[Processdash-announce] Process Dashboard 1.7-RC1 is now available

[<pro...@li...>]

The development team for the Software Process Dashboard Initiative is
pleased to announce the availability of version 1.7-RC1 of the Process
Dashboard!  Version 1.7-RC1 includes these significant new features:

   - The Process Dashboard now contains extensive, powerful functionality
   to support project teams, including:
      - Support for team projects (to roll-up metrics and schedule
      data from several individuals) and master projects (to roll-up
metrics and
      schedule data from several teams)
      - Streamlined project planning tools enable rapid creation of
      balanced, top-down team project plans
      - Powerful reporting tools allow the creation of custom forms,
      charts, and reports that analyze project metrics and earned value at the
      team level
      - Tracking of task dependencies assists with coordination of
      work within and across project teams

      - The Process Dashboard now contains extensive support for
   internationalization.  A Localization Tool is provided to help users
   translate dashboard messages into their native language, and share those
   translations with other users.

   - Memory usage and startup time have been reduced dramatically for
   individuals with many historical projects.

   - The dashboard contains several enhancements to earned valuefunctionality:
      - A new task navigation option makes it easier to work through
      the tasks in an earned value plan.
      - The plan and forecast lines on the earned value charts can be
      toggled off.
      - The earned value report can display your task list
      hierarchically, and display rolled-up calculations such as "percent
      complete" at various levels.
      - Export a Gantt chart of an earned value plan to MS Project
      - Export an HTML snapshot of an earned value plan, for status
      reporting and collaboration

      - The Data Analysis center has been enhanced to support custom
   processes.  Users who define a custom process will see customized versions
   of Report 3, 4, and 5 for their process.

   - The dashboard can be opened in read-only mode, making it possible
   for a mentor/coach to look at dashboard data without worrying about
   accidentally changing data.

   - It is now very safe to use a networked directory for storage of
   dashboard data; the logic that saves changes will detect and recover from
   sporadic network outages.

   - Time values are displayed on dashboard forms in hours and minutes.


This version of the dashboard is a release candidate:

   - Multilingual users are invited to create translations using the new
   Localization Tool, and send them to the Process Dashboard development team
   for inclusion in the final release.
   - Please report defects to the Process Dashboard development team for
   attention before the final release.


For more information, or to download the Process Dashboard, visit:
http://processdash.sourceforge.net/