Project Management via the Web

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Once the new server is compiled and linked, it is time to test it with the latest client.

Since we are also using the project software in production, there is a potential problem: how to test the latest release when other people are actively using the previous release. We solved this problem by allowing you to have several Qedit servers running on the same host. On UNIX, you specify which server the PC client should connect to by specifying a TCP/IP port. A port is like a mailbox for communication and we can have several Qedit UNIX servers "listening" for connection requests on several ports. For MPE the PC specifies the file name of the server, so you just have several versions with different file names.

To obtain a number of benefits, including repeatable, controlled testing of the product, we added a Scripting Language to Qedit. The Scripting language allows for direct calls to the underlying methods that change the text and is very similar to many other programming languages. Tests of new features are coded in the Qedit Scripting Language, and the QSL test scripts are stored on the web server, with documentation in web pages.

The tests allow us to simulate manual testing in a highly accurate way, over a real Internet connection with a real PC. The goal is a test suite, consisting of scripts that verify all the basic functions of the system, plus as many of the boundary cases as we can think of.

When implementing new features, we often write a test suite script to help define how we expect the feature to work, then modify the script if necessary to record how it actually works when finally accepted. This was the case with the Delete Columns project.

By using a script, you can perform many more tests per release cycle than if you had to do them by hand. Manual testing is tiresome and boring and it is difficult to test all the old features whenever a new version is released. For example, with a test suite, it is possible to repeat the same tests precisely on Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 2000, something that would be extremely difficult to do manually.

A thorough test suite exercises all major options of the program. This is not as difficult as it sounds. Notice the script in the graphic above. It has calls to execute the tests on local files, UNIX files, and MPE files. In all three cases it is executing the same test code. Then it repeats the tests for multiple file types, such as files with trailing spaces retained and files with trailing spaces dropped.

Because the test suite lives on the web and can be executed over the Internet, it is possible to have developers and testers in any geographic location execute the current test suite at any time.

Once the Delete Columns feature is designed, coded and tested, it is ready for internal use by the R&D staff. But before it can spread beyond R&D it must be documented.

Before the Delete Columns enhancement is done, it must be documented. For daily documentation of changes we use Qedit for Windows on our lab diary, but for the end-user documentation we use Doc-to-Help from Wex Tech Systems, Inc. (www.wextech.com). We maintain a single Microsoft Word document from which Doc-to-Help can generate a Winhelp file and/or html files. Since the source document is a Word document, the documentation can be printed or written to PDF file using Adobe Acrobat (www.adobe.com). Although the editing is all done on a PC, we use the web as our primary distribution method, enabling us to have current documentation bundled with the newest release of the program.

Wherever possible, automated scripts install and distribute the digital results. For example, here is a QSL script to install a new version of ColumnMunger() source from the C++ file on a PC to directories where it resides on our UNIX and MPE development machines.

The updated documentation, executables, PDF files and help files are packaged up and an Installation build is made using a combination of Windows Scripting Host, ftp and InstallShield tools. The script that does this is invoked through a single command and can automatically deliver the final products over the Internet to our Web Site and Media making machine for final production CD cutting.

The MPE and UNIX servers for Qedit for Windows are also delivered automatically when they are updated, for inclusion with the CD. The installation process is smart enough to detect when we are including server files for both HP-UX and MPE and can be installed over the Internet or our Intranet. directly onto the servers from the PC installation process to any host server.

Once the new release is installed, distributors and beta-test users can download it using the Web, and Robelle staff can make new CDs for distribution by conventional methods.

We send the new release to the customers that asked for the new feature, as recorded in our Knowledge Base system (remember the original customer request from several sections ago).

The Future

The Future of Project Management using the Web holds great promise. There are already many web tools, such as discussion forums, to assist collaboration. One of the most unique is

Crit, an open source method for annotating other people’s web pages.

CritSuite, as it is now known, allows you to add notes to an existing web page. The notes are stored on a Crit server, which merges the notes with the original page when it serves the page up to your browser. Someone can post a draft proposal on their web site and colleagues can criticize it.

WikiWiki

Another option that is likely to be widely adopted in the near future is the web-based project management system. In this case, the software to support Project Management and scheduling runs on a shared eServices host. All you need is a browser. And if the systems encourage web links, you will be able to integrate this date-oriented automatic processing with the content-oriented project web pages that I described earlier in this paper.

iTeamWork

eProject

WebProject

The future of project management on the web is unlimited. Consider just two examples –XML for projects and the Mesa/Vista system.

XML Standard for Project Data

Pacific Edge Software is working with eProject, Great Plains and other project software suppliers to define the XML (Extensible Markup Language) schema for project management. This will someday allow intelligent interchange of project information among different systems.

With the simple web page techniques discussed in this paper and the many web-based tools coming on line, there is no good reason to put off using the web to help manage your projects. Start today.

Trademarks

Qedit and Suprtool are trademarks of Robelle Solutions Technology Ltd., Windows, MS Outlook, and MS Project are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, InstallShield is a trademark of InstallShield Software Corporation, and Mesa/Vista is a trademark of Mesa Systems Guild. All other trademarks belong to their respective holders.

References

Software Quality:

Project Management:

Sippey, Michael. "Pyra’s Killer App". Stating the Obvious, May 1, 2000, web site:

Dolphin Wiki system: http://www.object-arts.com/cgi-local/view.pl/Dolphin