworking Razor team.

*** This offer is not valid on previous purchases. ***

Razor Training Discount

Renew your maintenance on or before your annual renewal date and receive 10% off a Razor Training class of your choice. Valid for 1 year.

In 2004, Visible Systems will be offering training classes on the following dates:

For more information on training, we welcome you to visit our web site at http://www.visiblesystemscorp.com/Services/training/vt_razor.htm

You may also use the following methods to contact Jennifer:

Phone: (315) 363-8000 x231
Fax: (315) 363-7488
E-mail: razor_training@visiblesystemscorp.com

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Removing files from Versions

As you may know, the following command will remove files from Razor:

razor -c rm -f <file> -g <group>

To remove a file within a folder, you need to make a small modification to the command. Here's what to do in this case:

razor -c rm -f <folder_name>/<file_name> -g <group>

If the file were buried in a stack of folders, you would simply specify all folders and then the file name.

If the file name has spaces in it, put quotes around the file name when removing it:

razor -c rm -f Razor_reports/"SSDD CC SPIRAL"

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Question:

A word I know,
Six letters it contains,
Subtract just one,
And twelve is what remains.


The answer to the above puzzle can be found at:
http://www.visiblesystemscorp.com/AboutUs/puzzles.htm

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